Climate averages 1991–2020
Pittsburgh weather
in December.
A cold, moderately wet month: the 10th warmest and the 3rd driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Pittsburgh: daytime highs average 5.1°C and nights cool to about -2.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 89 mm of rain on roughly 12 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 3rd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 21 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Canton (Ohio), United States (123 km away). In December its highs average 3.7°C, 1.4°C cooler than Pittsburgh, with 80 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Pittsburgh ranks joint 360th of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 321st of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Pittsburgh is 5.5°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 2.2°C to 2.8°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 89 mm to 92 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Pittsburgh climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.8°C-5.5°C | -5.5°C | 92 | 12.0 | 9.610 h |
| February | 4.8°C-4.7°C | -4.7°C | 80 | 10.9 | 10.611 h |
| March | 9.9°C-0.5°C | -0.5°C | 108 | 12.9 | 11.912 h |
| April | 16.6°C5.5°C | 5.5°C | 119 | 13.8 | 13.313 h |
| May | 21.6°C11.3°C | 11.3°C | 123 | 14.3 | 14.414 h |
| June | 26.0°C16.2°C | 16.2°C | 126 | 13.6 | 15.015 h |
| July | 28.2°C18.6°C | 18.6°C | 116 | 14.0 | 14.815 h |
| August | 27.5°C17.9°C | 17.9°C | 93 | 11.9 | 13.814 h |
| September | 23.9°C14.4°C | 14.4°C | 101 | 10.4 | 12.513 h |
| October | 17.4°C8.4°C | 8.4°C | 93 | 10.7 | 11.211 h |
| November | 10.6°C2.6°C | 2.6°C | 88 | 10.0 | 10.010 h |
| December, selected | 5.1°C-2.1°C | -2.1°C | 89 | 11.6 | 9.39 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
December in nearby cities
- Canton (Ohio), United States in DecemberUnited States · 123 kmHigh 3.7°C · Low -3.1°C · 80 mm rain
- Akron in DecemberUnited States · 147 kmHigh 3.5°C · Low -3.2°C · 81 mm rain
- Parma, United States in DecemberUnited States · 180 kmHigh 3.3°C · Low -2.4°C · 81 mm rain
- Cleveland in DecemberUnited States · 185 kmHigh 3.5°C · Low -1.8°C · 81 mm rain
- Erie in DecemberUnited States · 188 kmHigh 2.9°C · Low -1.5°C · 129 mm rain
- Columbus in DecemberUnited States · 261 kmHigh 4.5°C · Low -2.7°C · 86 mm rain
- Germantown in DecemberUnited States · 272 kmHigh 6.8°C · Low -0.6°C · 89 mm rain
- Centreville in DecemberUnited States · 283 kmHigh 7.5°C · Low 0.3°C · 87 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Pittsburgh) is explained once on the Pittsburgh year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.