Surrounding hills reach 1100 to 1300 feet msl within one or two miles of both locations. The climate is Humid Continental, dominated by air masses originating in the central United States or Canada and carried in a general eastward direction by the prevailing winds aloft. Outbreaks of polar air, slightly modified during their southeastward march, provide cool, refreshing interludes in summer and cold, invigorating periods in winter. The Gulf of Mexico is the primary moisture source, although during the fall and winter the Great Lakes are a minor secondary source. The area is only rarely affected by storms moving up the East Coast.
Winters are generally cold and rather cloudy as cold fronts frequentlyn pass through the region.
Prevailing winds are from the west to northwest, but local differences occur due to the terrain features. Infrequently, warm tropical air invades this region during winter, producing temperatures in the 60s or 70s. Substantial snowfalls are usually associated with storm systems which move northeastward from the Central or Southern Plains and pass south and east of western Pennsylvania. Monthly totals occasionally exceed 20 inches, with 38.5 inches measured in January 1978. The greatest seasonal total of 76.5 inches occurred in 1959-1960.