Graterford, PA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Graterford's primary NOAA station, GRATERFORD 1 E.
The climate verdict for Graterford
Water is the standout signal in Graterford, Pennsylvania: 48.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 52°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 52°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 48.5"
- annual precipitation · 13" snow
- 174 days
- frost-free growing season
Graterford: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00363437 · Graterford, PA 52°F mean · 48.5" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,499
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ W Chester
- PRCP-MID 48.5"
- SWING-WIDE 45°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,475 HDD
- STN-1 USC00363437
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: W Chester, PA (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every PA station list.
- Hot Tacony, CO 53°F
- Graterford (this station) 52°F
- Near W Chester, PA 52°F
- Near New Bedford, MA 52°F
- Near Columbus Ohio S…, OH 52°F
Climate Living Index · Graterford
Graterford: 54/100 · grade D
Graterford publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Graterford, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 12.9 inches/year | 59/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 132 calendar days | 58/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 48.5 in · 13.5 from 35 in | 53/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 52.4°F · 15.1° from 67.5°F | 51/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 174 days/year | 45/100 · D |
Graterford · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Graterford is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 30.0°F and warmest-month mean 75.0°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 75.0°F
- Coldest month
- 30.0°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Graterford sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Graterford's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 51st percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 23% wettest
- Graterford's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 59th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Graterford compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Graterford's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Graterford's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 30 complete annual observations from 1961 to 2018, GRATERFORD 1 E warmed at a fitted rate of 0.25°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Graterford primary station fitted change +0.25 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F (4°C) | 20°F (-6°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 3.3" | 3.9" | 28.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 42°F (6°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 2.6" | 5.4" | 24.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 50°F (10°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 3.9" | 1.3" | 22.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 62°F (17°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 3.8" | 0.1" | 8.0 | 0.2 |
| May | 72°F (22°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.6 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.6 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.6 |
| September | 78°F (26°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 8.3 | 0.1 |
| November | 55°F (13°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.4" | 0.0" | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 45°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 4.4" | 2.2" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 11, short of 90°F on every date, while 132 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 20°F near January 24.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 27, then returns to freezing around November 17, covering 132 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 17, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 2 at 22%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 104 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 17 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Graterford.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 3.9"
7.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.4"
6.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.3"
8.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
9.8 days with precipitation
10.1 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.2"
9.3 days with precipitation
Graterford spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 28% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Graterford has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 45°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 5.0" and February 2.6". The three wettest months together take 30% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Graterford, it arrives in quantity
48.5" of precipitation falls across only about 104 wet days here, averaging 0.47 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 104 a year, 28% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.47 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- February, about 6
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Graterford
Graterford averages 12.9 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 5 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 12.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 5 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 3% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 15
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 24
50% probability date
Growing Season
174 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,475
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
906
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside PA closest to Graterford on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (52°F here).
- Auburn, NE 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Blanding, UT 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Cleveland, OH 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Cosby, MO 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (48.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Hartsville, SC 48.5" · 0.0" off
- Jefferson City, TN 48.5" · 0.0" off
- Sedro-woolley, WA 48.5" · 0.0" off
- Centerport, NY 48.5" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Graterford
heating led · wet · mid swing
Graterford's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,475 annual heating degree days against 906 for cooling. Its 45.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Graterford's frost-free season lasts about 174 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Graterford coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 30°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Graterford typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Graterford snow peak
February
Graterford averages 12.9 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Graterford's climate
How much snow does Graterford get? ▼
How cold does Graterford get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Graterford? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Graterford's primary station: GRATERFORD 1 E (USC00363437). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Graterford; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Graterford comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.