Bedford Hanscom Field, Massachusetts climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Bedford Hanscom Field's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 42.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.3°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,082 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBedford Hanscom Field
- Station IDUSW00014702
- Location42.47°N 71.29°W
- Elevation133 ft (41 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Bedford Hanscom Field is 61°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bedford Hanscom Field.
- Jan 37° 18°
- Feb 39° 19°
- Mar 48° 27°
- Apr 60° 37°
- May 70° 47°
- Jun 79° 56°
- Jul 85° 62°
- Aug 84° 60°
- Sep 76° 52°
- Oct 64° 41°
- Nov 52° 32°
- Dec 42° 24°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Bedford Hanscom Field each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.24 in), the least in February (2.69 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 18°F | 27.5°F | 2.90 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 39°F | 19°F | 29.3°F | 2.69 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 48°F | 27°F | 37.3°F | 3.85 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 37°F | 48.5°F | 3.84 | 13 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 47°F | 58.6°F | 3.36 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 79°F | 56°F | 67.8°F | 3.72 | 14 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 85°F | 62°F | 73.6°F | 3.51 | 12 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 84°F | 60°F | 71.9°F | 3.47 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 76°F | 52°F | 63.7°F | 3.54 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 41°F | 52.2°F | 4.24 | 13 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 32°F | 42.4°F | 3.72 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 42°F | 24°F | 33.0°F | 3.76 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 40°F | 50.5°F | 42.60 | 141 | 15 | 139 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −8°C | −2.5°C | 74 mm |
| February | 4°C | −7°C | −1.5°C | 68 mm |
| March | 9°C | −3°C | 2.9°C | 98 mm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 98 mm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 85 mm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.9°C | 94 mm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.1°C | 89 mm |
| August | 29°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 88 mm |
| September | 24°C | 11°C | 17.6°C | 90 mm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 108 mm |
| November | 11°C | 0°C | 5.8°C | 94 mm |
| December | 6°C | −4°C | 0.6°C | 96 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Bedford (1 miles away), gets 59 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014702; 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.
Which months are mildest at Bedford Hanscom Field?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (12).
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 USW00014702.
When is the last frost at Bedford Hanscom Field?
In Bedford Hanscom Field, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 10 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
- April 281 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 101 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 165 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 194 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bedford Hanscom Field in zone 6b in ZIP code 01731, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (20 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Massachusetts · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00014702; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get at Bedford Hanscom Field?
In a normal year in Bedford Hanscom Field, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 139 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 141 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 139a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 141a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1949) is 102°F, on July 6, 2010; the lowest is −20°F, on January 18, 1957.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1958, with 60.94 in; the snowiest season is 1955–56, with 87.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014702; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00014702. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Bedford Hanscom Field?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Bedford Hanscom Field, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 70% | 2.7 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 71% | 5.7 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 68% | 2.8 |
| November | 70% | 2.0 |
| December | 66% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Bedford Hanscom Field record?
A normal year at Bedford Hanscom Field brings 5,996 heating degree days, 12% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 743 cooling degree days, 18% 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 2,906 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,162 | 0 |
| February | 998 | 0 |
| March | 858 | 0 |
| April | 501 | 6 |
| May | 231 | 31 |
| June | 48 | 131 |
| July | 4 | 269 |
| August | 9 | 225 |
| September | 112 | 74 |
| October | 404 | 7 |
| November | 678 | 0 |
| December | 992 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,996 | 743 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014702. 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.
Have recent years at Bedford Hanscom Field been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 51.4°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.5°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.8°F | +1.3°F | 56.07 |
| 2022 | 51.7°F | +1.2°F | 34.81 |
| 2023 | 51.8°F | +1.3°F | 59.38 |
| 2024 | 51.4°F | +0.9°F | 40.24 |
Over 35 complete years from 1951 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.1°F per century (+0.23°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014702; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bedford Hanscom Field's climate compare?
Bedford Hanscom Field is warmer than 24 of the 35 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.5°F is warmer than 43%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bedford Hanscom Field 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 Bedford Hanscom Field share this climate record?
4 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.
- Waltham, MAalso near: Bedford (7 mi, 49.6°F a year); Jamaica Plain (8 mi, 51.2°F a year)65,849 people · 6 mi SE
- Arlington, MA47,112 people · 7 mi SE
- Lexington, MA34,743 people · 3 mi SE
- Hanscom AFB, MA1,745 people · 1 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 Bedford Hanscom Field's climate
What is the coldest month at Bedford Hanscom Field?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow at Bedford Hanscom Field?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Bedford (1 miles away), records 59 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Bedford Hanscom Field?
October, with 4.24 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.69 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bedford Hanscom Field in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bedford Hanscom Field in zone 6b in ZIP code 01731, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come at Bedford Hanscom Field?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bedford, MA1 miles from this station, 49.6°F a year
- Maynard, MA8 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Reading, MA9 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Lowell, MA12 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made