Pittsfield, Massachusetts climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pittsfield's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 44.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.8°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 26°C, 1,123 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPittsfield Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00014763
- Location42.43°N 73.29°W
- Elevation1,194 ft (364 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population43,121
On October 22, the normal high in Pittsfield is 56°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 42%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pittsfield.
- Jan 30° 14°
- Feb 33° 15°
- Mar 42° 23°
- Apr 55° 34°
- May 67° 44°
- Jun 75° 53°
- Jul 79° 58°
- Aug 78° 57°
- Sep 70° 49°
- Oct 58° 39°
- Nov 47° 29°
- Dec 36° 21°
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 Pittsfield each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.58 in), the least in February (2.52 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 | 30°F | 14°F | 22.0°F | 2.67 | 12 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 33°F | 15°F | 24.1°F | 2.52 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 23°F | 32.4°F | 3.08 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 34°F | 44.5°F | 3.38 | 14 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 67°F | 44°F | 55.7°F | 3.79 | 14 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 75°F | 53°F | 63.9°F | 4.58 | 15 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 79°F | 58°F | 68.7°F | 4.18 | 15 | 1 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 78°F | 57°F | 67.1°F | 3.82 | 15 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 70°F | 49°F | 59.7°F | 4.50 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 58°F | 39°F | 48.4°F | 4.56 | 14 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 47°F | 29°F | 37.9°F | 3.52 | 12 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 36°F | 21°F | 28.2°F | 3.63 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 36°F | 46.0°F | 44.23 | 161 | 3 | 153 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −10°C | −5.6°C | 68 mm |
| February | 1°C | −9°C | −4.4°C | 64 mm |
| March | 5°C | −5°C | 0.2°C | 78 mm |
| April | 13°C | 1°C | 6.9°C | 86 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 13.2°C | 96 mm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 17.7°C | 116 mm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 106 mm |
| August | 25°C | 14°C | 19.5°C | 97 mm |
| September | 21°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 114 mm |
| October | 15°C | 4°C | 9.1°C | 116 mm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 3.3°C | 89 mm |
| December | 2°C | −6°C | −2.1°C | 92 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Worthington (19 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 USW00014763; 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 Pittsfield?
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 (13).
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 USW00014763.
When is the last frost in Pittsfield?
In Pittsfield, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 23 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 51 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 152 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 177 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pittsfield in zone 5b in ZIP code 01201. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Pittsfield's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (21 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 USW00014763; 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 Pittsfield?
In a normal year in Pittsfield, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 153 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 161 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 153a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 52high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 161a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1925) is 101°F, on July 23, 1926; the lowest is −26°F, on February 16, 1943.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 55.41 in; the snowiest season is 1955–56, with 121.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014763; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00014763. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Pittsfield?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pittsfield, 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 Pittsfield need?
A normal year in Pittsfield brings 7,224 heating degree days, 34% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 344 cooling degree days, 62% 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 2,169 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,333 | 0 |
| February | 1,147 | 0 |
| March | 1,011 | 0 |
| April | 617 | 2 |
| May | 303 | 14 |
| June | 94 | 59 |
| July | 23 | 136 |
| August | 39 | 102 |
| September | 190 | 30 |
| October | 516 | 2 |
| November | 813 | 0 |
| December | 1,141 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,224 | 344 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014763. 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 Pittsfield been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.3°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.0°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.8°F | +1.8°F | 54.47 |
| 2022 | 46.9°F | +0.9°F | 40.16 |
| 2023 | 48.5°F | +2.5°F | 49.77 |
| 2024 | 48.9°F | +2.9°F | 42.36 |
| 2025 | 46.3°F | +0.3°F | 38.99 |
Over 60 complete years from 1926 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.0°F per century (+0.17°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014763; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pittsfield's climate compare?
Pittsfield is warmer than 0 of the other 34 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 8. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.0°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pittsfield 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 Pittsfield share this climate record?
East Nassau has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- East Nassau, NY516 people · 13 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 Pittsfield's climate
What is the coldest month in Pittsfield?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Pittsfield?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Pittsfield's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Worthington (19 miles away), records 77 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Pittsfield?
June, with 4.58 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.52 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pittsfield in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pittsfield in zone 5b in ZIP code 01201. By the same method at Pittsfield's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Pittsfield?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Pittsfield in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lenox, MA7 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Worthington, MA19 miles from this station, 45.3°F a year
- North Adams, MA19 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Valatie, NY20 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