New Bedford, Massachusetts climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
New Bedford's normal year runs from 21°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 45.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.2°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,167 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNew Bedford Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00094726
- Location41.68°N 70.96°W
- Elevation80 ft (24 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population101,318
On October 23, the normal high in New Bedford is 61°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for New Bedford.
- Jan 39° 21°
- Feb 41° 22°
- Mar 47° 28°
- Apr 57° 36°
- May 67° 46°
- Jun 76° 55°
- Jul 83° 62°
- Aug 81° 60°
- Sep 74° 52°
- Oct 64° 42°
- Nov 54° 33°
- Dec 44° 26°
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 New Bedford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in March (4.82 in), the least in February (3.04 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 21°F | 29.9°F | 3.72 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 41°F | 22°F | 31.3°F | 3.04 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 47°F | 28°F | 37.6°F | 4.82 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 36°F | 46.9°F | 4.01 | 13 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 67°F | 46°F | 56.7°F | 3.29 | 13 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 76°F | 55°F | 65.7°F | 3.61 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 83°F | 62°F | 72.1°F | 3.04 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 60°F | 70.6°F | 3.83 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 74°F | 52°F | 63.2°F | 3.64 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 42°F | 52.6°F | 4.56 | 13 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 54°F | 33°F | 43.4°F | 4.26 | 11 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 44°F | 26°F | 35.0°F | 4.12 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 40°F | 50.4°F | 45.94 | 141 | 7 | 123 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −6°C | −1.2°C | 94 mm |
| February | 5°C | −6°C | −0.4°C | 77 mm |
| March | 8°C | −2°C | 3.1°C | 122 mm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 102 mm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.7°C | 84 mm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 92 mm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 77 mm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 97 mm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 17.3°C | 92 mm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.4°C | 116 mm |
| November | 12°C | 1°C | 6.3°C | 108 mm |
| December | 7°C | −3°C | 1.7°C | 105 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. New Bedford's own co-op station New Bedford Cooperative does: 33 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094726; 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 New Bedford?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USW00094726.
When is the last frost in New Bedford?
In New Bedford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 29 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 2 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 291 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 2; 9 in 10 before October 31
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 167 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 194 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts New Bedford in zone 7a across its 4 ZIP code areas (7a in 02745, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, New Bedford's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (23 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 USW00094726; 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.
What hardiness zone is each New Bedford ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. New Bedford's 4 ZIP code areas are all in zone 7a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in New Bedford?
In a normal year in New Bedford, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 123 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 141 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 123a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 19high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 141a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 102°F, on July 22, 2011; the lowest is −12°F, on February 21, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 59.51 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094726; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094726. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is New Bedford?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around New Bedford, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (65%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 330th (with 21 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 1.8 |
| February | 70% | 2.7 |
| March | 70% | 3.7 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 5.9 |
| July | 80% | 6.0 |
| August | 80% | 5.4 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 72% | 3.0 |
| November | 70% | 2.0 |
| December | 65% | 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 much heating and cooling does New Bedford need?
A normal year in New Bedford brings 5,860 heating degree days, 9% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 577 cooling degree days, 36% 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 2,649 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,088 | 0 |
| February | 944 | 0 |
| March | 849 | 0 |
| April | 544 | 1 |
| May | 270 | 13 |
| June | 67 | 87 |
| July | 6 | 225 |
| August | 13 | 186 |
| September | 113 | 59 |
| October | 390 | 7 |
| November | 648 | 0 |
| December | 928 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,860 | 577 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094726. 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 New Bedford been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 53.1°F, 2.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.4°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.0°F | +2.6°F | 40.40 |
| 2022 | 52.3°F | +1.9°F | 38.82 |
| 2023 | 52.5°F | +2.1°F | 46.66 |
| 2024 | 53.1°F | +2.7°F | 52.87 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094726. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does New Bedford's climate compare?
New Bedford is warmer than 23 of the other 34 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 13. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.4°F is warmer than 42%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, New 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 New Bedford share this climate record?
2 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.
- Acushnet Center, MA2,792 people · 3 mi E
- Mattapoisett Center, MA2,573 people · 8 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do New Bedford's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near New Bedford. This page uses New Bedford Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Bedford Cooperative USC00195246 | 5 mi S | 18 ft | 52.4°F | 22°F | 84°F | 52.2 | 33 | April 11 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about New Bedford's climate
What is the coldest month in New Bedford?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in New Bedford?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for New Bedford's NOAA station; New Bedford's own co-op station New Bedford Cooperative records 33 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in New Bedford?
March, with 4.82 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.04 in.
What plant hardiness zone is New Bedford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts New Bedford in zone 7a across its 4 ZIP code areas (7a in 02745, the largest). By the same method at New Bedford's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in New Bedford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 29; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- New Bedford in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Rochester, MA8 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Tiverton, RI14 miles from this station, 52.9°F a year
- Taunton, MA14 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Middleboro, MA14 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made