Snow is making its way to the Pittsburgh area, but the question on everyone’s mind is how much snow will be on the ground by Thursday evening. 

The KDKA Weather Center has looked at the data and mapped out a timeline for when snow is expected to fall across the area. 

When will it start snowing? 

By 10 p.m. on Wednesday, a strong surface cold front will arrive along the Interstate 79 corridor and the Pittsburgh metro, resulting in a changeover to snow and rapidly falling temperatures. 

It is unlikely road surfaces will dry up in time before the sharp temperature drop, so a flash freeze is possible on untreated surfaces on Wednesday night. The heaviest snow will shift to mainly the northwest and northern counties after midnight, but lake-effect snow showers and terrain-enhanced snow are likely to continue through most of Thursday afternoon and evening.   

How much snow will western Pennsylvania get? 

Total snow accumulations through Thursday evening will range from 1 to 2 inches for the Pittsburgh metro area, 2 to 4 inches from roughly Route 422 north to Interstate 80 in the Laurel Highlands and ridges, and less than 1 inch from Washington southwest into northern West Virginia. 

Some of the northernmost counties could see 4 to 6 inches of snow with the lake-enhanced activity and in peaks of the Laurel Highlands and ridges. 

More snow this weekend

High pressure will lead to a short-duration break in the snow Thursday night into Friday morning, but another fast-moving disturbance will lead to more snow showers Friday afternoon and evening, especially over the northern portions of the Pittsburgh area. 

An additional series of disturbances will lead to more snow showers Saturday and Sunday, but these will be moving fairly quickly and produce nothing more than light amounts of snow. 

Cold temperatures next week

A fresh surge of Arctic air will move in from the northwest on Monday night into Tuesday. High temperatures will likely remain in the teens, with lows in the single digits on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.