Barnstable, Massachusetts climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Barnstable's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 78°F July afternoons, with 45.7 inches of precipitation and 22 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.2°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 26°C, 1,160 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHyannis
- Station IDUSC00193821
- Location41.66°N 70.30°W
- Elevation60 ft (18 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population49,831
On October 14, the normal high in Barnstable is 62°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 32%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Barnstable.
- Jan 39° 22°
- Feb 40° 24°
- Mar 44° 30°
- Apr 54° 38°
- May 63° 48°
- Jun 72° 57°
- Jul 78° 64°
- Aug 77° 63°
- Sep 71° 57°
- Oct 61° 46°
- Nov 52° 37°
- Dec 44° 29°
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 Barnstable each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in March (4.77 in), the least in July (2.77 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 22°F | 30.5°F | 3.71 | 9.5 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 40°F | 24°F | 31.6°F | 3.56 | 6.3 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 30°F | 36.9°F | 4.77 | 3.6 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 38°F | 45.9°F | 4.00 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 63°F | 48°F | 55.1°F | 3.42 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 72°F | 57°F | 64.3°F | 3.33 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 78°F | 64°F | 71.1°F | 2.77 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 77°F | 63°F | 70.1°F | 3.24 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 71°F | 57°F | 63.8°F | 3.83 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 46°F | 53.6°F | 4.29 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 37°F | 44.5°F | 4.07 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 44°F | 29°F | 36.2°F | 4.68 | 2.1 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 43°F | 50.3°F | 45.67 | 21.5 | 113 | 2 | 101 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −5°C | −0.8°C | 94 mm | 24 cm |
| February | 4°C | −5°C | −0.2°C | 90 mm | 16 cm |
| March | 7°C | −1°C | 2.7°C | 121 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 12°C | 3°C | 7.7°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 17°C | 9°C | 12.8°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 22°C | 14°C | 17.9°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 18°C | 21.7°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 17°C | 21.2°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 14°C | 17.7°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 8°C | 12.0°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 11°C | 3°C | 6.9°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 7°C | −2°C | 2.3°C | 119 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00193821; 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 Barnstable?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00193821.
When is the last frost in Barnstable?
In Barnstable, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 16 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 15 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
- April 161 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after April 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 301 year in 10 before October 15; 9 in 10 before November 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 195 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 221 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Barnstable in zone 7a across its 10 ZIP code areas (7a in 02668, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Barnstable's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 4°F (20 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 USC00193821; 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 Barnstable ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Barnstable's 10 ZIP code areas are all in zone 7a. 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 Barnstable?
In a normal year in Barnstable, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 101 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 113 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 101a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 113a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 100°F, on August 28, 1948; the lowest is −12°F, on February 9, 1934.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 61.89 in; the snowiest season is 2014–15, with 62.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00193821; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00193821. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Barnstable?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Barnstable, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 1.8 |
| February | 70% | 2.7 |
| March | 70% | 3.7 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 5.9 |
| July | 80% | 6.0 |
| August | 80% | 5.4 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 72% | 3.0 |
| November | 70% | 2.0 |
| December | 65% | 1.5 |
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 Barnstable need?
A normal year in Barnstable brings 5,819 heating degree days, 8% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 494 cooling degree days, 46% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,518 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,068 | 0 |
| February | 935 | 0 |
| March | 871 | 0 |
| April | 573 | 0 |
| May | 310 | 5 |
| June | 85 | 62 |
| July | 7 | 198 |
| August | 11 | 169 |
| September | 92 | 56 |
| October | 359 | 4 |
| November | 615 | 0 |
| December | 893 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,819 | 494 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00193821. 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 Barnstable been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.4°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.3°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.8°F | +2.5°F | 47.67 | 14.5 |
| 2025 | 50.4°F | +0.1°F | 41.54 | 18.1 |
Over 66 complete years from 1895 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.9°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00193821; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Barnstable's climate compare?
Barnstable is warmer than 22 of the other 34 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 12. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.3°F is warmer than 42%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Barnstable is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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.
Questions about Barnstable's climate
What is the coldest month in Barnstable?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (78°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Barnstable?
Yes: 22 inches in a normal year, falling on 7 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (9.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Barnstable?
March, with 4.77 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 2.77 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Barnstable in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Barnstable in zone 7a across its 10 ZIP code areas (7a in 02668, the largest). By the same method at Barnstable's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 4°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Barnstable?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 16; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hyannis Barnstable Municipal Airport, MA1 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- East Sandwich, MA9 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- West Harwich, MA10 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- Chatham, MA16 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made