Pennsylvania Weather Review: May 2026
Pennsylvania Weather Review: May 2026
Following a warm and active start to spring, May was much more tame. While there was a taste of summer and bouts of rain, it felt like fall at times. Read on as I break down the weather ins Pennsylvania during the month that was May 2026.
May Highlights
April featured plenty of above average temperatures but ended with cooler than average temperatures. This continued into the first few days of May. Freeze Warnings and Frost Advisories were issued on each of the first 3 days of the month with the most widespread cold temperatures on the morning of the 3rd. This would not be the last cold temperatures of the month.
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| Map showing Frost Advisories and Freeze Warnings for May 3rd. |
Snow flurries mixed in with some rain showers on the 2nd in western Pennsylvania. The cooler temperatures also allowed for Camelback Ski Resort to remain open for one last weekend on May 1-3 (and 5th) even though most other resorts had closed over a month prior.
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| 24 hour total precipitation ending 8am May 6, 2026. Source. |
Temperatures would climb on the 4th and 5th before a cold front swept across the state late on the 5th. The front brought the first impactful rain event of the month though much of the rain was confined to northwestern Pennsylvania. Over 1.00" of rain was recorded in the areas near Lake Erie. Other parts of the state recorded rain on the 6th, but only a few lucky spots to the east recorded up to half of an inch of liquid.
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| Webcam snapshot of a thunderstorm from Marienville on May 9, 2026. Source. |
Another system brought more showers on the 8th and 9th with the heaviest precipitation totals once again falling to the north and west. Late on the 9th a line of thunderstorms moved to the south and east, dissipating in central Pennsylvania after the sun went down.
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| Low temperatures observed on the morning of May 12, 2026. Source. |
Some of the coldest temperatures with respect to average would come on the morning of the 12th, triggering more Freeze Warnings and Frost Advisories. Temperatures dipped below freezing across much of northern Pennsylvania with the coldest locations dipping into the mid 20s! The early season warmth in March & April had caused a very early start to the growing season making these late season cold spells very impactful.
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| 24 hour high temperatures observed ending 8am on May 15, 2026. Source. |
Storms swept across the state on the 13th bringing some 1.00" hail reports in western Pennsylvania and wind damage to the east. Many storms also featured shelf clouds. The highest precipitation totals added up to around an inch in northeast Pennsylvania. Temperatures on the 14th would not get out of the low 40s thanks to a strong northwesterly flow. The next few days would be generally quiet with temperatures finally rising day over day.
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| 24 hour observed high temperatures ending 8am May 20, 2026. Source. |
Temperatures on the 18th would rise into the 90s for the first time of 2026 for much of Pennsylvania with a number of daily records being broken. Dewpoints would also rise into the low 60s making it feel like summer for the first time of 2026. With the deepening drought, Philadelphia would turn up the heat on the 19th, recording the hottest temperature ever recorded for the month of May at 98°.
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| Record highest temperatures recorded in the month of May for Philadelphia. May 19, 2026, was the hottest May day on record with May 18, 2026, tied for the 4th hottest May day. |
After being missed by numerous rainfall events and drought conditions worsening, southern and eastern Pennsylvania would finally see significant precipitation. Storms on the 20th brought widespread wind damage to southeastern Pennsylvania along with some flash flooding as some storms dumped heavy rain on dry ground.
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| Map of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and Storm Reports for May 20, 2026. Source. |
Damp and dreary weather conditions would arrive on the 21st and persist through the 22nd and 23rd. A steady light to moderate rain fell from the 22nd into the 23rd. The highest totals of over 2.00" fell in southern Pennsylvania. High temperatures on the 23rd were some of the coldest high temperatures ever recorded so late in the season.
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| 72-hour observed precipitation totals ending at 5pm on May 23, 2026. Source. |
Temperatures would remain cool east of the mountains on the 24th with highs in the 50s in spots, but western Pennsylvania warmed up. Along with temperatures in the upper 60s & 70s came heavy rain. Isolated locations in western Pennsylvania recorded over 1.50" in a few hours.
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| 24 hour precipitation totals ending at 8am on May 25, 2026. Source. |
The spell of dreariness broke for Memorial Day salvaging at least part of the extended weekend. Some rain would fall in southern Pennsylvania on the 27th but the last 7 days of the month will be remembered for being dry and sunny with low humidity, feeling like early fall.
May Statistics
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| Temperature and Precipitation summary for May 2026. |
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| Wettest day and warmest temperature through May 31st for 2025 and 2026. |
Even though May has been generally cool and April was warm, the warmest day of the year so far was in May statewide. May 18th and 19th were incredibly warm. May 2025 was cool and wet and all locations have been warmer this year compared to last year. Every location listed here except Pittsburgh had a wetter wettest day last year compared to this year.
One other statistic of note for May 2026 come from Pittsburgh. Through the first 15 days of May the highest temperature recorded was just 73°. 16 of the days in April (more than half) were warmer than 73°! There were only 9 days in May with high temperatures >=74° in Pittsburgh.
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| Drought Monitor for May 26, 2026 (Left) and 3 week drought class change from May 5 to May 26. Source. |
The most recent drought monitor released on May 28th brought some good news following the rainfall events from the 21st to 24th. Over the past 3 weeks the area under drought conditions has shrunk but the intensity has worsened. The next report will likely bring another drought increase as no rain has fallen in the review period (May 27-June 1).
Spring Statistics
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| Temperature and Precipitation summary for March-May 2026. |
Spring 2026 temperature rankings:
3rd Warmest Philadelphia
4th Warmest Altoona
6th Warmest Pittsburgh and Bradford
9th Warmest Erie
10th Warmest Allentown
Spring 2026 precipitation rankings:
8th Wettest Pittsburgh
10th Wettest Erie
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| Chart of the first tornado in Pennsylvania each year 1950-2025 |
There have not been any tornadoes in Pennsylvania so far this year. The average date of the first tornado of the year is April 24th. The last time there were no tornadoes in Pennsylvania through the end of May was 2010.
Quick Winter 2025-2026 Review
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| Season snowfall % of average for the 2025-2026 season. Source. |
Snowfall for the 2025-2026 season was above average to the northwest and portions of the Poconos and Philadelphia Metro. Snowfall was well below average across much of central Pennsylvania especially south central portions.
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| Time series of the % of snow coverage in Pennsylvania for the 2025-2026 winter season. |
Snow coverage across the state peaked on January 26th with 94% of the state covered with 8.0" of snow. More than 77% of the state was covered with 6.0" from January 26th through February 10th. After March 1st snow coverage was quite limited.
Webcam Image of the Month
A post thunderstorm view from Mifflintown on May 13th shows crepuscular rays at sunset shining on mammatus clouds on the underside of the thunderstorm anvil.
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| Webcam image from Mifflintown on May 13, 2026. Source. |
Wrapping Up & Looking Ahead
This one was a long one but hopefully you enjoyed all the statistics and graphs. In case you missed it, check out my last blog post about my recent discovery of a correction to the monthly Pennsylvania weather extremes (and more)! You can read it here.
As always, remember to look up! You never know what you might see!
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