Bedford, Massachusetts climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Bedford's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 48.9 inches of precipitation and 59 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.8°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,242 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBedford
- Station IDUSC00190535
- Location42.48°N 71.28°W
- Elevation160 ft (49 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Bedford is 60°F and the normal low 39°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 Bedford.
- Jan 36° 18°
- Feb 39° 19°
- Mar 47° 27°
- Apr 59° 36°
- May 70° 46°
- Jun 78° 55°
- Jul 84° 61°
- Aug 82° 60°
- Sep 74° 52°
- Oct 62° 41°
- Nov 51° 31°
- Dec 41° 23°
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 each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.85 in), the least in February (3.37 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 18°F | 26.8°F | 3.75 | 16.1 | 13 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 39°F | 19°F | 28.8°F | 3.37 | 12.5 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 47°F | 27°F | 36.6°F | 4.80 | 12.9 | 13 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 36°F | 47.6°F | 3.90 | 2.3 | 13 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 46°F | 57.8°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 78°F | 55°F | 66.6°F | 4.10 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 84°F | 61°F | 72.6°F | 3.79 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 60°F | 70.9°F | 3.94 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 52°F | 63.0°F | 3.72 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 41°F | 51.4°F | 4.85 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 31°F | 41.4°F | 4.11 | 1.9 | 13 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 41°F | 23°F | 32.0°F | 4.79 | 13.2 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 39°F | 49.6°F | 48.88 | 59.0 | 142 | 13 | 140 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −8°C | −2.9°C | 95 mm | 41 cm |
| February | 4°C | −7°C | −1.8°C | 86 mm | 32 cm |
| March | 8°C | −3°C | 2.6°C | 122 mm | 33 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.7°C | 99 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.3°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.6°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 17.2°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 5°C | 10.8°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 11°C | 0°C | 5.2°C | 104 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 5°C | −5°C | 0.0°C | 122 mm | 34 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00190535; 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?
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 USC00190535.
When is the last frost at Bedford?
In Bedford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 27 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 13 in half of years and before October 1 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 271 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 131 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 169 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 197 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bedford in zone 6b in ZIP code 01730, 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 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (18 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 USC00190535; 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?
In a normal year in Bedford, 13 days a year reach 90°F, 140 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 142 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 140a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 142a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 101°F, on August 2, 1975; the lowest is −19°F, on January 22, 1961.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 62.24 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 119.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00190535; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00190535. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Bedford?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Bedford, 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 record?
A normal year at Bedford brings 6,207 heating degree days, 16% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 639 cooling degree days, 30% 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 2,718 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,186 | 0 |
| February | 1,014 | 0 |
| March | 879 | 0 |
| April | 526 | 4 |
| May | 245 | 24 |
| June | 61 | 111 |
| July | 5 | 240 |
| August | 12 | 196 |
| September | 121 | 60 |
| October | 428 | 5 |
| November | 710 | 0 |
| December | 1,021 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,207 | 639 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00190535. 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.
How does Bedford's climate compare?
Bedford is warmer than 17 of the 35 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 23. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.6°F is warmer than 38%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bedford 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 share this climate record?
Pinehurst 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.
- Pinehurst, MA6,737 people · 4 mi NE
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's climate
What is the coldest month at Bedford?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow at Bedford?
Yes: 59 inches in a normal year, falling on 31 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (16.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Bedford?
October, with 4.85 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.37 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bedford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bedford in zone 6b in ZIP code 01730, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Bedford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 27; in one year in ten it comes after May 11. Waiting until May 11 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 Hanscom Field, MA1 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Reading, MA9 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Maynard, MA9 miles from this station, 49.8°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