Pennsylvania Weather Review: A Quick Look At January-June 2026

Pennsylvania Weather Review: A Quick Look At January-June 2026

I thought I would take some time and do a quick review of the year to date weather statistics. 

January-June Statistics

Temperatures were within a half of a degree of average across the state. The only exception was in Philadelphia where the temperatures were nearly a degree above average. The largest departures from average were on the precipitation side. Much of eastern Pennsylvania observed precipitation departures of more than 3" to 6"! This was the driest Jan-Jun in Allentown since 1997.

Statewide, the first half of 2026 was 1.6° warmer than average, ranking as the 25th warmest on record (132 years). Precipitation was near average with a departure of 0.78". Portions of north central Pennsylvania was a bit cooler compared to average with parts of south central, southeastern, and northwestern Pennsylvania were more than 2.0° above average. The dryness was prominent in southeastern Pennsylvania with drought intensifying (more on this below).

January-June Highlights

A big headline from the spring of 2026 was the record early warmth followed by late season cool temperatures. The combination lead to a large disruption to the growing season. Pittsburgh was an exception with the first 90° coming on the last day of June.

Compared to 2025, the highest temperatures of 2026 were not as warm so far. However, for many locations there were more 90° days compared to the first 6 months of 2025. Philadelphia recorded 16 90° through June 30th this year compared to just 9 last year. On the flip side, Pittsburgh had just 1 this year while there were 5 in the same period last year.

Eye on Drought

At of the end of June much of the southeast portion of Pennsylvania remains locked in with deep drought conditions. 9.58% of the state is in Severe Drought. Compared to the start of 2026, drought conditions have been erased across the rest of the state while conditions have worsened in the southeast.

Below are the year to date precipitation graphs for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Precipitation through June 30th in Pittsburgh mirrors the total for last year, just over an inch above average. While Philadelphia was drier than average last year, this year has been much drier so far with less than 75% of average falling.

Wrapping Up & Looking Ahead

I hope you found this little first half of 2026 review interesting. I'll be back at the start of August (!) for the July 2026 review.

As always, remember to look up!

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