How extreme does Altoona's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Altoona has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Altoona 3 W station 7 km away. Updated through April 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Altoona has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

99°F Jul 17, 1988

That is about 18°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Altoona (typical high near 81°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 99°F Jul 17, 1988

2 99°F Jul 22, 2011

3 98°F Aug 13, 1999

❄️ Coldest night

-20°F Jan 19, 1994

About 39°F colder than a normal January night in Altoona (typical low near 19°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -20°F Jan 19, 1994

2 -20°F Jan 20, 1994

3 -18°F Jan 21, 1985

🌧️ Most rain in one day

4.49 in Nov 8, 1997

More rain in a single day than Altoona usually gets in the whole month of November (typical November total about 3.6 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 4.49 in Nov 8, 1997

2 4.15 in Sep 9, 2018

3 3.93 in Jun 20, 2015

⛄ Most snow in one day

18.5 in Jan 8, 1996

Close to a whole typical January's snow in one day (Altoona averages about 10 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 18.5 in Jan 8, 1996

2 18.0 in Mar 3, 1994

3 14.5 in Feb 19, 1972

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Altoona's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 99°F is about 18°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Altoona's warmest days reach the low 80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the high 10s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 99°F and as low as −20°F. A single day has delivered over 4 inches of rain or close to 19 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Altoona 3 W (NOAA GHCN station USC00360140), about 7 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

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