Bedford, MA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Bedford's primary NOAA station, BEDFORD.
The climate verdict for Bedford
Water is the standout signal in Bedford, Massachusetts: 48.9 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 50°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 50°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 48.9"
- annual precipitation · 59" snow
- 169 days
- frost-free growing season
Bedford: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00190535 · Bedford, MA 50°F mean · 48.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 50°F
- RANK-COOL #2,607
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Ford City 4 S D…
- PRCP-MID 48.9"
- SWING-WIDE 46°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,207 HDD
- STN-1 USC00190535
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Ford City 4 S Dam, PA (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every MA station list.
- Bedford (this station) 50°F
- Cold Yellowpine Bar, ID 50°F
- Hot Boise, ID 50°F
- Near Ford City 4 S D…, PA 50°F
- Near Benton Harbor, MI 50°F
Climate Living Index · Bedford
Bedford: 42/100 · grade D
Bedford publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Bedford, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 141 calendar days | 52/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 48.9 in · 13.9 from 35 in | 51/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 169 days/year | 41/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 49.6°F · 17.9° from 67.5°F | 39/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 59.0 inches/year | 16/100 · F |
Bedford · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Bedford is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 26.8°F and warmest-month mean 72.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 72.6°F
- Coldest month
- 26.8°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Bedford sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Bedford's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 38th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 22% wettest
- Bedford's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 63rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Bedford compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Bedford's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F (2°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 3.8" | 16.1" | 28.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 39°F (4°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 3.4" | 12.5" | 25.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 47°F (8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 4.8" | 12.9" | 24.4 | 0.1 |
| April | 59°F (15°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 3.9" | 2.3" | 10.0 | 0.1 |
| May | 70°F (21°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| June | 78°F (26°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.9 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.1 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| September | 74°F (23°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| October | 62°F (17°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 4.8" | 0.1" | 6.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 51°F (11°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 4.1" | 1.9" | 17.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 41°F (5°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 4.8" | 13.2" | 26.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 17, short of 90°F on every date, while 141 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 17°F near January 25.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 2, then returns to freezing around November 14, covering 141 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is January 1, when 44% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 31 at 31%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 142 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 4 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 24°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Bedford.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 16.1"
12.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.5"
11.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.9"
12.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.3"
12.5 days with precipitation
13.5 days with precipitation
11.8 days with precipitation
10.6 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
10.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.9"
12.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 13.2"
12.7 days with precipitation
Bedford spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 24% of the annual total and December through February 24%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Bedford has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 45.8°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 4.8" and February 3.4". The three wettest months together take 30% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
How Bedford's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 141 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 48.9" between them, or roughly 0.35 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Bedford
Bedford averages 59.0 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 31 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 59.0 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 31 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 12% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 13
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 27
50% probability date
Growing Season
169 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,207
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
639
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MA closest to Bedford on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (50°F here).
- Altoona, PA 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Castle Rock, CO 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Donegal, PA 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Hershey, NE 50°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (48.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Paris, TX 48.9" · 0.0" off
- Rumford, ME 48.9" · 0.0" off
- Calico Rock, AR 48.9" · 0.0" off
- Rochester, VT 48.9" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Bedford
heating led · wet · mid swing
Bedford's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,207 annual heating degree days against 639 for cooling. Its 45.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Bedford's frost-free season lasts about 169 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Bedford coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 27°F (-3°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Bedford typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Bedford snow peak
January
Bedford averages 59.0 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Bedford's climate
How much snow does Bedford get? ▼
How cold does Bedford get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Bedford? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Bedford's primary station: BEDFORD (USC00190535). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Bedford; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Bedford comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.