Marblehead, Massachusetts climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Marblehead's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 48.0 inches of precipitation and 39 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.3°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,220 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMarblehead
- Station IDUSC00194502
- Location42.50°N 70.86°W
- Elevation84 ft (26 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population (town)20,576
- Census place20,334
On October 23, the normal high in Marblehead is 59°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Marblehead.
- Jan 36° 18°
- Feb 38° 20°
- Mar 44° 26°
- Apr 55° 36°
- May 65° 45°
- Jun 74° 54°
- Jul 80° 61°
- Aug 79° 60°
- Sep 72° 53°
- Oct 61° 42°
- Nov 51° 33°
- 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 in Marblehead each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in October (5.00 in), the least in August (3.25 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 18°F | 27.0°F | 3.75 | 13.3 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 38°F | 20°F | 28.7°F | 3.50 | 8.5 | 9 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 26°F | 35.3°F | 4.71 | 7.5 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 36°F | 45.4°F | 4.30 | 1.5 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 65°F | 45°F | 55.1°F | 3.48 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 74°F | 54°F | 64.3°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 80°F | 61°F | 70.5°F | 3.48 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 79°F | 60°F | 69.3°F | 3.25 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 53°F | 62.6°F | 3.56 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 42°F | 51.8°F | 5.00 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 33°F | 41.8°F | 4.15 | 0.8 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 42°F | 24°F | 33.0°F | 4.70 | 7.4 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 39°F | 48.7°F | 48.02 | 39.1 | 115 | 9 | 108 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −8°C | −2.8°C | 95 mm | 34 cm |
| February | 3°C | −7°C | −1.8°C | 89 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 7°C | −3°C | 1.8°C | 120 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.4°C | 109 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 18°C | 7°C | 12.8°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 23°C | 12°C | 17.9°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.7°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 12°C | 17.0°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 6°C | 11.0°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | 0°C | 5.4°C | 105 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 5°C | −4°C | 0.6°C | 119 mm | 19 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00194502; 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 Marblehead?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00194502.
When is the last frost in Marblehead?
In Marblehead, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 25 in half of years and after May 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 5 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 251 year in 10 after May 13; 9 in 10 after April 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 176 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 201 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Marblehead in zone 7a in ZIP code 01945. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Marblehead's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (27 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 USC00194502; 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 in Marblehead?
In a normal year in Marblehead, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 108 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 115 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
- 108a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 23high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 115a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1984) is 101°F, on June 25, 2025; the lowest is −20°F, on February 4, 2023.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2011, with 59.86 in; the snowiest season is 2004–05, with 119.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00194502; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00194502. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Marblehead?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Marblehead, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.7 |
| February | 68% | 2.6 |
| March | 68% | 3.6 |
| April | 71% | 4.8 |
| May | 71% | 5.4 |
| June | 73% | 5.8 |
| July | 80% | 6.0 |
| August | 81% | 5.4 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 70% | 2.8 |
| 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 Marblehead need?
A normal year in Marblehead brings 6,377 heating degree days, 19% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 479 cooling degree days, 47% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,421 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,178 | 0 |
| February | 1,015 | 0 |
| March | 921 | 0 |
| April | 592 | 2 |
| May | 320 | 13 |
| June | 98 | 77 |
| July | 13 | 184 |
| August | 17 | 150 |
| September | 121 | 50 |
| October | 414 | 3 |
| November | 696 | 0 |
| December | 994 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,377 | 479 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00194502. 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 Marblehead been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.9°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.7°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2024 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 51.4°F | +2.7°F | 45.49 | 13.3 |
| 2025 | 49.9°F | +1.2°F | 40.77 | 32.2 |
Over 30 complete years from 1985 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.0°F per century (+0.33°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00194502; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Marblehead's climate compare?
Marblehead is warmer than 11 of the other 34 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 20. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.7°F is warmer than 35%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Marblehead 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 Marblehead share this climate record?
3 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.
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 Marblehead's climate
What is the coldest month in Marblehead?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Marblehead?
Yes: 39 inches in a normal year, falling on 13 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (13.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Marblehead?
October, with 5.00 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.25 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Marblehead in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Marblehead in zone 7a in ZIP code 01945. By the same method at Marblehead's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Marblehead?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 25; in one year in ten it comes after May 13. Waiting until May 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Beverly, MA6 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Middleton, MA10 miles from this station, 48.3°F a year
- Boston, MA12 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Reading, MA14 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made