ERIE, PA (ERIE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT)

Overview:
Erie, situated on the Great Lake that has its name, has a temperate climate that is often influenced by lake effects. Lake breezes moderate temperatures in the fall and spring.

Average temperatures in February through April are often three to five degrees colder than Pittsburgh, which is only 125 miles to the south. Fall is normally the wettest season, with September and October the wettest two months of the year. Nearly 40 percent of Erie’s rainfall occurs from September through December. Lake-effect snow is common in the winter due to Erie’s location on Lake Erie. Amounts of over 100 inches of snow during the snow season are not uncommon.

State/ Province ID: PA

Station ID: W00014860

Directory Name: ERIE_INTL_AP_HCN_PA_W00014860

Elevation: 222.50m


The resources presented here were developed in cooperation with the Office of the Michigan State Climatologist using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. For more information regarding our data sources, quality control, and methodology, please see our Historical Climatologies: Quality Control reference guide.

Recent Climate Summary, 1991-2020

Average Temperature50.5°F10.3°C
Average Low Temperature42.9°F6.1°C
Average High Temperature58.1°14.5°C
Days/Year that exceed 90°F2.7 
Days/Year that fall below 32°F102.5 
Lowest Annual Average Temperature48.1°F8.9°C
Highest Annual Average Temperature53.2°F11.8°C
Average Annual Total Precipitation42.9 in109.0 cm
Lowest Annual Precipitation Total31.7 in80.6 cm
Highest Annual Precipitation Total57.5 in145.9 cm
Days/Year that exceed 1.25" of Precipitation3.3 

Temperature

Click on the following links to be taken to the corresponding portion of the page.

  • Monthly Average Temperature
  • How Temperatures are Changing
    • Changes in Average Temperature – Includes a summary table of the average annual and seasonal temperature changes, and time series graphs of how the annual low, average, and high temperatures compare to the long term average plotted for every year on record.
    • Cold Temperatures – View time series plots of the number of days per year below 32°F and the number of heating degree days per year to see how cold days are changing.
    • Hot Temperatures – View time series plots of the number of days per year above 90°F and the number of cooling degree days per year to see how hot days are changing.
    • Growing Season Changes – View a time series of the annual number of days in the freeze-free period.

Monthly Average Temperature

Changes in Average Temperature, 1951-2025.

 °F°C
Annual average temperature3.92.1
Winter average temperature4.42.5
Spring average temperature3.92.2
Summer average temperature3.92.2
Fall average temperature3.41.9

Annual High and Low Temperature Departure

Cold Temperatures

¹Heating Degree Days (HDDs) are indexed units, not actual days, that roughly describe the demand to heat a building. HDDs accumulate on days colder than 65°F when heating is required. Every degree below 65°F is added to the annual total for an annual HDD value, which is plotted in the figure.

Hot Temperatures

²Cooling Degree Days (CDDs) are indexed units, not actual days, that roughly describe the demand to cool a building. CDDs accumulate on days warmer than 65°F when cooling is required. Every degree above 65°F is added to the annual total for an annual CDD value, which is plotted in the figure.

Growing Season Changes

Precipitation

Click on the following links to be taken to the corresponding portion of the page.

  • Monthly Average Precipitation – View a graph of the monthly low, average, and high precipitation climatology (average) of the past 30 years
  • How Precipitation is Changing
    • Changes in Total Precipitation – Includes a summary table of the average annual and seasonal precipitation changes.
    • Heavy Precipitation – View a bar chart of how annual number of days receiving more than 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2 inches of precipitation are changing over the period of record.

Monthly Average Precipitation

Changes in Average Precipitation, 1951-2025.

 in.cm.%
Annual total precipitation7.920.020.00
Winter total precipitation4.010.251.40
Spring total precipitation0.20.52.20
Summer total precipitation0.41.03.50
Fall total precipitation3.48.530.40

Heavy Precipitation