Pittsburgh has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 85°, a January night drops to 22°, and about 44 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normalsUpdated once a decade
☀️
July high
85°
1100th hottest of 3,547 Pennsylvania towns
❄️
January low
22°
386th mildest of 3,547 Pennsylvania towns
💧
Rain + melted snow
40 in
152nd driest of 3,547 Pennsylvania towns
🌨️
Snow a winter
44 in
974th snowiest of 3,541 Pennsylvania towns
A normal year
What a year in Pittsburgh feels like
❄️
Winter
41° / 24°
Typical high / low · 15 days with an inch or more of snow
🌷
Spring
62° / 40°
Typical high / low · Last frost around Apr 5
☀️
Summer
83° / 61°
Typical high / low · 14 days reach 90° in a normal year
🍂
Fall
65° / 44°
Typical high / low · First frost around Nov 10
10°
20°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
32°
38°
22°
42°
24°
51°
31°
64°
40°
73°
50°
81°
59°
85°
63°
83°
62°
77°
55°
65°
44°
53°
35°
42°
27°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
32°, freezingBar runs from the typical overnight low up to the afternoon high
Best months to be outsideAprMayJunAugSepOctHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month
Pittsburgh weather by month
Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.
Month
High
Low
Rain + melt
Snow
Wet days
Snow on ground
30-yr range
January
38°
22°
2.9"
13.3"
17
14
22° – 40°
February
42°
24°
2.5"
11.7"
14
11
20° – 42°
March
51°
31°
3.2"
7.6"
14
5
35° – 52°
April
64°
40°
3.4"
1.0"
14
0
46° – 57°
May
73°
50°
3.8"
0
14
0
55° – 69°
June
81°
59°
4.2"
0
12
0
66° – 72°
July
85°
63°
4.2"
0
11
0
70° – 78°
August
83°
62°
3.6"
0
11
0
68° – 77°
September
77°
55°
3.4"
0
10
0
62° – 70°
October
65°
44°
2.9"
0.4"
11
0
51° – 60°
November
53°
35°
2.8"
2.4"
12
1
37° – 49°
December
42°
27°
3.1"
7.7"
15
8
25° – 46°
Year
63°
43°
40.0"
44.1"
154
40
“Wet days” have at least 0.01" of rain or melted snow. “Snow on ground” counts days with 1" or more. The 30-year range is the coldest and warmest that month’s average temperature got between 1991 and 2020.
Rain & snow
Rain and snow in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh gets 40 inches of rain and melted snow a year. June is the wettest month and February the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 154 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 40 days of the year.
💧
40 in
Rain + melted snow a year
More rain than 51% of U.S. towns
❄️
44 in
Snow in a normal winter
More snow than 75% of U.S. towns
⛄
40 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
More than 59% of U.S. towns
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
4.2"
JFMAMJJASOND
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
13"
JFMAMJJASOND
Frost & the growing season
About 219 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by April 5 and the first one by November 10. That leaves about 219 frost-free days for gardens, longer than 82% of U.S. towns.
🌱 Apr 5
🍂 Nov 10
219 frost-free days
JFMAMJJASOND
🥶
92
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
🧊
1
nights below 0° in a normal year
🔥
14
days that reach 90° in a normal year
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
JFMAMJJASOND
90° days by month
Average days at 90° or more
JFMAMJJASOND
Heating & cooling
Heating and cooling a home in Pittsburgh
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Pittsburgh, 86% of that work is heating and 14% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.
🔥
5,415 heating degree daysLess heating than 58% of U.S. towns
❄️
866 cooling degree daysMore cooling than 52% of U.S. towns
Degree days measure how far each day’s average temperature falls below or rises above 65°, added up over a year. Source: NOAA station normals.
Around Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh and its neighbors
Pittsburgh borders 12 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 1.1°. Ross has the coldest January nights (21°) and McKees Rocks the hottest July afternoons (85°). Pittsburgh’s January low is 22° and its July high 85°.
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Then and now
Warmer than it used to be
+1.2°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)
The last 30 years in Pittsburgh averaged 1.2° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in December (+2.4°). The shift is smaller than in 55% of U.S. towns.
❄️ Winter+1.8°now 33°, was 31°
🌷 Spring+1.4°now 52°, was 50°
☀️ Summer+0.5°now 72°, was 72°
🍂 Fall+0.9°now 55°, was 54°
Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Pittsburgh’s spot on NOAA’s grid
+0.3°
+2.4°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Year to year
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. February swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 20° to 42°. June is the most reliable, staying within 6°.
10°
20°
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions
Common questions about Pittsburgh’s climate
What is the coldest month in Pittsburgh?
January, with a typical high of 38° and a low of 22°.
What is the hottest month in Pittsburgh?
July, with a typical high of 85° and a low of 63°. About 14 days a year reach 90°.
How much snow does Pittsburgh get?
About 44 inches in a normal winter, most of it in January.
When is the first frost in Pittsburgh?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by November 10, and the last spring frost by April 5.
What is the rainiest month in Pittsburgh?
June, with 4.2 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 40 inches.
📍Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Pittsburgh itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Pittsburgh Intl Airport, PA (13 mi, snow) and Braddock Lock 2, PA (7 mi, frost, heat and degree days). Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.