Amherst, Massachusetts climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Amherst's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 46.6 inches of precipitation and 37 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.0°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,183 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAmherst
- Station IDUSC00190120
- Location42.39°N 72.54°W
- Elevation145 ft (44 m)
- Population40,989
On October 22, the normal high in Amherst is 59°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Amherst.
- Jan 34° 14°
- Feb 37° 15°
- Mar 45° 24°
- Apr 58° 34°
- May 70° 45°
- Jun 78° 55°
- Jul 83° 60°
- Aug 82° 58°
- Sep 74° 50°
- Oct 62° 39°
- Nov 50° 29°
- Dec 39° 21°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Amherst each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.74 in), the least in February (2.93 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 14°F | 23.9°F | 3.36 | 8.1 | 11 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 37°F | 15°F | 26.2°F | 2.93 | 11.0 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 24°F | 34.7°F | 3.47 | 7.3 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 34°F | 46.3°F | 3.79 | 1.0 | 11 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 45°F | 57.5°F | 3.71 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 78°F | 55°F | 66.5°F | 4.46 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 60°F | 71.7°F | 4.12 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 58°F | 69.9°F | 4.12 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 50°F | 62.3°F | 4.62 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 39°F | 50.2°F | 4.74 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 29°F | 39.4°F | 3.38 | 1.6 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 39°F | 21°F | 30.0°F | 3.89 | 7.5 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 37°F | 48.2°F | 46.59 | 36.5 | 125 | 12 | 153 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −10°C | −4.5°C | 85 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 3°C | −9°C | −3.2°C | 74 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 7°C | −4°C | 1.5°C | 88 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 96 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 14.2°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 16.8°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.1°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | −2°C | 4.1°C | 86 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 4°C | −6°C | −1.1°C | 99 mm | 19 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00190120; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Amherst?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00190120.
When is the last frost in Amherst?
In Amherst, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 8 in half of years and before September 28 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- May 51 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 81 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 179 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Amherst in zone 6a across its 2 ZIP code areas (6a in 01002, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Amherst's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Massachusetts · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00190120; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Amherst ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Amherst's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 6a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Amherst?
In a normal year in Amherst, 12 days a year reach 90°F, 153 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 125 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 153a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 31high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 125a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 104°F, on July 4, 1911; the lowest is −30°F, on January 22, 1961.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 63.62 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 83.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00190120; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00190120. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Amherst?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Amherst, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 1.8 |
| February | 67% | 2.6 |
| March | 68% | 3.7 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 71% | 5.7 |
| July | 77% | 6.0 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 76% | 4.3 |
| October | 67% | 2.7 |
| November | 68% | 1.9 |
| December | 62% | 1.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Amherst need?
A normal year in Amherst brings 6,664 heating degree days, 24% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 580 cooling degree days, 36% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,598 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,274 | 0 |
| February | 1,088 | 0 |
| March | 941 | 0 |
| April | 564 | 3 |
| May | 259 | 25 |
| June | 61 | 106 |
| July | 8 | 214 |
| August | 18 | 170 |
| September | 138 | 58 |
| October | 461 | 4 |
| November | 768 | 0 |
| December | 1,085 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,664 | 580 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00190120. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Amherst been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.6°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.2°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.1°F | +1.9°F | 53.48 | 24.0 |
| 2022 | 49.6°F | +1.4°F | 42.09 | 22.0 |
| 2023 | 50.7°F | +2.5°F | 60.44 | 17.9 |
| 2024 | 50.9°F | +2.7°F | 47.12 | 22.3 |
| 2025 | 48.6°F | +0.4°F | 44.80 | 33.9 |
Over 117 complete years from 1886 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00190120; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Amherst's climate compare?
Amherst is warmer than 7 of the other 34 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 14. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.2°F is warmer than 33%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Amherst is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Amherst share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Northampton, MA31,315 people · 8 mi SW
- Hatfield, MA3,321 people · 3 mi W
- Granby, MA6,064 people · 8 mi S
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Amherst's climate
What is the coldest month in Amherst?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Amherst?
Yes: 37 inches in a normal year, falling on 19 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (11.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Amherst?
October, with 4.74 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.93 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Amherst in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Amherst in zone 6a across its 2 ZIP code areas (6a in 01002, the largest). By the same method at Amherst's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Amherst?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 19. Waiting until May 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Amherst in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Leverett #2, MA4 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Belchertown, MA12 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Greenfield, MA13 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Orange, MA18 miles from this station, 48.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made