Pittsburgh climate
Pittsburgh is warmest in July, with average highs of 28 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -5.0 °C. June is the wettest month (127 mm) and February the driest (80 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Pittsburgh averages 1,222 mm of rain, 97 days above 25 °C and 94 days below freezing.
United States · 233 m elevation · population 304,391 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 28 °C
- Coldest month January -5.0 °C
- Driest month February 80 mm
- Wettest month June 127 mm
- Least cloud September 53 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 39 °C
- Coldest on record January -32 °C
What to expectPittsburgh through the year
Pittsburgh has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 3.1 °C in January to 28 °C in July, a swing of 24 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 97 days a year reach 25 °C, 23 of them reach 30 °C, 94 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C, in July.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 80 mm in February to 127 mm in June. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.1 °C | 92 mm | 77 % |
| February | 5.1 °C | 80 mm | 73 % |
| March | 10.3 °C | 107 mm | 67 % |
| April | 16.9 °C | 117 mm | 65 % |
| May | 21.8 °C | 123 mm | 63 % |
| June | 26.2 °C | 127 mm | 60 % |
| July | 28.3 °C | 112 mm | 56 % |
| August | 27.5 °C | 96 mm | 54 % |
| September | 24.1 °C | 100 mm | 53 % |
| October | 17.5 °C | 90 mm | 57 % |
| November | 10.9 °C | 88 mm | 66 % |
| December | 5.3 °C | 90 mm | 76 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.1 °C | -5.0 °C | -1.4 °C | 20.9 °C | -32.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| February | 5.1 °C | -4.1 °C | -0.1 °C | 23.8 °C | -29.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| March | 10.3 °C | -0.1 °C | 4.3 °C | 27.0 °C | -25.1 °C | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| April | 16.9 °C | 5.9 °C | 10.8 °C | 28.8 °C | -8.2 °C | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| May | 21.8 °C | 11.5 °C | 16.3 °C | 32.6 °C | -3.1 °C | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| June | 26.2 °C | 16.4 °C | 21.0 °C | 36.8 °C | 6.1 °C | 19 | 4 | 0 |
| July | 28.3 °C | 18.7 °C | 23.1 °C | 38.7 °C | 11.1 °C | 26 | 8 | 0 |
| August | 27.5 °C | 18.0 °C | 22.4 °C | 35.1 °C | 10.5 °C | 25 | 6 | 0 |
| September | 24.1 °C | 14.7 °C | 18.9 °C | 34.8 °C | 4.2 °C | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| October | 17.5 °C | 8.7 °C | 12.5 °C | 31.1 °C | -2.3 °C | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 10.9 °C | 2.9 °C | 6.3 °C | 24.8 °C | -11.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| December | 5.3 °C | -1.7 °C | 1.3 °C | 20.4 °C | -19.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 92 mm | 12 | 9.6 h/day | 77 % | 72 % | 17 km/h |
| February | 80 mm | 11 | 11 h/day | 73 % | 70 % | 18 km/h |
| March | 107 mm | 13 | 12 h/day | 67 % | 68 % | 18 km/h |
| April | 117 mm | 14 | 13 h/day | 65 % | 69 % | 18 km/h |
| May | 123 mm | 14 | 14 h/day | 63 % | 74 % | 16 km/h |
| June | 127 mm | 14 | 15 h/day | 60 % | 75 % | 14 km/h |
| July | 112 mm | 14 | 15 h/day | 56 % | 76 % | 13 km/h |
| August | 96 mm | 12 | 14 h/day | 54 % | 75 % | 12 km/h |
| September | 100 mm | 10 | 12 h/day | 53 % | 75 % | 13 km/h |
| October | 90 mm | 10 | 11 h/day | 57 % | 74 % | 15 km/h |
| November | 88 mm | 10 | 9.9 h/day | 66 % | 73 % | 16 km/h |
| December | 90 mm | 11 | 9.3 h/day | 76 % | 74 % | 17 km/h |
Where Pittsburgh ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The coolest places in North America in January | 49th of 50 | 3.1 °C |
| The coolest places in North America in February | 50th of 50 | 5.1 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Pittsburgh.
QuestionsCommon questions about Pittsburgh’s climate
When is the best time to visit Pittsburgh?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, August, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Pittsburgh get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 28 °C. About 23 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -5.0 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 94 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Pittsburgh?
June, averaging 127 mm over 14 days with rain. The driest month is February with 80 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,222 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Pittsburgh rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 40.441°, -79.996° , 233 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.