Pittsburgh Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

How Often it Snows in Pittsburgh

The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).

10-year snowfall averages at Pittsburgh, 2010 to 2019

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
5.8	January	15.8	40.0
5.4	February	16.1	41.0
2.0	March	7.1	17.9
0.4	April	1.2	2.9
0.1	October	0.2	0.4
0.8	November	2.3	5.8
2.6	December	6.9	17.4
17.1	Year	49.5	125.6

30-year snowfall averages at Pittsburgh, 1991 to 2020

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
12.2	January	13.3	33.8
9.3	February	11.7	29.7
5.9	March	7.6	19.3
1.6	April	1.0	2.5
0.3	October	0.4	1.0
3.3	November	2.4	6.1
7.6	December	7.7	19.6
40.2	Year	44.1	112.0

These averages don't show how much Pittsburgh's snowfall varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 12.4 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 3.1 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 18 inches, while the lightest years get less than 7.4 inches.

Snow in February ranges from 14.7 or more inches in heavy snowfall years to under 6.7 inches in light years.

When Pittsburgh Has Its First & Last Snowfalls

Pittsburgh's first snowfall of winter usually arrives in November. But it can start snowing as early as October or hold off until December.

The last snowfall of the season usually happens in April. Less commonly, April receives no new snow, pushing the last snowstorm back to March.

Pittsburgh is normally free of snow every year from May to September.

How Many Snowstorms Pittsburgh Gets

Most days of snowfall in Pittsburgh result in just a skiff of less than an inch left on the ground. Typically for 15 days a year the amount of new snow totals at least an inch.

Snowstorms of over five inches a day happen on average about once a year. They can show up any time here from December to March. But major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day are not at all normal for this city.

Number of days per month and year on average in Pittsburgh with a total snowfall of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches

1 inch 2.5 cm	3 inches 7.6 cm		5 inches 12.7 cm	10 inches 25.4 cm
4.4	0.9	January	0.3	0.0
3.9	0.9	February	0.4	0.0
2.3	0.7	March	0.2	0.0
0.3	0.0	April	0.0	0.0
0.1	0.0	October	0.0	0.0
0.7	0.1	November	0.0	0.0
2.8	0.6	December	0.2	0.0
14.5	3.2	Year	1.1	0.0

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Pittsburgh

For about a third of winter days, Pittsburgh has at least an inch of snow on the ground.

Typically, on eight or nine days a year, the snow covering Pittsburgh amounts to five or more inches deep. For two days of those days on average, the snow cover builds up to at least ten inches.

Average total days per month and year in Pittsburgh with snow depth of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches on the ground

1 inch 2.5 cm	3 inches 7.6 cm		5 inches 12.7 cm	10 inches 25.4 cm
14.0	6.9	January	3.5	0.6
11.4	5.1	February	2.7	0.9
5.1	2.4	March	1.1	0.3
0.3	0.1	April	0.0	0.0
1.4	0.2	November	0.2	0.0
7.7	2.7	December	1.1	0.0
39.9	17.4	Year	8.6	1.8