Pittsburgh weather in March
March in Pittsburgh: cold, rainy, with clean air — a good time to visit.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#8 of 12 months in Pittsburgh · #1154 of 1413 destinations to visit in March · comfort 64/100 (tier C)
- Days
- 11°C
- Nights
- 0°C
- Wet days
- 11
- Sun
- 7.4 h
- Humidity
- 67%
- Daylight
- 12 h

Traveller notes on Pittsburgh in March
Asked what March is like, a local gave the most honest answer on any thread in this collection: "well, it's not our finest month, and that's one reason that flight was cheap." The forecast is "variable — could be nice, could be snowing," and the advice is simply not to pack summer clothes. One useful calibration for European visitors: a poster comparing Pittsburgh's March with Ireland's found it "only a few degrees colder at minimum, and around the same for the maximum," so this is damp-and-changeable rather than a hard continental winter. Our record fits that: 11.8°C days against 1.6°C nights, 12.6 rain days and 6.1cm of snow — enough snow to be possible on any given day, not enough to define the month.
Other months in Pittsburgh
Regulars are candid this month resists easy prediction, warning visitors to be ready for rain, snow, and unexpected warm, sunny days all as real possibilities - snow as early as October has happened, even if it's not the norm. Our row backs the cooling, changeable read, 19.5C over 7.5C nights feeling 6C, with 87.2mm of rain across 9.5 days. Regulars are consistent this stretch into November is genuinely tricky weather-wise, with locals themselves saying they never really know what a given week will bring, so layering plus a real rain jacket beats trusting a single forecast. The record: humidity 74 percent, 7.2 hours of sun, a 15.1 kph wind and one of the cleanest air readings in this project, AQI 35.
August is the driest month of the summer here on the board's own reckoning, which is a relative claim: our row still carries 88mm across 9.3 days, arriving as the short heavy thunderstorms they say July and August specialise in. The other local observation is that the cloud and the humidity keep the temperature from swinging, so a hot day stays hot and a cool one stays cool; our 29C reads as 31C at 76 percent humidity, over 17C nights. The rivers are what the city does with a summer evening - the trails along them and the boats on them. Sun is generous at 10.7 hours inside 13.7 of daylight. The record: a dew point of 17.6C and AQI 58.
June is where the year changes character here, and regulars describe both ends of it: cool sunny days and all-day spring rain at the start, hazy humid ones with short thunderstorms by the finish. Highs can be anywhere from the sixties to the nineties, with the upper seventies and low eighties likeliest - our row gives 27.5C reading as 29C over 14.7C nights. June is also the month most likely to produce a whole day of rain rather than a burst, and our 98.5mm across 9.1 days carries both patterns. The cloud and humidity keep the days from swinging much, so the heat that builds tends to linger. The record: 10.9 hours of sun and AQI 67.
Pittsburgh-forum threads on May weather describe genuine spring: T-shirt days with a light jacket or hoodie for the evenings, frosts finally behind for the year, and the occasional 80-degree Fahrenheit afternoon that posters say is really borrowing from June rather than typical May. The standing advice is to pack long pants plus that light layer and check the forecast close to the trip, since the month runs changeable rather than settled. Rain shows up on close to half the days by some counts, which the record backs: 22.5C days, 10.4C nights, 109mm of rain across nearly twelve days and 9.8 hours of sun - spring here means real rain, not just the odd shower.
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Pittsburgh climate normals — March
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Pittsburgh in March
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
BusySpring break in United States(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Pittsburgh's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Fair weatherPittsburgh's best weather comes in May, June and September — separate windows, not one continuous season.
Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather
What's on in Pittsburgh in March
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Festival
Lenten fish fries
4 Feb – 23 Apr · usuallyEaster & Holy WeekEvery Friday in Lent, church halls, fire stations and bars across the city serve fish sandwiches with pierogies and haluski. Anyone can walk in; bring cash and expect a queue at the popular parishes. Source ↗
- Opening
The Rink at PPG Place
14 Nov – 1 Mar · usuallyIce seasonThe outdoor skating rink around a giant Christmas tree in the glass-towered PPG Place plaza opens in mid-November and stays open, weather permitting, until about the start of March. Source ↗
Nearby, and something's on
Within 300 km of Pittsburgh — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.
Where is Pittsburgh?
Pittsburgh in March — FAQ
- Is March a good time to visit Pittsburgh?
- March in Pittsburgh: cold, rainy, with clean air — a good time to visit. It ranks #8 of 12 months for Pittsburgh on SeasonMap's comfort score (64/100).
- What is the weather like in Pittsburgh in March?
- In March, Pittsburgh averages a daily high of 11.4°C and a low of -0.2°C, with about 89.5 mm of rain over roughly 10.8 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Pittsburgh in March?
- Pittsburgh has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 40 in March.
- Does it snow in Pittsburgh in March?
- Pittsburgh sees roughly 3.5 cm of snowfall in March.
Within 300 km: Columbus' Arnold Sports Festival around 26 Feb – 10 Mar.