Climate averages 1991–2020
Pittsburgh weather
in May.
A mild, wet month: the 5th warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a mild month in Pittsburgh: daytime highs average 21.6°C and nights cool to about 11.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 5th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 123 mm of rain on roughly 14 days, which makes May a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 24 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Canton (Ohio), United States (123 km away). In May its highs average 20.9°C, 0.7°C cooler than Pittsburgh, with 104 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Pittsburgh ranks joint 319th of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 452nd of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Pittsburgh is 2.2°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 4.4°C to 26.0°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 123 mm to 126 mm.
The annual picture
May 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, selected | 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 | 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
May in nearby cities
- Canton (Ohio), United States in MayUnited States · 123 kmHigh 20.9°C · Low 10.8°C · 104 mm rain
- Akron in MayUnited States · 147 kmHigh 20.9°C · Low 10.7°C · 103 mm rain
- Parma, United States in MayUnited States · 180 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 11.1°C · 97 mm rain
- Cleveland in MayUnited States · 185 kmHigh 19.7°C · Low 11.3°C · 97 mm rain
- Erie in MayUnited States · 188 kmHigh 17.8°C · Low 11.2°C · 98 mm rain
- Columbus in MayUnited States · 261 kmHigh 21.8°C · Low 11.6°C · 113 mm rain
- Germantown in MayUnited States · 272 kmHigh 22.6°C · Low 12.5°C · 97 mm rain
- Centreville in MayUnited States · 283 kmHigh 23.0°C · Low 13.3°C · 95 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.