How extreme does Pittsburgh's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh Asos station 19 km away. Updated through May 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 Pittsburgh has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

103°F Jul 16, 1988

That is about 20°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Pittsburgh (typical high near 83°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 103°F Jul 16, 1988

2 101°F Jul 7, 1988

3 100°F Aug 17, 1988

❄️ Coldest night

-22°F Jan 19, 1994

About 43°F colder than a normal January night in Pittsburgh (typical low near 21°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -22°F Jan 19, 1994

2 -18°F Jan 17, 1982

3 -18°F Jan 20, 1985

🌧️ Most rain in one day

5.95 in Sep 17, 2004

More rain in a single day than Pittsburgh usually gets in the whole month of September (typical September total about 3.3 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 5.95 in Sep 17, 2004

2 3.73 in Sep 9, 2018

3 3.60 in Sep 8, 2004

⛄ Most snow in one day

23.6 in Mar 13, 1993

Close to a whole typical March's snow in one day (Pittsburgh averages about 8 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 23.6 in Mar 13, 1993

2 12.4 in Jan 4, 1994

3 11.4 in Feb 5, 2010

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

Pittsburgh's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 103°F is about 20°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, Pittsburgh's warmest days reach the low 80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 20s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 103°F and as low as −22°F. A single day has delivered over 6 inches of rain or close to 24 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 Mckeesport (NOAA GHCN station USC00365573), about 16 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

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