Pennsylvania Climate
Top 5 Cities: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, and Reading
This month in numbers
Pennsylvania experienced a significantly warmer March 2026, with an average temperature of 5.89°C, an anomaly of +3.6°C above the 1961–1990 baseline. This ranked as the 6th warmest March in 77 years of records. Maximum temperatures were particularly notable, reaching 12.39°C, an anomaly of +4.5°C, making it the 4th warmest March for maximum temperatures on record. Precipitation was also above average, with 125.73 mm, an anomaly of +42.6 mm, ranking as the 8th wettest March. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C.
What changed
The January–March 2026 period saw an average temperature of -0.96°C, an anomaly of +0.9°C, ranking as the 34th warmest such period on record. While Pennsylvania experienced a notably warm March, the broader three-month trend was less extreme. The state's March anomaly of +3.58°C was significantly warmer than its NOAA Northeast US climate region group average of +2.48°C, making Pennsylvania the warmest in its group for the month.
What’s driving change?
The warmer temperatures in Pennsylvania this March occurred during an ENSO Neutral phase, though El Niño is strongly forecast to develop by summer and persist into autumn and winter, which typically brings warmer and drier conditions to central Pennsylvania. The region has also been experiencing drought conditions, with two drought events active in the past 12 months, representing 100% of the annual total, an unusual concentration for the period. Recent heavy rainfall in March, including Pittsburgh's wettest March on record, has helped alleviate some short-term dryness, particularly in western Pennsylvania, but long-term precipitation deficits persist in south-central counties. Additionally, one flood event was logged in April 2026, representing 100% of the annual total for the past 12 months, indicating an unusual concentration of flooding.
Looking ahead
El Niño is likely to emerge between June and August 2026 and is expected to strengthen, potentially bringing warmer-than-usual summer conditions and periodic stretches of intense heat to Pennsylvania.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
Loading climate data...
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.