NOAA NCEI Climate Normals 1991–2020
Massachusetts Weather by Month
Temperature, rain and the hurricane season at 58 Massachusetts stations, month by month.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
The median station records 48.6 inches of precipitation a year; Worthington, MA records the most, 54.3 inches, and Nantucket Mem Airport, MA the least, 40.8 (1.3 times as much). July is the hottest month at the median station (average high 83°F); the hottest July is at Maynard 2, MA, 87°F. January is the coldest (average low 18°F); the coldest January nights are at Ashburnham N, MA, 11°F. Highs reach 90°F on 10 days a year at the median station and on 22 at Maynard 2, MA, the most. Snowfall is heaviest at Worthington, MA, 77.1 inches a year.
This page compares the 1991–2020 NOAA climate normals of 58 Massachusetts weather stations, each the nearest station with full normals to at least one of the 345 Massachusetts cities on this site that have one within 25 miles.
At the median station, October is the wettest month (4.8 inches) and February the driest (3.3). Station by station, the wettest month is October at 29, March at 18 and December at 6 of the 58, and the driest February at 34, July at 17 and August at 4. The gap between the wettest and driest station is widest in March: 2.7 inches.
Month by month across Massachusetts
High, low and precipitation are the median of the 58 stations; the station columns name the station with the highest average high, the lowest average low, and the most and least precipitation that month, each linked to the city page it serves. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Hurricane season in Massachusetts
June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation at the median station, from 47% at Plymouth-Kingston, MA to 59% at North Adams Harriman Airport, MA. Since 1851, 110 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of a Massachusetts city on this site, 31 of them at hurricane strength at their closest point to one; September has brought the most (40), then August (28). 3 came outside June to November.
| Month | Tropical systems | At hurricane strength | Median precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 1 | 0 | 3.3 |
| Mar | 0 | 0 | 4.5 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 | 4.2 |
| May | 2 | 0 | 3.6 |
| Jun | 9 | 1 | 4.1 |
| Jul | 9 | 1 | 3.6 |
| Aug | 28 | 10 | 3.8 |
| Sep | 40 | 17 | 4.1 |
| Oct | 18 | 1 | 4.8 |
| Nov | 3 | 1 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 | 4.7 |
Tropical systems from NOAA NHC HURDAT2 that passed within 75 miles of a Massachusetts city on this site, each counted once, in the month of its first such pass; hurricane strength is the track's wind at its closest point to a city.
Coastal water temperature by month
Across 4 NOAA tide stations, the water is warmest in August (median 74°F, up to 75°F at Fall River, MA) and coolest in February (median 38°F, down to 36°F at Woods Hole, MA). No month averages 80°F at the median station.
| Station | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall River, MA | 41 | 38 | 42 | 49 | 58 | 68 | 75 | 75 | 71 | 63 | 53 | 44 |
| Chatham, MA | 40 | 39 | 42 | 49 | 56 | 63 | 69 | 69 | 67 | 60 | 50 | 44 |
| Woods Hole, MA | 39 | 36 | 40 | 47 | 56 | 66 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 63 | 54 | 45 |
| Nantucket Island, MA | 38 | 37 | 42 | 50 | 58 | 67 | 75 | 75 | 70 | 61 | 51 | 42 |
°F, average of hourly readings 2021–2025; a month counts when at least three years have half their hours on record. Source: NOAA Tides & Currents; the newest readings are preliminary.
Massachusetts cities and their stations
| City | Station | Miles | Hottest month high °F | Coldest month low °F | Year precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | Worcester Regional Airport, MA | 4 | 80 | 17 | 48.2 |
| Westfield | Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA | 2 | 85 | 16 | 45.3 |
| Marshfield | Plymouth-Kingston, MA | 9 | 84 | 22 | 52.7 |
| Ludlow | Belchertown, MA | 10 | 82 | 15 | 47.6 |
| South Hadley | Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA | 9 | 85 | 16 | 45.3 |
| East Longmeadow | Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA | 12 | 85 | 16 | 45.3 |
| Agawam | Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA | 8 | 85 | 16 | 45.3 |
| Longmeadow | Hartford Bradley International Airport, CT | 10 | 85 | 19 | 47.1 |
| Nantucket | Nantucket Mem Airport, MA | 2 | 76 | 27 | 40.8 |
| Feeding Hills | Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA | 6 | 85 | 16 | 45.3 |
| Southborough | Natick, MA | 10 | 82 | 18 | 47.3 |
| Granby | Belchertown, MA | 9 | 82 | 15 | 47.6 |
How stations are matched to cities and what normals are: methodology · other states by month