Pennsylvania Climate
Top 5 Cities: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, and Reading
This month in numbers
Pennsylvania experienced its 2nd warmest April on record in 2026, with an average temperature of 11.94°C, a significant 3.7°C above the 1961–1990 baseline. Maximum temperatures also ranked as the 2nd highest for April, reaching 18.89°C, which is 4.3°C above average. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April for land temperatures on record, with an anomaly of +1.1°C.
What changed
The February–April 2026 period saw an average temperature of 4.87°C, ranking as the 8th warmest such period on record for Pennsylvania, with an anomaly of +2.5°C. This trend aligns with the broader national and global picture, as global land temperatures for the same three-month period were the 2nd warmest on record, at +1.2°C above average. Pennsylvania's 1-month anomaly of +3.73°C placed it as the 17th warmest region globally out of 234 tracked regions, and the warmest within its NOAA Northeast US climate region group.
What’s driving change?
The unusually warm conditions in Pennsylvania are being influenced by several factors, including , with winters warming faster at high latitudes. The developing El Niño in the Pacific Ocean is also contributing to this weather shift, bringing warmer conditions to the Northeast US during winter months. Pennsylvania has also experienced an unusual concentration of extreme weather events recently, with four wildfires occurring between May 14 and May 21, representing 100% of the annual total for the past 12 months. Additionally, two drought events and one flood event have been logged in the past month, also representing 100% of their respective annual totals. As of May 19, 2026, approximately 24% of Pennsylvania is under active drought conditions, with an additional 13% classified as Abnormally Dry. You can track these events and more at Extreme Weather tracker and learn about ENSO at ENSO tracker.
Looking ahead
The Climate Prediction Center's seasonal drought outlook indicates that existing drought conditions across south-central Pennsylvania are largely expected to persist through at least late-July, with some improvement possible across southeastern Pennsylvania.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Pennsylvania
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Pennsylvania changing?
Pennsylvania is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Pennsylvania come from?
Climate data for Pennsylvania comes from NOAA Climate at a Glance (temperature and precipitation), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Pennsylvania climate data cover?
The Pennsylvania climate profile covers Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie and surrounding areas. Pennsylvania climate data from NOAA Climate at a Glance
How often is the Pennsylvania climate update refreshed?
The Pennsylvania climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.