Rochester, MA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Rochester's primary NOAA station, ROCHESTER.
The climate verdict for Rochester
Water is the standout signal in Rochester, Massachusetts: 53.4 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 51°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.
- 51°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 53/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 53.4"
- annual precipitation · 31" snow
- 181 days
- frost-free growing season
Rochester: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00196938 · Rochester, MA 51°F mean · 53.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 51°F
- RANK-MID #2,882
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Taunton
- PRCP-WET 53.4"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-LOW 53/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,870 HDD
- STN-1 USC00196938
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Taunton Muni, MA (+ 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.
- Rochester (this station) 51°F
- Hot Dehart Dam, PA 51°F
- Near Taunton, MA 51°F
- Near Virginia City, NV 51°F
- Cold Colorado Springs, CO 50°F
Climate Living Index · Rochester
Rochester: 47/100 · grade D
Rochester publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Rochester, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 53/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 126 calendar days | 61/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 181 days/year | 51/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 50.5°F · 17.0° from 67.5°F | 43/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 30.8 inches/year | 38/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 53.4 in · 18.4 from 35 in | 34/100 · F |
Rochester · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Rochester is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 29.0°F and warmest-month mean 72.5°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
- 72.5°F
- Coldest month
- 29.0°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 Rochester sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Rochester's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 42nd percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 13% wettest
- Rochester's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 51st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Rochester compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Rochester'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
Rochester's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 68 complete annual observations from 1952 to 2025, ROCHESTER warmed at a fitted rate of 0.16°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Rochester primary station fitted change +0.16 °C/decade
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) | 20°F (-7°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 4.5" | 10.7" | 26.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (4°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 3.8" | 9.0" | 23.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 46°F (8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 5.7" | 4.5" | 20.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 57°F (14°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 4.9" | 0.6" | 6.2 | 0.1 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.6" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| June | 77°F (25°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 3.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.5 |
| August | 81°F (27°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.3 |
| September | 74°F (23°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| October | 63°F (17°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 52°F (11°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 4.7" | 0.1" | 12.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 43°F (6°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 5.3" | 5.9" | 23.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 83°F around July 19, short of 90°F on every date, while 126 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 19°F near January 23.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 30, then returns to freezing around November 26, covering 126 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 23, when 39% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 31 at 27%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 123 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 11 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 21°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Rochester.
Where Rochester Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 21°F.
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 53 inches.
Rochester 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: 10.7"
11.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.0"
9.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.5"
10.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
11.4 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
10.0 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
9.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.9"
11.7 days with precipitation
Rochester spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 22% of the annual total and December through February 25%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Rochester has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 43.5°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: March averages 5.7" and July 3.4". 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 Rochester, it arrives in quantity
53.4" of precipitation falls across only about 123 wet days here, averaging 0.44 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 123 a year, 34% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.44 inches
- Most wet days
- December, about 12
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 9
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 Rochester
Rochester averages 30.8 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 10 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: 30.8 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 10 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
October 21
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 23
50% probability date
Growing Season
181 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,870
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
630
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MA closest to Rochester 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 (51°F here).
- Chenoa, IL 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Columbus, NE 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Coos Bay, OR 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Crook, CO 51°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (53.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Angleton, TX 53.4" · 0.0" off
- Jacksonville, FL 53.4" · 0.0" off
- Benton, AR 53.4" · 0.0" off
- Americus, GA 53.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Rochester
heating led · wet · mid swing
Rochester's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,870 annual heating degree days against 630 for cooling. Its 43.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Rochester's frost-free season lasts about 181 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Rochester coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 29°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Rochester typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Rochester snow peak
January
Rochester averages 30.8 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Rochester's climate
How much snow does Rochester get? ▼
How cold does Rochester get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Rochester? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Rochester's primary station: ROCHESTER (USC00196938). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Rochester; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Rochester 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.