Pittsburgh Weather: Rain, Storm Chances Return; Severe Thunderstorm Watch Issued

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- How nice was the weekend?

Unfortunately, it's not going to last as rain chances are set to return today to the area. Highs should be in the mid-80s, but there is a wide spread when it comes on what to expect.

The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland counties until 10 p.m.

Parts of Ohio and West Virginia are also under the watch.

A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for parts of West Virginia until 10 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/RhBEJ7Exqa

— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) June 24, 2019

Many models show the area not getting back to 80 degrees for a high. KDKA Meteorologist Ron Smiley says this is highly unlikely with many things having to fall into place for us to not hit the 80s. Smiley says he generally falls back on how warm the air mass is in situations like this, and today's core temperature is among the hottest of the year so far.

While high temperatures are up in the air, it looks like data coming in has a pretty good handle on storms for the day. Weak storms could be here as soon as 8 a.m., sliding through the area from the west to the east. Storms are expected to pick up as they continue to move east over us through the Laurel Highlands.

WEATHER LINKS:
Current Conditions | School Delays & Closings | Local Radar | Weather App | Photos

Once they clear the highlands, the storms will fall apart as they move through the center of the state.

The secondary round of rain and storms will bring the chance for severe weather. Strong winds will be the main concern there. At this point, it looks like severe weather chances will peak between 6 p.m. through 10 p.m.

Highs today should hit the mid-80s with mostly cloudy skies and strong winds coming in out of the southwest at 7-15. The strongest winds will accompany the severe weather chances this evening. We may not get back to 80 degrees for a high on Tuesday, but the rest of the week will see highs in the mid- to low-80s.

Stay up to date with the KDKA app, which you can download here.