Bradford, Pennsylvania climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bradford's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 41.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.7°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 26°C, 1,063 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBradford Regional Airport
- Station IDUSW00004751
- Location41.80°N 78.64°W
- Elevation2,117 ft (645 m)
- Population7,538
On October 14, the normal high in Bradford is 59°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 47%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bradford.
- Jan 31° 16°
- Feb 33° 16°
- Mar 42° 24°
- Apr 56° 34°
- May 68° 43°
- Jun 75° 52°
- Jul 79° 55°
- Aug 77° 54°
- Sep 70° 48°
- Oct 58° 38°
- Nov 46° 30°
- Dec 35° 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 Bradford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.21 in), the least in February (2.08 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 | 31°F | 16°F | 23.1°F | 2.72 | 16 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 33°F | 16°F | 24.9°F | 2.08 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 24°F | 33.0°F | 3.04 | 14 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 34°F | 44.9°F | 3.55 | 15 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 43°F | 55.4°F | 4.21 | 15 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 75°F | 52°F | 63.2°F | 4.18 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 79°F | 55°F | 66.9°F | 4.16 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 77°F | 54°F | 65.5°F | 3.91 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 70°F | 48°F | 58.9°F | 3.65 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 58°F | 38°F | 48.3°F | 3.99 | 15 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 30°F | 37.8°F | 3.20 | 14 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 35°F | 22°F | 28.5°F | 3.17 | 17 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 36°F | 45.9°F | 41.86 | 167 | 1 | 160 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −9°C | −4.9°C | 69 mm |
| February | 1°C | −9°C | −3.9°C | 53 mm |
| March | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 77 mm |
| April | 13°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 90 mm |
| May | 20°C | 6°C | 13.0°C | 107 mm |
| June | 24°C | 11°C | 17.3°C | 106 mm |
| July | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 106 mm |
| August | 25°C | 12°C | 18.6°C | 99 mm |
| September | 21°C | 9°C | 14.9°C | 93 mm |
| October | 15°C | 3°C | 9.1°C | 101 mm |
| November | 8°C | −1°C | 3.2°C | 81 mm |
| December | 2°C | −6°C | −1.9°C | 81 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Bradford's own co-op station Bradford 4 mi SW Research 5 does: 75 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00004751; 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 Bradford?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USW00004751.
When is the last frost in Bradford?
In Bradford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 18 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 181 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 136 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 166 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 3 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bradford in zone 5b in ZIP code 16725, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bradford's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (26 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 USW00004751; 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 Bradford?
In a normal year in Bradford, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 160 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 167 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 160a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 61high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 167a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 97°F, on July 16, 1988; the lowest is −30°F, on February 11, 1979.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1992, with 60.65 in; the snowiest season is 1993–94, with 154.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00004751; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00004751. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Bradford, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 57°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 58°F; the driest air comes in January (16°F). February is the windiest month (8.7 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (56%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°F | 74% | 63% | 8.2 mph | 35% | 55% |
| February | 19°F | 71% | 59% | 8.7 mph | 35% | 52% |
| March | 27°F | 65% | 49% | 8.2 mph | 44% | 42% |
| April | 36°F | 61% | 42% | 7.4 mph | 49% | 32% |
| May | 50°F | 72% | 52% | 6.2 mph | 48% | 26% |
| June | 57°F | 75% | 55% | 5.4 mph | 55% | 17% |
| July | 58°F | 76% | 55% | 4.9 mph | 54% | 19% |
| August | 56°F | 78% | 55% | 4.9 mph | 56% | 20% |
| September | 46°F | 78% | 57% | 6.0 mph | 50% | 32% |
| October | 34°F | 73% | 58% | 7.1 mph | 42% | 43% |
| November | 26°F | 76% | 67% | 8.0 mph | – | – |
| December | 20°F | 77% | 69% | 8.5 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00004751. 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 Bradford?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bradford, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (75%) and December the cloudiest (50%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 1.5 |
| February | 58% | 2.3 |
| March | 61% | 3.3 |
| April | 65% | 4.5 |
| May | 67% | 5.2 |
| June | 71% | 5.8 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 75% | 5.2 |
| September | 72% | 4.1 |
| October | 63% | 2.7 |
| November | 61% | 1.8 |
| December | 50% | 1.2 |
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 Bradford need?
A normal year in Bradford brings 7,224 heating degree days, 34% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 282 cooling degree days, 69% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,065 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,297 | 0 |
| February | 1,123 | 0 |
| March | 992 | 0 |
| April | 606 | 2 |
| May | 316 | 18 |
| June | 109 | 55 |
| July | 43 | 101 |
| August | 60 | 77 |
| September | 209 | 26 |
| October | 519 | 3 |
| November | 816 | 0 |
| December | 1,133 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,224 | 282 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00004751. 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 Bradford been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.0°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.9°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.2°F | +2.3°F | 40.00 |
| 2022 | 47.3°F | +1.4°F | 41.11 |
| 2023 | 49.4°F | +3.5°F | 35.16 |
| 2024 | 50.2°F | +4.3°F | 40.05 |
| 2025 | 46.0°F | +0.1°F | 36.52 |
Over 59 complete years from 1958 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.8°F per century (+0.32°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00004751; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bradford's climate compare?
Bradford is warmer than 8 of the other 107 places with their own NOAA record in Pennsylvania, and wetter than 25. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.9°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bradford 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 Bradford share this climate record?
3 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.
- Mount Jewett, PA830 people · 5 mi S
- Lewis Run, PA557 people · 5 mi N
- Limestone, NY383 people · 15 mi N
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 Bradford's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Bradford. This page uses Bradford Regional Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford 4 mi SW Research 5 USC00360868 | 8 mi NW | 1,660 ft | 45.2°F | 13°F | 79°F | 49.6 | 75 | May 18 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Bradford's climate
What is the coldest month in Bradford?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Bradford?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Bradford's NOAA station; Bradford's own co-op station Bradford 4 mi SW Research 5 records 75 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Bradford?
May, with 4.21 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.08 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bradford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bradford in zone 5b in ZIP code 16725, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bradford's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Bradford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Bradford in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Pennsylvania climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Clermont (1 mi NW), PA10 miles from this station, 44.2°F a year
- Kane, PA12 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Glen Hazel 2 NE Dam, PA17 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Port Allegany, PA18 miles from this station, 45.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made