Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pittsburgh's normal year runs from 21°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 39.6 inches of precipitation and 44 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.0°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,006 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPittsburgh International Airport
- Station IDUSW00094823
- Location40.48°N 80.21°W
- Elevation1,203 ft (367 m)
- From the center13 miles
- Population307,668
On October 23, the normal high in Pittsburgh is 60°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pittsburgh.
- Jan 36° 21°
- Feb 40° 23°
- Mar 49° 30°
- Apr 62° 41°
- May 72° 51°
- Jun 79° 59°
- Jul 83° 63°
- Aug 82° 62°
- Sep 75° 55°
- Oct 63° 44°
- Nov 51° 34°
- Dec 41° 27°
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 Pittsburgh 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 July (4.26 in), the least in February (2.62 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 21°F | 28.8°F | 2.96 | 13.3 | 17 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 40°F | 23°F | 31.4°F | 2.62 | 11.7 | 14 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 30°F | 39.7°F | 3.15 | 7.6 | 14 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 41°F | 51.5°F | 3.32 | 1.0 | 14 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 51°F | 61.2°F | 3.83 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 79°F | 59°F | 69.4°F | 4.12 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 83°F | 63°F | 73.2°F | 4.26 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 82°F | 62°F | 71.8°F | 3.52 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 75°F | 55°F | 64.9°F | 3.30 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 44°F | 53.4°F | 2.83 | 0.4 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 34°F | 42.6°F | 2.86 | 2.4 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 27°F | 33.7°F | 2.84 | 7.7 | 15 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 43°F | 51.8°F | 39.61 | 44.1 | 154 | 10 | 114 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −6°C | −1.8°C | 75 mm | 34 cm |
| February | 4°C | −5°C | −0.3°C | 67 mm | 30 cm |
| March | 10°C | −1°C | 4.3°C | 80 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 17°C | 5°C | 10.8°C | 84 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 17°C | 22.1°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 13°C | 18.3°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 7°C | 11.9°C | 72 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 11°C | 1°C | 5.9°C | 73 mm | 6 cm |
| December | 5°C | −3°C | 0.9°C | 72 mm | 20 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094823; 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 Pittsburgh?
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 USW00094823.
When is the last frost in Pittsburgh?
In Pittsburgh, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 9 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 12; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 9; 9 in 10 before November 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 181 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 207 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pittsburgh in zones 6b to 7a across its 25 ZIP code areas (6b in 15206, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Pittsburgh'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 USW00094823; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Pittsburgh ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Pittsburgh's 25 ZIP code areas run from zone 6b to 7a: 20 in 6b and 5 in 7a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
| ZIP code | Zone | Land in Pittsburgh |
|---|---|---|
| 15120 | 6b | 1.6 km² |
| 15201 | 7a | 5.0 km² |
| 15203 | 7a | 3.8 km² |
| 15204 | 7a | 4.9 km² |
| 15205 | 6b | 5.7 km² |
| 15206 | 6b | 12.3 km² |
| 15207 | 6b | 11.3 km² |
| 15208 | 6b | 3.9 km² |
| 15210 | 6b | 10.8 km² |
| 15211 | 6b | 4.1 km² |
| 15212 | 6b | 11.5 km² |
| 15213 | 6b | 6.3 km² |
| 15214 | 6b | 7.8 km² |
| 15216 | 6b | 4.8 km² |
| 15217 | 6b | 10.0 km² |
| 15218 | 6b | 1.3 km² |
| 15219 | 6b | 5.7 km² |
| 15220 | 6b | 5.8 km² |
| 15221 | 6b | 2.4 km² |
| 15222 | 7a | 2.3 km² |
| 15224 | 6b | 4.0 km² |
| 15226 | 6b | 5.5 km² |
| 15232 | 6b | 2.1 km² |
| 15233 | 7a | 3.4 km² |
| 15234 | 6b | 1.1 km² |
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Pittsburgh?
In a normal year in Pittsburgh, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 114 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 154 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 114a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 32high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 154a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in Pittsburgh's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1875) is 103°F, on July 10, 1881; the lowest is −22°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 57.83 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 80.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094823; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record PITthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Pittsburgh, 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 (20°F). February is the windiest month (9.3 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (40%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | 70% | 59% | 8.7 mph | 20% | 58% |
| February | 24°F | 66% | 53% | 9.3 mph | 19% | 57% |
| March | 32°F | 59% | 44% | 9.1 mph | 26% | 47% |
| April | 42°F | 59% | 43% | 8.3 mph | 27% | 40% |
| May | 54°F | 68% | 51% | 6.9 mph | 23% | 36% |
| June | 61°F | 68% | 51% | 6.2 mph | 31% | 25% |
| July | 62°F | 69% | 50% | 6.0 mph | 28% | 23% |
| August | 59°F | 69% | 49% | 5.8 mph | 40% | 23% |
| September | 50°F | 72% | 53% | 6.5 mph | 37% | 29% |
| October | 37°F | 67% | 51% | 7.5 mph | 32% | 44% |
| November | 30°F | 70% | 59% | 8.3 mph | 16% | 60% |
| December | 24°F | 73% | 63% | 8.6 mph | 17% | 62% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00094823. 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 Pittsburgh?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pittsburgh, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (52%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 445th (with 3 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 53% | 1.6 |
| February | 59% | 2.4 |
| March | 61% | 3.4 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 74% | 5.9 |
| July | 77% | 5.9 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 76% | 4.3 |
| October | 67% | 2.9 |
| November | 65% | 2.0 |
| December | 52% | 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 Pittsburgh need?
A normal year in Pittsburgh brings 5,572 heating degree days, 4% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 797 cooling degree days, 12% 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 3,191 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,120 | 0 |
| February | 941 | 0 |
| March | 785 | 1 |
| April | 413 | 9 |
| May | 172 | 56 |
| June | 30 | 161 |
| July | 3 | 256 |
| August | 7 | 219 |
| September | 86 | 85 |
| October | 371 | 11 |
| November | 672 | 0 |
| December | 972 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,572 | 797 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094823. 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 Pittsburgh been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 52.8°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.8°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.2°F | +1.4°F | 40.53 | 31.2 |
| 2022 | 51.5°F | −0.3°F | 42.47 | 49.2 |
| 2023 | 54.4°F | +2.6°F | 32.60 | 13.1 |
| 2024 | 56.4°F | +4.6°F | 43.72 | 21.1 |
| 2025 | 52.8°F | +1.0°F | 35.40 | 46.4 |
Over 136 complete years from 1872 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.1°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094823; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pittsburgh's climate compare?
Pittsburgh is warmer than 70 of the other 107 places with their own NOAA record in Pennsylvania, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.8°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh share this climate record?
8 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.
- Imperial, PA2,302 people · 3 mi SW
- McDonald, PA2,013 people · 8 mi S
- Oakdale, PA1,427 people · 6 mi S
- Sturgeon, PA1,353 people · 7 mi S
- Enlow, PA1,070 people · 2 mi S
- Clinton, PA1,063 people · 4 mi W
- Rennerdale, PA896 people · 7 mi SE
- Noblestown, PA466 people · 6 mi S
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 Pittsburgh's climate
What is the coldest month in Pittsburgh?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Pittsburgh?
Yes: 44 inches in a normal year, falling on 40 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (13.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Pittsburgh?
July, with 4.26 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.62 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pittsburgh in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pittsburgh in zones 6b to 7a across its 25 ZIP code areas (6b in 15206, the largest). By the same method at Pittsburgh'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 Pittsburgh?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Pittsburgh in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Pennsylvania climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Carnot-Moon, PA3 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Glenwillard Dashields Lock and Dam, PA4 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Emsworth, PA7 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Montgomery Lock and Dam, PA14 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made