North Adams, Massachusetts climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
North Adams's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 42.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.3°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,074 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNorth Adams Harriman Airport
- Station IDUSW00054768
- Location42.70°N 73.17°W
- Elevation654 ft (199 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population12,492
On October 14, the normal high in North Adams is 61°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 41%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for North Adams.
- Jan 32° 14°
- Feb 35° 16°
- Mar 44° 24°
- Apr 57° 34°
- May 69° 44°
- Jun 76° 53°
- Jul 81° 58°
- Aug 79° 56°
- Sep 72° 49°
- Oct 60° 38°
- Nov 48° 30°
- Dec 38° 22°
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 North Adams each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in August (4.47 in), the least in February (1.97 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 14°F | 23.3°F | 2.52 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 35°F | 16°F | 25.4°F | 1.97 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 24°F | 33.5°F | 3.08 | 12 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 34°F | 45.2°F | 3.12 | 13 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 44°F | 56.2°F | 3.73 | 14 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 53°F | 64.7°F | 4.41 | 15 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 81°F | 58°F | 69.3°F | 4.13 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 79°F | 56°F | 67.5°F | 4.47 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 49°F | 60.5°F | 4.22 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 38°F | 49.2°F | 4.28 | 13 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 30°F | 39.1°F | 3.25 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 38°F | 22°F | 29.5°F | 3.12 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 36°F | 47.0°F | 42.30 | 153 | 4 | 149 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −10°C | −4.8°C | 64 mm |
| February | 2°C | −9°C | −3.7°C | 50 mm |
| March | 6°C | −5°C | 0.8°C | 78 mm |
| April | 14°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 79 mm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.4°C | 95 mm |
| June | 25°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 112 mm |
| July | 27°C | 14°C | 20.7°C | 105 mm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 114 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.8°C | 107 mm |
| October | 16°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 109 mm |
| November | 9°C | −1°C | 3.9°C | 83 mm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.4°C | 79 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Worthington (25 miles away), gets 77 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054768; 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 North Adams?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (12).
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 USW00054768.
When is the last frost in North Adams?
In North Adams, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 21 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
- May 101 year in 10 after May 25; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 147 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 170 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts North Adams in zone 5b in ZIP code 01247. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, North Adams's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°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 USW00054768; 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 North Adams?
In a normal year in North Adams, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 149 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 153 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 149a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 41high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 153a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1987) is 96°F, on July 8, 1988; the lowest is −20°F, on January 24, 2011.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 52.53 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00054768; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00054768. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is North Adams?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around North Adams, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (57%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 1.6 |
| February | 64% | 2.5 |
| March | 66% | 3.6 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 71% | 5.8 |
| July | 77% | 6.0 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 76% | 4.3 |
| October | 65% | 2.7 |
| November | 65% | 1.8 |
| December | 57% | 1.3 |
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 North Adams need?
A normal year in North Adams brings 6,929 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 389 cooling degree days, 57% 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 2,291 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,291 | 0 |
| February | 1,109 | 0 |
| March | 975 | 0 |
| April | 596 | 2 |
| May | 288 | 17 |
| June | 80 | 71 |
| July | 16 | 149 |
| August | 33 | 112 |
| September | 172 | 35 |
| October | 492 | 2 |
| November | 779 | 0 |
| December | 1,099 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,929 | 389 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054768. 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.
How does North Adams's climate compare?
North Adams is warmer than 2 of the other 34 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.0°F is warmer than 28%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, North Adams 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 North Adams 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.
- Stamford, VT859 people · 7 mi NE
- Pownal Center, VT475 people · 8 mi N
- North Pownal, VT345 people · 8 mi NW
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 North Adams's climate
What is the coldest month in North Adams?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in North Adams?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for North Adams's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Worthington (25 miles away), records 77 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in North Adams?
August, with 4.47 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.97 in.
What plant hardiness zone is North Adams in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts North Adams in zone 5b in ZIP code 01247. By the same method at North Adams's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in North Adams?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 25. Waiting until May 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pownal, VT7 miles from this station, 45.9°F a year
- Bennington, VT14 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Rowe (3 mi NE), MA16 miles from this station, 43.6°F a year
- Grafton, NY16 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made