If you thought the year started off dry, spring started off cool then suddenly got very wet and the first days of summer got blazing hot — while scattered thunderstorms were hard to predict the past two months — you were right.
That is how weather went the first half of the year throughout eastern and central Pennsylvania, said meteorologists from the National Weather Service offices in State College and Binghamton, New York.
Both predicted that July would continue the recent pattern of above-average temperatures and precipitation, after a dry and seasonably warm Fourth of July.
Pedestrians at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRPAHER)
The pattern of cloudy skies and soupy air that sometimes led to heavy rain and sometimes left a shroud of fog or mist with little rainfall has been almost constant the past two months, said meteorologist John Bowen of NWS-State College, which covers Schuylkill County and much of Central Pennsylvania.
“It got very wet in May,” Bowen said. “Deep moisture from the south led to rounds of rain.”
Shirley Todd, of West Pittston, selects a pack of impatiens from Golomb’s Farm in Plains Twp. on opening day of the Pittston Farmers’ Market on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
However, the region’s precipitation totals for the first half of the year were only slightly above average, since December through April saw a stretch of dry weather, he said.
At Harrisburg International Airport, the 7.2 inches of rain that fell in May brought the year-to-date precipitation total close to average, while the 5.24 inches of rain in June put year-to-date precipitation about 1.2 inches above average, Bowen said.
It also warmed up in June, though the record-breaking heat wave in the last week of the month only brought the average daily high temperature to 82.6 degrees, close to average, after a relatively cool start to the month, Bowen said. The average high temperature in May was below average, he said.
The weather story is much the same in Northeast Pennsylvania, said Danielle Knittle, a meteorologist with NWS-Binghamton, which covers most counties in the region.
Total precipitation for the year at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport through June 30 stood at 19.45 inches, compared to an average of 17.75 inches, Knittle said.
Pedestrians outside of the Everhart Museum at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRPAHER)
That is above average but some people might be surprised to learn it is not close to setting rainfall records and that last year was even wetter through the end of June, she said.
While it has been gloomy and gray for much of the late spring and early summer, many places saw little precipitation on some days, Knittle said. That led to the perception of an extremely rainy weather pattern, but that has only been true in isolated areas that got drenched by heavy thunderstorms, she said.
“It’s been a favorable pattern to see several disturbances tapping into a lot of available moisture,” Knittle said. “It’s a rut that we have been in with constant storm tracks.”
The warm and wet weather pattern will continue through July, both forecasters said.
“The warmth is adding to wetness in the atmosphere,” Bowen said, describing the pattern as “the ingredients for heavy rainfall.”
There is good news for holiday cookouts this weekend, however. Friday and Saturday should be sunny, clear and dry, with highs in the 80s. High humidity and the chance of thunderstorms return to the forecast for early next week.
Josh Ross, of Hoppy’s Produce in Falls, right, packages potatoes and cucumbers for customer Nancy Murman, of Avoca, on opening day of the Pittston Farmers’ Market on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Fresh produce awaits purchase from Dymond’s Farm in Orange on opening day of the Pittston Farmers’ Market on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Customers look over produce from Brace’s Orchard in Dallas on opening day of the Pittston Farmers’ Market on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Owner Jennifer Seward, of Maple Hill Farm & Apiaries in Dalton, arranges honey for sale on opening day of the Pittston Farmers’ Market on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER