+1 570 955 3538Roofer's Calendar for Northeast Pennsylvania: Workable Days by Month
In a normal year the Scranton area gives a roofing crew at least 272 days with neither 0.10 inch of precipitation nor an inch of snow. October offers the highest share of such days (81%). January, February, March are the three months with the lowest share. We call this count a floor because the rain and snow day counts overlap, so the true number of dry days can only be higher. Lackawanna County has 15 roofing firms with staff, 0.7 per 10,000 residents.
Planning the year around these months? Tell us about your company.
The calendar, month by month
| Month | Days | Days with 0.10 in or more precipitation | Days with 1 in or more snow | Dry-day floor | Floor as share of month | Average high °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 6.1 | 3.5 | 21.4 | 69.0% | 35.7 |
| Feb | 28 | 5.5 | 3.6 | 18.9 | 67.5% | 38.8 |
| Mar | 31 | 7.0 | 2.4 | 21.6 | 69.7% | 47.6 |
| Apr | 30 | 6.9 | 0.2 | 22.9 | 76.3% | 61.1 |
| May | 31 | 7.8 | 0.0 | 23.2 | 74.8% | 72.2 |
| Jun | 30 | 8.1 | 0.0 | 21.9 | 73.0% | 79.9 |
| Jul | 31 | 6.9 | 0.0 | 24.1 | 77.7% | 84.6 |
| Aug | 31 | 6.9 | 0.0 | 24.1 | 77.7% | 82.4 |
| Sep | 30 | 6.4 | 0.0 | 23.6 | 78.7% | 75.1 |
| Oct | 31 | 5.8 | 0.2 | 25.0 | 80.6% | 63.1 |
| Nov | 30 | 5.7 | 0.8 | 23.5 | 78.3% | 51.2 |
| Dec | 31 | 6.4 | 2.8 | 21.8 | 70.3% | 40.3 |
The dry-day floor is the days in the month minus the days with 0.10 inch or more of precipitation minus the days with 1 inch or more of snow. These normals are 30-year averages from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport. They say nothing about wind, a crew's size or a shingle delivery. A real roofing day also needs a surface that is dry and above whatever limit your materials allow, which you can check with the manufacturer.
Who roofs in the region
| County | Roofing contractors with staff | Per 10,000 residents | Firms with 1–4 employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake | 118 | 1.0 | 79 |
| Lehigh | 25 | 0.7 | 18 |
| Luzerne | 20 | 0.6 | 14 |
| Monroe | 17 | 1.0 | 14 |
| Lackawanna | 15 | 0.7 | 10 |
| Northampton | 12 | 0.4 | 8 |
| Schuylkill | 7 | 0.5 | 4 |
| Carbon | 4 | 0.6 | 3 |
| Wayne | 3 | 0.6 | – |
| Susquehanna | not listed | – | – |
| Wyoming | not listed | – | – |
The counts are roofing contractor locations (NAICS 238160) with at least one paid employee in the Census 2023 file. A county shown as not listed has no row in that file. It may have no such firm or none the Census could publish. The Wake County (Raleigh) row of 118 firms uses a population figure from another source. Employee counts are left out because the Census adds noise to them.
What the table means for your year
Winter is thin, not closed. Even the lowest-share month, February, keeps a floor of 18.9 days, or 67% of the month. Cold is a separate limit. The table lists average highs for each month so you can check them against your own cutoff.
Summer is not clean. June has the most days with 0.10 inch or more of precipitation (8.1). The floor for July is 24.1 days, not 31.
Plan sales one month ahead. If your estimates in a month turn into jobs weeks later, the months that look quiet on the calendar are when your phone matters. Our lead follow-up automation replies to a new inquiry in minutes, and Google Ads and Local Services Ads management puts the budget where the calendar says you can deliver. Related: local SEO checklist for contractors.
Off-season marketing list
Where the numbers come from
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, monthly, station WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON INTL AP (USW00014777). Pulled 2026-10-06.
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, county file, all industries. Open data: census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp. Pulled 2026-10-06.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2019–2023, table B01003 (population). Pulled 2026-10-06.
- USAspending.gov, spending by geography for Wake County, North Carolina (population field), federal fiscal year 2025. Used only as the Wake County population. Pulled 2026-10-06.
FAQ
What is the best month to roof in Scranton?
By the dry-day floor, October has the highest share of workable days at 81%. The floor ignores temperature, wind and your crew schedule.
How many days a year can a roofer work in northeast Pennsylvania?
The dry-day floor sums to 272 days across the year. That is a minimum for days without notable rain or snow. It is not the number of days your crew will work.
How many roofing companies are in Lackawanna County?
15 roofing contractor locations with paid staff in the Census 2023 file. Firms with no employees are not counted.
Does this apply to Wayne or Luzerne County?
The weather comes from one airport. Hills and valleys shift temperature and snow across the region, so treat it as a rough guide for neighboring counties.
Is the floor a forecast?
No. It is an average of 30 years of observations, and any given year can differ.
