New 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 New Bedford's primary NOAA station, NEW BEDFORD COOP.
The climate verdict for New Bedford
Water is the standout signal in New Bedford, Massachusetts: 52.2 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 52°F. At 53/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 52°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 53/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 52.2"
- annual precipitation · 33" snow
- 208 days
- frost-free days per growing season
New Bedford: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00195246 · New Bedford, MA 52°F mean · 52.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,499
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ W Chester
- PRCP-WET 52.2"
- SWING-WIDE 46°F
- COMF-LOW 53/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,482 HDD
- STN-1 USC00195246
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: W Chester, 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.
- Hot Tacony, CO 53°F
- New Bedford (this station) 52°F
- Near W Chester, PA 52°F
- Near Columbus Ohio S…, OH 52°F
- Near Graterford, PA 52°F
Climate Living Index · New Bedford
New Bedford: 54/100 · grade D
New 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 New Bedford, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 53/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 208 days/year | 70/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 116 calendar days | 67/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 52.4°F · 15.1° from 67.5°F | 51/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 52.2 in · 17.2 from 35 in | 39/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 32.5 inches/year | 36/100 · F |
New Bedford · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
New Bedford is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 30.1°F and warmest-month mean 75.6°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
- 75.6°F
- Coldest month
- 30.1°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 New Bedford sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for New Bedford's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 51st percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 15% wettest
- New Bedford's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 61st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How New Bedford compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
New Bedford's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
53 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 | 38°F (3°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 3.8" | 10.9" | 25.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (4°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 4.1" | 8.5" | 22.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 47°F (8°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 5.3" | 6.6" | 19.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 4.6" | 1.7" | 3.7 | 0.1 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| June | 78°F (26°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 3.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.4 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| September | 75°F (24°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 56°F (14°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| November | 53°F (12°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 4.6" | 0.4" | 10.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 43°F (6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 5.2" | 4.4" | 21.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 20, short of 90°F on every date, while 116 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 21°F near January 26.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 26, then returns to freezing around December 2, covering 116 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 April 16, when 41% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 12 at 27%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 124 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 29 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 19°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for New Bedford.
Where New Bedford Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 19°F.
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 52 inches.
New Bedford earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 10.9"
11.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.5"
10.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.6"
11.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.7"
12.2 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
8.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
10.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.4"
11.6 days with precipitation
New Bedford spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 23% of the annual total and December through February 25%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. New Bedford has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 45.5°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: March averages 5.3" and July 3.6". 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.
When it rains in New Bedford, it arrives in quantity
52.2" of precipitation falls across only about 124 wet days here, averaging 0.42 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 124 a year, 34% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.42 inches
- Most wet days
- April, about 12
- Fewest wet days
- July, about 8
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.
Winter brings real snow to New Bedford
New Bedford averages 32.5 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 14 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: 32.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 14 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 6% 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
November 5
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 11
50% probability date
Growing Season
208 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,482
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
918
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MA closest to New 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 (52°F here).
- Auburn, NE 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Blanding, UT 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Cleveland, OH 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Cosby, MO 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (52.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Madisonville, KY 52.2" · 0.0" off
- Talladega, AL 52.2" · 0.0" off
- Keiser, AR 52.2" · 0.0" off
- Ozark, AR 52.2" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define New Bedford
heating led · wet · mid swing
New Bedford's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,482 annual heating degree days against 918 for cooling. Its 45.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
New Bedford's frost-free season lasts about 208 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. New Bedford coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 30°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. New Bedford typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. New Bedford snow peak
January
New Bedford averages 32.5 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about New Bedford's climate
How much snow does New Bedford get? ▼
How cold does New Bedford get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in New Bedford? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from New Bedford's primary station: NEW BEDFORD COOP (USC00195246). 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 2545000). Match rule for New Bedford: 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 New 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.