Lowell, MA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Lowell's primary NOAA station, LOWELL.
The climate verdict for Lowell
Water is the standout signal in Lowell, Massachusetts: 48.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 49°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 49°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 48.5"
- yearly precipitation total
- 163 days
- frost-free growing season
Lowell: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00194313 · Lowell, MA 49°F mean · 48.5" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 49°F
- RANK-COOL #2,470
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Timpanogos Cave
- PRCP-MID 48.5"
- SWING-WIDE 48°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,465 HDD
- STN-1 USC00194313
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Timpanogos Cave, UT (+ 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.
- Lowell (this station) 49°F
- Cold Jackson Reynold…, MI 49°F
- Hot Old Fort Laramie, WY 49°F
- Near Timpanogos Cave, UT 49°F
- Near Shaw, CO 49°F
Climate Living Index · Lowell
Lowell: 43/100 · grade D
Lowell publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Lowell, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 48.5 in · 13.5 from 35 in | 53/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 151 calendar days | 46/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 49.0°F · 18.5° from 67.5°F | 36/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 163 days/year | 36/100 · F |
Lowell · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Lowell is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 24.9°F and warmest-month mean 72.8°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
- 72.8°F
- Coldest month
- 24.9°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 Lowell sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Lowell's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 36th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 23% wettest
- Lowell's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 72%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Lowell is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Lowell compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Lowell's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% 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%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Lowell's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 72 complete annual observations from 1889 to 2025, LOWELL warmed at a fitted rate of 0.20°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Lowell primary station fitted change +0.20 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F (1°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 3.6" | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 37°F (3°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 3.2" | 26.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 45°F (7°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 4.3" | 25.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 59°F (15°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 4.1" | 12.8 | 0.3 |
| May | 70°F (21°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 3.8" | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 4.4" | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| July | 85°F (29°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 3.9" | 0.0 | 7.8 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 4.0" | 0.0 | 5.2 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.9" | 0.2 | 1.3 |
| October | 62°F (17°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 5.0" | 6.9 | 0.0 |
| November | 51°F (10°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 3.9" | 19.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 40°F (4°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 4.5" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 15, short of 90°F on every date, while 151 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 15°F near January 26.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 8, then returns to freezing around November 10, covering 151 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 May 17, when 41% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 31 at 29%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 128 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 30 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Lowell.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
10.9 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
10.6 days with precipitation
11.2 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
10.9 days with precipitation
10.5 days with precipitation
10.7 days with precipitation
Lowell spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 25% of the annual total and December through February 23%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Lowell has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 47.9°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 5.0" and February 3.2". The three wettest months together take 29% 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.
When it rains in Lowell, it arrives in quantity
48.5" of precipitation falls across only about 127 wet days here, averaging 0.38 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 127 a year, 35% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.38 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 13
- Fewest wet days
- February, about 9
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 10
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 30
50% probability date
Growing Season
163 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,465
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
668
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MA closest to Lowell 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 (49°F here).
- Altona, IL 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Burney, CA 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Cairo, NY 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Condon, OR 49°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (48.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Centerport, NY 48.5" · 0.0" off
- Kane, PA 48.5" · 0.0" off
- Providence, KY 48.5" · 0.0" off
- Hartsville, SC 48.5" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Lowell's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Lowell's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,465 annual heating degree days against 668 for cooling. Its 47.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Lowell's frost-free season lasts about 163 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Lowell's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 47.9°F. The annual average is 49°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Lowell carries 48.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Lowell's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Lowell, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Lowell's climate
How much rain does Lowell get? ▼
How cold does Lowell get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Lowell? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Lowell's primary station: LOWELL (USC00194313). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2537000). Match rule for Lowell: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Lowell 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.