Swatara has chilly winters and warm summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 86°, a January night drops to 22°, and about 30 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normalsUpdated once a decade
☀️
July high
86°
517th hottest of 3,547 Pennsylvania towns
❄️
January low
22°
258th mildest of 3,547 Pennsylvania towns
💧
Rain + melted snow
44 in
1504th driest of 3,547 Pennsylvania towns
🌨️
Snow a winter
30 in
1563rd least snowy of 3,541 Pennsylvania towns
A normal year
What a year in Swatara feels like
❄️
Winter
41° / 25°
Typical high / low · 8 days with an inch or more of snow
🌷
Spring
62° / 41°
Typical high / low · Last frost around Apr 9
☀️
Summer
84° / 63°
Typical high / low · 22 days reach 90° in a normal year
🍂
Fall
65° / 45°
Typical high / low · First frost around Nov 2
10°
20°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
32°
38°
22°
42°
24°
51°
31°
63°
41°
73°
51°
82°
61°
86°
65°
84°
64°
77°
56°
65°
44°
53°
35°
43°
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
Swatara 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°
3.0"
9.1"
11
9
20° – 38°
February
42°
24°
2.6"
9.4"
10
9
21° – 41°
March
51°
31°
3.6"
5.6"
11
4
35° – 51°
April
63°
41°
3.7"
0.4"
11
0
48° – 57°
May
73°
51°
3.8"
0
13
0
58° – 68°
June
82°
61°
4.1"
0
12
0
67° – 74°
July
86°
65°
4.4"
0
11
0
71° – 81°
August
84°
64°
4.0"
0
10
0
69° – 77°
September
77°
56°
4.4"
0
9
0
63° – 71°
October
65°
44°
3.9"
0.2"
9
0
50° – 61°
November
53°
35°
3.1"
0.8"
9
0
38° – 49°
December
43°
27°
3.4"
4.4"
10
4
26° – 46°
Year
63°
43°
44.0"
29.9"
126
26
“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 Swatara
Swatara gets 44 inches of rain and melted snow a year. September is the wettest month and February the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 126 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 26 days of the year.
💧
44 in
Rain + melted snow a year
More rain than 65% of U.S. towns
❄️
30 in
Snow in a normal winter
More snow than 57% of U.S. towns
⛄
26 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
Fewer than 52% of U.S. towns
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
4.4"
JFMAMJJASOND
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
9.4"
JFMAMJJASOND
Frost & the growing season
About 206 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by April 9 and the first one by November 2. That leaves about 206 frost-free days for gardens, longer than 76% of U.S. towns.
🌱 Apr 9
🍂 Nov 2
206 frost-free days
JFMAMJJASOND
🥶
101
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
🧊
<1
nights below 0° in a normal year
🔥
22
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 Swatara
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Swatara, 81% of that work is heating and 19% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.
🔥
5,024 heating degree daysLess heating than 66% of U.S. towns
❄️
1,171 cooling degree daysMore cooling than 68% 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 Swatara
Swatara and its neighbors
Swatara borders 11 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 0.5°. Derry has the coldest January nights (22°) and Harrisburg the hottest July afternoons (86°). Swatara’s January low is 22° and its July high 86°.
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Then and now
Warmer than it used to be
+1.9°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)
The last 30 years in Swatara averaged 1.9° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in December (+3.2°). The shift is larger than in 90% of U.S. towns.
❄️ Winter+2.6°now 33°, was 30°
🌷 Spring+1.6°now 52°, was 50°
☀️ Summer+1.7°now 73°, was 72°
🍂 Fall+1.6°now 55°, was 53°
Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Swatara’s spot on NOAA’s grid
+1.3°
+3.2°
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 21° to 41°. June is the most reliable, staying within 7°.
10°
20°
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions
Common questions about Swatara’s climate
What is the coldest month in Swatara?
January, with a typical high of 38° and a low of 22°.
What is the hottest month in Swatara?
July, with a typical high of 86° and a low of 65°. About 22 days a year reach 90°.
How much snow does Swatara get?
About 30 inches in a normal winter, most of it in February.
When is the first frost in Swatara?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by November 2, and the last spring frost by April 9.
What is the rainiest month in Swatara?
September, with 4.4 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 44 inches.
📍Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Swatara itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Middletown Harrisburg Intl Airport, PA (4 mi) away. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.