Benton, Pennsylvania climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Benton's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 48.4 inches of precipitation and 46 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.7°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,230 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBenton (3 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00360582
- Location41.23°N 76.34°W
- Elevation1,095 ft (334 m)
- Population824
On October 23, the normal high in Benton is 58°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 32%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Benton.
- Jan 33° 16°
- Feb 36° 18°
- Mar 44° 25°
- Apr 58° 35°
- May 69° 46°
- Jun 76° 55°
- Jul 80° 58°
- Aug 78° 57°
- Sep 72° 50°
- Oct 60° 39°
- Nov 48° 31°
- Dec 38° 22°
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 Benton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in September (4.89 in), the least in February (2.55 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 16°F | 24.5°F | 3.19 | 12.3 | 12 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 36°F | 18°F | 26.5°F | 2.55 | 12.9 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 44°F | 25°F | 34.6°F | 3.40 | 8.6 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 35°F | 46.3°F | 4.36 | 1.4 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 46°F | 57.1°F | 4.70 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 76°F | 55°F | 65.3°F | 4.55 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 80°F | 58°F | 69.4°F | 4.48 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 78°F | 57°F | 67.7°F | 4.54 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 72°F | 50°F | 61.2°F | 4.89 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 39°F | 49.6°F | 4.77 | 0.6 | 10 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 31°F | 39.5°F | 3.41 | 2.2 | 9 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 38°F | 22°F | 29.8°F | 3.58 | 8.0 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 38°F | 47.6°F | 48.42 | 46.0 | 131 | 4 | 145 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.2°C | 81 mm | 31 cm |
| February | 2°C | −8°C | −3.1°C | 65 mm | 33 cm |
| March | 7°C | −4°C | 1.4°C | 86 mm | 22 cm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 111 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.9°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 13°C | 18.5°C | 116 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 19.8°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 124 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 4°C | 9.8°C | 121 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 9°C | −1°C | 4.2°C | 87 mm | 6 cm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.2°C | 91 mm | 20 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00360582; 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 Benton?
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 (9).
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 USC00360582.
When is the last frost in Benton?
In Benton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 11 in half of years and before September 29 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
- May 41 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 111 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 159 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 184 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 22 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Benton in zone 6b in ZIP code 17878, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Pennsylvania · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00360582; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Benton?
In a normal year in Benton, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 145 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 145a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 44high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00360582.
How sunny is Benton?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Benton, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (76%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.7 |
| February | 63% | 2.5 |
| March | 64% | 3.5 |
| April | 66% | 4.6 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 72% | 5.8 |
| July | 76% | 5.9 |
| August | 75% | 5.1 |
| September | 72% | 4.1 |
| October | 65% | 2.7 |
| November | 64% | 1.9 |
| December | 55% | 1.3 |
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 Benton need?
A normal year in Benton brings 6,703 heating degree days, 25% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 406 cooling degree days, 55% 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 2,377 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,255 | 0 |
| February | 1,077 | 0 |
| March | 942 | 0 |
| April | 564 | 4 |
| May | 264 | 20 |
| June | 72 | 82 |
| July | 17 | 152 |
| August | 27 | 111 |
| September | 149 | 35 |
| October | 478 | 2 |
| November | 767 | 0 |
| December | 1,091 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,703 | 406 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00360582. 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.
How does Benton's climate compare?
Benton is warmer than 21 of the other 107 places with their own NOAA record in Pennsylvania, and wetter than 88. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.6°F is warmer than 30%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Benton is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Benton share this climate record?
26 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.
- Berwick, PA10,332 people · 13 mi S
- East Berwick, PA2,436 people · 13 mi SE
- Glen Lyon, PA1,956 people · 14 mi E
- Nescopeck, PA1,512 people · 14 mi SE
- Lightstreet, PA1,273 people · 14 mi S
- Mifflinville, PA1,191 people · 14 mi S
- Millville, PA983 people · 12 mi SW
- Lime Ridge, PA871 people · 14 mi S
- Wanamie, PA762 people · 16 mi E
- Mocanaqua, PA641 people · 13 mi SE
- Shickshinny, PA633 people · 11 mi SE
- Briar Creek, PA601 people · 13 mi S
- Silkworth, PA564 people · 14 mi E
- Orangeville, PA476 people · 11 mi S
- Pikes Creek, PA269 people · 13 mi NE
- Jamison City, PA257 people · 5 mi N
- New Columbus, PA224 people · 5 mi SE
- Stillwater, PA199 people · 6 mi S
- Jerseytown, PA186 people · 16 mi SW
- Iola, PA129 people · 12 mi SW
- Rohrsburg, PA121 people · 8 mi SW
- Foundryville, PA120 people · 12 mi SE
- Eyers Grove, PA119 people · 13 mi SW
- Waller, PA70 people · 4 mi W
- Jonestown, PA54 people · 7 mi S
- Elk Grove, PA37 people · 6 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.
Questions about Benton's climate
What is the coldest month in Benton?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Benton?
Yes: 46 inches in a normal year, falling on 27 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (12.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Benton?
September, with 4.89 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.55 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Benton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Benton in zone 6b in ZIP code 17878, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Benton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 19. Waiting until May 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Pennsylvania climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Laporte, PA16 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Dushore, PA21 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Mahanoy City, PA29 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Bear Gap, PA30 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