Towanda, Pennsylvania climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Towanda's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 38.6 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.5°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 981 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTowanda (1 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00368905
- Location41.75°N 76.44°W
- Elevation760 ft (232 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population2,774
On October 22, the normal high in Towanda is 60°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Towanda.
- Jan 35° 17°
- Feb 38° 18°
- Mar 46° 25°
- Apr 60° 35°
- May 71° 46°
- Jun 79° 55°
- Jul 84° 59°
- Aug 82° 58°
- Sep 75° 51°
- Oct 63° 40°
- Nov 50° 31°
- Dec 40° 24°
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 Towanda each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.02 in), the least in February (1.90 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 17°F | 26.1°F | 2.39 | 11.0 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 38°F | 18°F | 27.7°F | 1.90 | 7.1 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 46°F | 25°F | 35.3°F | 3.12 | 8.8 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 35°F | 47.1°F | 3.47 | 1.5 | 13 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 46°F | 58.4°F | 3.36 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 79°F | 55°F | 67.2°F | 3.69 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 84°F | 59°F | 71.5°F | 4.02 | 0.0 | 12 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 58°F | 69.8°F | 3.86 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 75°F | 51°F | 62.8°F | 3.83 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 40°F | 51.2°F | 3.67 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 31°F | 40.5°F | 2.60 | 1.8 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 40°F | 24°F | 31.6°F | 2.71 | 7.4 | 12 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 38°F | 49.1°F | 38.62 | 37.8 | 138 | 11 | 143 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −8°C | −3.3°C | 61 mm | 28 cm |
| February | 3°C | −8°C | −2.4°C | 48 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 8°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 79 mm | 22 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.4°C | 88 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 22°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.6°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 15°C | 21.9°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 14°C | 21.0°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.7°C | 93 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 10°C | −1°C | 4.7°C | 66 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 4°C | −5°C | −0.2°C | 69 mm | 19 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00368905; 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 Towanda?
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 USC00368905.
When is the last frost in Towanda?
In Towanda, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 2 in half of years and after May 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 1 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 21 year in 10 after May 16; 9 in 10 after April 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 165 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 191 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Towanda in zone 6a in ZIP code 18848, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Towanda's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (25 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 USC00368905; 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 Towanda?
In a normal year in Towanda, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 143 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 138 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 143a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 34high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 138a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 10a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1894) is 104°F, on July 9, 1936; the lowest is −31°F, on January 5, 1904.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2021, with 45.94 in; the snowiest season is 1993–94, with 97.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00368905; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00368905. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Towanda?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Towanda, 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 Towanda need?
A normal year in Towanda brings 6,359 heating degree days, 18% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 595 cooling degree days, 34% 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 2,695 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,207 | 0 |
| February | 1,046 | 0 |
| March | 921 | 0 |
| April | 540 | 3 |
| May | 239 | 34 |
| June | 52 | 118 |
| July | 8 | 210 |
| August | 17 | 165 |
| September | 124 | 58 |
| October | 433 | 6 |
| November | 737 | 0 |
| December | 1,035 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,359 | 595 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00368905. 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 Towanda been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 48.2°F, 0.9°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 49.1°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.9°F | +1.8°F | 45.94 | – |
| 2022 | 48.2°F | −0.9°F | 38.14 | 44.9 |
Over 112 complete years from 1896 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00368905; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Towanda's climate compare?
Towanda is warmer than 38 of the other 107 places with their own NOAA record in Pennsylvania, and wetter than 3. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.1°F is warmer than 36%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Towanda 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 Towanda 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.
- Wyalusing, PA607 people · 11 mi SE
- North Towanda, PA576 people · 3 mi N
- Monroe, PA480 people · 3 mi SW
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 Towanda's climate
What is the coldest month in Towanda?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Towanda?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 26 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (11.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Towanda?
July, with 4.02 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.90 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Towanda in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Towanda in zone 6a in ZIP code 18848, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Towanda's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Towanda?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 2; in one year in ten it comes after May 16. Waiting until May 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Pennsylvania climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Dushore, PA16 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Waverly, NY18 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Canton, PA22 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Laporte, PA23 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made