Barre, Massachusetts climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Barre's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 47.7 inches of precipitation and 60 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.4°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,212 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBarre Falls Dam
- Station IDUSC00190408
- Location42.43°N 72.03°W
- Elevation825 ft (252 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population (town)5,631
- Census place550
On October 14, the normal high in Barre is 63°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Barre.
- Jan 35° 13°
- Feb 38° 14°
- Mar 46° 22°
- Apr 59° 32°
- May 70° 43°
- Jun 78° 52°
- Jul 83° 58°
- Aug 81° 55°
- Sep 75° 48°
- Oct 62° 36°
- Nov 50° 27°
- Dec 40° 19°
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 Barre each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.86 in), the least in February (2.97 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 13°F | 23.7°F | 3.51 | 13.6 | 13 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 38°F | 14°F | 25.6°F | 2.97 | 14.9 | 10 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 46°F | 22°F | 33.7°F | 3.61 | 12.2 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 32°F | 45.5°F | 3.90 | 3.5 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 43°F | 56.4°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 78°F | 52°F | 65.2°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 58°F | 70.4°F | 4.09 | 0.0 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 55°F | 68.1°F | 4.51 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 48°F | 61.0°F | 4.37 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 36°F | 48.9°F | 4.86 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 27°F | 38.6°F | 3.67 | 2.9 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 40°F | 19°F | 29.6°F | 4.33 | 13.1 | 13 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 35°F | 47.2°F | 47.71 | 60.4 | 141 | 9 | 176 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −11°C | −4.6°C | 89 mm | 35 cm |
| February | 3°C | −10°C | −3.6°C | 75 mm | 38 cm |
| March | 8°C | −6°C | 0.9°C | 92 mm | 31 cm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.5°C | 99 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.6°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 11°C | 18.4°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 14°C | 21.3°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 111 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 2°C | 9.4°C | 123 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 10°C | −3°C | 3.7°C | 93 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 4°C | −7°C | −1.3°C | 110 mm | 33 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00190408; 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 Barre?
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 (10).
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 USC00190408.
When is the last frost in Barre?
In Barre, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 18 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 121 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 141 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 165 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Barre in zone 6a in ZIP code 01005, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Massachusetts · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00190408; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Barre?
In a normal year in Barre, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 176 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 141 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 176a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 40high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 141a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1959) is 103°F, on June 25, 2025; the lowest is −25°F, on January 22, 1984.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2023, with 61.64 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 127.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00190408; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00190408. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Barre?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Barre, 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 Barre need?
A normal year in Barre brings 6,919 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 482 cooling degree days, 47% 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 2,380 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,282 | 0 |
| February | 1,102 | 0 |
| March | 970 | 0 |
| April | 586 | 2 |
| May | 288 | 22 |
| June | 83 | 89 |
| July | 17 | 185 |
| August | 36 | 132 |
| September | 167 | 48 |
| October | 501 | 4 |
| November | 791 | 0 |
| December | 1,097 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,919 | 482 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00190408. 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 Barre been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 50.5°F, 3.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.2°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.6°F | +2.4°F | 53.72 | 44.7 |
| 2022 | 48.8°F | +1.6°F | 43.70 | 42.7 |
| 2023 | 50.3°F | +3.1°F | 61.64 | 54.5 |
| 2024 | 50.5°F | +3.3°F | 41.53 | 47.6 |
Over 38 complete years from 1962 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.8°F per century (+0.32°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00190408; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Barre's climate compare?
Barre is warmer than 3 of the other 34 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 17. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.2°F is warmer than 29%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Barre 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.
Which places near Barre share this climate record?
Rutland has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Rutland, MA9,637 people · 5 mi SE
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 Barre's climate
What is the coldest month in Barre?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Barre?
Yes: 60 inches in a normal year, falling on 25 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (14.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Barre?
October, with 4.86 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.97 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Barre in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Barre in zone 6a in ZIP code 01005, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Barre?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Worcester, MA14 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Ashburnham, MA14 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Birch Hill Dam, MA15 miles from this station, 46.3°F a year
- Fitchburg, MA16 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made