Altoona, Pennsylvania climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Altoona's normal year runs from 21°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 36.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.6°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 28°C, 931 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAltoona Blair County Airport
- Station IDUSW00014736
- Location40.30°N 78.32°W
- Elevation1,480 ft (451 m)
- From the center15 miles
- Population42,719
On October 23, the normal high in Altoona is 60°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 35%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Altoona.
- Jan 36° 21°
- Feb 39° 23°
- Mar 48° 30°
- Apr 61° 40°
- May 71° 50°
- Jun 79° 58°
- Jul 83° 62°
- Aug 81° 60°
- Sep 74° 53°
- Oct 63° 43°
- Nov 51° 34°
- Dec 40° 26°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Altoona each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in September (3.96 in), the least in February (1.95 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 21°F | 28.4°F | 2.23 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 39°F | 23°F | 30.7°F | 1.95 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 48°F | 30°F | 38.7°F | 3.01 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 40°F | 50.4°F | 3.28 | 13 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 71°F | 50°F | 60.3°F | 3.72 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 79°F | 58°F | 68.5°F | 3.42 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 83°F | 62°F | 72.4°F | 3.48 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 81°F | 60°F | 70.6°F | 3.26 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 74°F | 53°F | 63.7°F | 3.96 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 43°F | 53.0°F | 2.92 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 34°F | 42.3°F | 2.85 | 10 | <1 | 14 | 10 h |
| December | 40°F | 26°F | 33.1°F | 2.57 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 42°F | 51.0°F | 36.65 | 136 | 8 | 118 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −6°C | −2.0°C | 57 mm |
| February | 4°C | −5°C | −0.7°C | 50 mm |
| March | 9°C | −1°C | 3.7°C | 76 mm |
| April | 16°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 83 mm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 15.7°C | 94 mm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.3°C | 87 mm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 88 mm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 83 mm |
| September | 23°C | 12°C | 17.6°C | 101 mm |
| October | 17°C | 6°C | 11.7°C | 74 mm |
| November | 10°C | 1°C | 5.7°C | 72 mm |
| December | 4°C | −3°C | 0.6°C | 65 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Altoona's own co-op station Altoona (7 mi SW) does: 38 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014736; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Altoona?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (10).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014736.
When is the last frost in Altoona?
In Altoona, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 5 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 231 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 177 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 203 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Altoona in zone 6b in ZIP code 16602. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Altoona's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Pennsylvania · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00014736; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Altoona?
In a normal year in Altoona, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 118 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 136 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 118a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 35high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 136a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 103°F, on July 22, 2011; the lowest is −25°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 57.32 in; the snowiest season is 1993–94, with 99.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014736; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00014736. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Altoona, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 61°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 62°F; the driest air comes in January (19°F). February is the windiest month (9.1 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (59%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | 67% | 58% | 8.9 mph | 40% | 43% |
| February | 23°F | 66% | 56% | 9.1 mph | 40% | 43% |
| March | 31°F | 60% | 47% | 8.8 mph | 46% | 36% |
| April | 41°F | 61% | 46% | 7.6 mph | 49% | 28% |
| May | 54°F | 70% | 53% | 6.4 mph | 51% | 25% |
| June | 61°F | 71% | 54% | 5.6 mph | 57% | 16% |
| July | 62°F | 74% | 55% | 4.8 mph | 55% | 17% |
| August | 59°F | 75% | 54% | 4.4 mph | 59% | 19% |
| September | 50°F | 75% | 55% | 5.8 mph | 54% | 26% |
| October | 37°F | 67% | 52% | 7.5 mph | 49% | 34% |
| November | 28°F | 69% | 60% | 8.2 mph | 39% | 42% |
| December | 22°F | 71% | 62% | 8.8 mph | 37% | 46% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00014736. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Altoona?
Over a year 68% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Altoona, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (75%) and December the cloudiest (53%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.6 |
| February | 60% | 2.5 |
| March | 62% | 3.4 |
| April | 66% | 4.6 |
| May | 67% | 5.2 |
| June | 72% | 5.8 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 75% | 5.2 |
| September | 73% | 4.2 |
| October | 66% | 2.9 |
| November | 65% | 2.0 |
| December | 53% | 1.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Altoona need?
A normal year in Altoona brings 5,764 heating degree days, 7% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 692 cooling degree days, 24% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,977 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,135 | 0 |
| February | 962 | 0 |
| March | 815 | 1 |
| April | 445 | 7 |
| May | 193 | 47 |
| June | 37 | 142 |
| July | 4 | 232 |
| August | 12 | 184 |
| September | 108 | 69 |
| October | 383 | 10 |
| November | 681 | 0 |
| December | 990 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,764 | 692 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014736. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Altoona been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.9°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 51.0°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.7°F | +1.7°F | 41.48 |
| 2022 | 51.1°F | +0.1°F | 37.66 |
| 2023 | 52.9°F | +1.9°F | 35.03 |
| 2024 | 53.7°F | +2.7°F | 43.19 |
| 2025 | 50.9°F | −0.1°F | 31.99 |
Over 59 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014736; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Altoona's climate compare?
Altoona is warmer than 57 of the other 107 places with their own NOAA record in Pennsylvania, and wetter than 1. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.0°F is warmer than 45%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Altoona is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Altoona share this climate record?
61 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Hollidaysburg, PA5,537 people · 10 mi N
- Loop, PA2,346 people · 9 mi N
- Penn Farms, PA2,342 people · 10 mi NW
- Roaring Spring, PA2,297 people · 5 mi NW
- Martinsburg, PA1,823 people · 1 mi N
- Lakemont, PA1,504 people · 12 mi N
- Duncansville, PA1,217 people · 11 mi NW
- Claysburg, PA1,120 people · 7 mi W
- Saxton, PA717 people · 7 mi SE
- Cross Keys, PA671 people · 12 mi NW
- East Freedom, PA613 people · 7 mi NW
- Foot of Ten, PA545 people · 11 mi NW
- Sylvan Hills, PA493 people · 11 mi N
- Stonerstown, PA404 people · 7 mi SE
- Sunbrook, PA389 people · 11 mi NW
- Broad Top City, PA361 people · 12 mi SE
- Defiance, PA335 people · 11 mi SE
- Wood, PA306 people · 13 mi SE
- Woodbury, PA286 people · 5 mi SW
- Homewood at Martinsburg, PA278 people · 1 mi NW
- Sproul, PA231 people · 7 mi W
- Robertsdale, PA227 people · 13 mi SE
- Newry, PA225 people · 9 mi NW
- Ore Hill, PA210 people · 4 mi W
- Friesville, PA194 people · 8 mi W
- Elberta, PA190 people · 15 mi N
- Riddlesburg, PA183 people · 10 mi S
- Henrietta, PA181 people · 3 mi SE
- Dudley, PA180 people · 10 mi SE
- Linds Crossing, PA164 people · 10 mi N
- McKee, PA160 people · 7 mi NW
- Spring Drive Mobile Home Park, PA154 people · 1 mi NW
- Vicksburg, PA131 people · 7 mi NW
- Geeseytown, PA129 people · 11 mi N
- Coaldale, PA128 people · 10 mi SE
- Fredericksburg, PA128 people · 2 mi NE
- East Sharpsburg, PA114 people · 4 mi NW
- Brooks Mill, PA111 people · 8 mi NW
- Fort Fetter, PA111 people · 10 mi NW
- Puzzletown, PA103 people · 11 mi NW
- Oreminea, PA93 people · 8 mi NE
- Carson Valley, PA90 people · 13 mi NW
- Coalmont, PA87 people · 9 mi SE
- Reservoir, PA86 people · 8 mi NW
- Canoe Creek, PA80 people · 12 mi N
- Dumb Hundred, PA80 people · 5 mi W
- Curryville, PA64 people · 2 mi SW
- Cotton Town, PA63 people · 9 mi W
- Clappertown, PA57 people · 8 mi N
- Canan Station, PA51 people · 13 mi NW
- Frankstown, PA46 people · 10 mi N
- Reese, PA37 people · 10 mi N
- Royer, PA34 people · 9 mi N
- Ski Gap, PA27 people · 10 mi W
- Jugtown, PA25 people · 3 mi N
- Klahr, PA24 people · 10 mi W
- Martinsburg Junction, PA22 people · 1 mi NW
- Beavertown, PA21 people · 7 mi NE
- Leamersville, PA17 people · 8 mi NW
- Millerstown, PA5 people · 2 mi SE
- Smith Corner, PA0 people · 10 mi NW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Altoona's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Altoona. This page uses Altoona Blair County Airport; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altoona (3 mi W) USC00360140 | 4 mi W | 1,320 ft | 49.6°F | 19°F | 81°F | 44.7 | 38 | April 25 |
| Altoona (7 mi SW) USC00360132 | 6 mi S | 1,180 ft | 50.7°F | 20°F | 83°F | 41.8 | 38 | April 25 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Altoona's climate
What is the coldest month in Altoona?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Altoona?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Altoona's NOAA station; Altoona's own co-op station Altoona (7 mi SW) records 38 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Altoona?
September, with 3.96 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.95 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Altoona in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Altoona in zone 6b in ZIP code 16602. By the same method at Altoona's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Altoona?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 11. Waiting until May 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Altoona in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Pennsylvania climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Raystown Headquarters, PA14 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Raystown Lake 2, PA14 miles from this station, 52.0°F a year
- Everett, PA20 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- Wolfsburg, PA21 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made