Falling temperatures signal an early autumn for Pittsburgh

If you can’t stand the heat, then move to Pittsburgh. This week, temperatures have been… If you can’t stand the heat, then move to Pittsburgh. This week, temperatures have been uncharacteristically low in Oakland, and passersby have noticed. ‘It’s definitely 100 times cooler than it was last year,’ said Lynn Sudik, a sophomore who lived without air conditioning as a freshman and is braving the heat again this year. Sudik said that the weather this year has had its cooler days and its warmer days, but overall, her dorm room has been cooler. She credited this change to new fans in her residence hall, Lothrop Hall,, but also to the weather, which has been cooler. ‘This week in particular, I’ve been keeping my window closed because it’s been cold,’ said Sudik. She is not the only one who noticed fall’s early arrival. Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said that he would describe this summer to be ‘incredibly mild, not extremely cold or extremely warm.’ The meteorologist said that August and September are normally the hottest months, but this year, the trends have changed. While July’s average temperatures were ‘dead on,’ the temperature of the hottest day in August was only 89 degrees on Aug. 24, cooler than the other summer months, said Hendricks. In June, there were three days higher than 90 degrees, but since then, temperatures have stayed relatively cool, said Hendricks. The National Weather Service said that summers average about 8.4 days that reach more than 90 degrees.’ This summer, we have only had three of those 90-degree days. In 2007, the average temperature for August was recorded at 74 degrees, but this year’s August average was only 69.7 degrees. ‘It has been slightly cooler than normal, ‘ said Hendricks, ‘but not significantly.’ He contributes the lower temperatures to normal weather fluctuations and agreed that fall might be coming early this year.