Reading, Massachusetts climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Reading's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 50.0 inches of precipitation and 64 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.3°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,270 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationReading
- Station IDUSC00196783
- Location42.52°N 71.13°W
- Elevation110 ft (34 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population (town)26,041
- Census place25,448
On October 22, the normal high in Reading is 62°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Reading.
- Jan 38° 19°
- Feb 40° 20°
- Mar 48° 27°
- Apr 60° 37°
- May 70° 47°
- Jun 78° 56°
- Jul 84° 63°
- Aug 82° 61°
- Sep 75° 53°
- Oct 64° 42°
- Nov 53° 32°
- Dec 43° 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 Reading each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in December (5.02 in), the least in August (3.54 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 19°F | 28.1°F | 3.86 | 17.2 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 40°F | 20°F | 30.1°F | 3.62 | 16.2 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 48°F | 27°F | 37.4°F | 4.89 | 13.3 | 13 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 37°F | 48.2°F | 4.34 | 2.2 | 13 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 47°F | 58.3°F | 3.81 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 78°F | 56°F | 67.2°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 84°F | 63°F | 73.3°F | 4.01 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 61°F | 71.8°F | 3.54 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 53°F | 63.9°F | 3.93 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 42°F | 52.7°F | 4.76 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 32°F | 42.8°F | 4.01 | 1.7 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 43°F | 24°F | 33.5°F | 5.02 | 12.8 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 40°F | 50.6°F | 50.00 | 63.5 | 138 | 12 | 134 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −7°C | −2.2°C | 98 mm | 44 cm |
| February | 5°C | −7°C | −1.1°C | 92 mm | 41 cm |
| March | 9°C | −3°C | 3.0°C | 124 mm | 34 cm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.0°C | 110 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.6°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.6°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 17.7°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.5°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 0°C | 6.0°C | 102 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 6°C | −4°C | 0.8°C | 128 mm | 33 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00196783; 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 Reading?
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 (9).
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 USC00196783.
When is the last frost in Reading?
In Reading, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 25 in half of years and after May 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before October 3 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 8; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before October 3; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 174 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 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Reading in zone 6b in ZIP code 01867. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Reading's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (27 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 USC00196783; 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 Reading?
In a normal year in Reading, 12 days a year reach 90°F, 134 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 138 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 134a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 28high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 138a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1960) is 105°F, on August 2, 1975; the lowest is −21°F, on January 22, 1961.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 63.61 in; the snowiest season is 2004–05, with 108.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00196783; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00196783. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Reading?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Reading, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 70% | 2.7 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 71% | 5.7 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 68% | 2.8 |
| November | 70% | 2.0 |
| December | 66% | 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 Reading need?
A normal year in Reading brings 5,936 heating degree days, 10% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 719 cooling degree days, 21% 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 2,875 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,145 | 0 |
| February | 979 | 0 |
| March | 858 | 1 |
| April | 509 | 5 |
| May | 235 | 29 |
| June | 55 | 122 |
| July | 5 | 260 |
| August | 8 | 219 |
| September | 109 | 76 |
| October | 389 | 7 |
| November | 668 | 0 |
| December | 978 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,936 | 719 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00196783. 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 Reading been warmer than normal lately?
Over 52 complete years from 1960 to 2018, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.2°F per century (+0.29°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Reading's climate compare?
Reading is warmer than 25 of the other 34 places with their own NOAA record in Massachusetts, and wetter than 28. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.6°F is warmer than 43%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Reading 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 Reading share this climate record?
8 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.
- Woburn, MA43,895 people · 3 mi SW
- Melrose, MA29,938 people · 6 mi SE
- Saugus, MA29,029 people · 7 mi SE
- Wakefield, MA29,216 people · 3 mi SE
- Burlington, MA26,977 people · 4 mi W
- Wilmington, MA23,802 people · 3 mi NW
- Stoneham, MA24,550 people · 4 mi S
- Winchester, MA23,953 people · 5 mi S
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 Reading's climate
What is the coldest month in Reading?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Reading?
Yes: 64 inches in a normal year, falling on 29 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (17.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Reading?
December, with 5.02 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.54 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Reading in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Reading in zone 6b in ZIP code 01867. By the same method at Reading's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Reading?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 25; in one year in ten it comes after May 8. Waiting until May 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Massachusetts climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Middleton, MA7 miles from this station, 48.3°F a year
- Bedford, MA9 miles from this station, 49.6°F a year
- Bedford Hanscom Field, MA9 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Beverly, MA11 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made