Butler County heat streak to break this week
With county highs Wednesday in the low 90s, this September has seen temperatures “anywhere from 10 degrees above average,” according to Bill Modzelewski, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
“September can kind of be a transitional month; you can still get hot weather across our area,” he said. “Typically, you’ll get a front that comes through, and following that, you’ll get a cool down, and we’re expecting that mid to late next week.”
Modzelewski said regional averages in September are typically around 70 degrees, though the county has experienced highs in the upper 80s since the start of the month.
But the heat streak is expected to break starting Thursday, Sept. 7.
“Tomorrow should be cooler while still in the lower 80s,” Modzelewski said Wednesday. “The first part of next week looks like, generally, mid to upper 70s for the highs and lower 60s for the lows.”
By the middle of the week, he said temperatures are expected to drop to the lower 50s.
As cooler temperatures move though, the National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook Wednesday for “isolated severe storms” and “damaging wind gusts” through the afternoon and overnight.
Scattered showers are expected to continue throughout the weekend, according to Modzelewski.
“Through the rest of fall, it looks like we have slightly above-normal temperatures and about near-normal precipitation,” he said. “It’ll be slightly warmer than normal, but nothing too abnormal.”
While the unseasonably warm September gives way to fall weather, Modzelewski asked residents to be mindful of heat safety.
“Take precautions until we have the cool down later this week,” he said.
Beth Herold, director of the Butler County Area Agency on Aging, said the organization has not received many calls regarding the heat wave and that the agency takes great pains to educate the county’s most at-risk residents on heat safety.
“We always, at the beginning of the summer, review precautions with our care providers,” she said.
The precautions include staying hydrated and cool.
“It’s making sure they’re drinking enough fluid; to make sure that they wear loose-fitting, layered clothing; to try to avoid the hot peaks of the day,” Herold said.
She also recommended utilizing air conditioning or finding cool locations to spend the day — even staying home during high temperatures.
“Let’s say you have to take public transport to get to the senior center,” Herold said. “You have to go outside and wait for it; that can be very taxing.”
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh also reminded residents in the region to check in with neighbors, family and friends during heat waves.
But as of Wednesday, the muggy start to September seems to have passed without incident.
“It’s been warm, but it hasn’t been scorching warm,” Herold said. “It’s definitely warm out, but we haven’t really gotten any phone calls on it.”
