Southbridge, MA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Southbridge's primary NOAA station, SOUTHBRIDGE 3 SW.
The climate verdict for Southbridge
Water is the standout signal in Southbridge, Massachusetts: 51.9 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 48°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 48°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 51.9"
- annual precipitation · 52" snow
- 171 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Southbridge: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00197627 · Southbridge, MA 48°F mean · 51.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 48°F
- RANK-COOL #2,196
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ W Thompson Lake
- PRCP-WET 51.9"
- SWING-MID 45°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,572 HDD
- STN-1 USC00197627
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: W Thompson Lake, CT (+ 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.
- Southbridge (this station) 48°F
- Cold Slippery Rock, PA 48°F
- Hot Middleton, MA 48°F
- Near W Thompson Lake, CT 48°F
- Near Jamestown, PA 48°F
Climate Living Index · Southbridge
Southbridge: 38/100 · grade F
Southbridge publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Southbridge, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 149 calendar days | 47/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 171 days/year | 43/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 51.9 in · 16.9 from 35 in | 40/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 48.2°F · 19.3° from 67.5°F | 32/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 52.4 inches/year | 20/100 · F |
Southbridge · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Southbridge is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 25.7°F and warmest-month mean 70.3°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 70.3°F
- Coldest month
- 25.7°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 Southbridge sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Southbridge's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 32nd percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 15% wettest
- Southbridge's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 56th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Southbridge compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Southbridge's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F (2°C) | 17°F (-9°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 4.0" | 14.7" | 28.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 36°F (2°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 3.5" | 14.7" | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 45°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 4.6" | 9.2" | 26.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (14°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 4.4" | 1.8" | 12.2 | 0.2 |
| May | 69°F (20°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.9 | 0.4 |
| June | 77°F (25°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| July | 81°F (27°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 4.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.2 |
| August | 79°F (26°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| October | 59°F (15°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 5.0" | 0.2" | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 49°F (10°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 4.1" | 1.5" | 18.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 5.1" | 10.3" | 27.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 81°F around July 10, short of 90°F on every date, while 149 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 15°F near January 27.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 8, then returns to freezing around November 12, covering 149 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 May 5, when 45% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 1 at 32%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 141 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 29 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 23°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Southbridge.
Where Southbridge Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 52 inches.
Southbridge earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 14.7"
12.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.7"
11.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.2"
11.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.8"
12.7 days with precipitation
14.2 days with precipitation
12.1 days with precipitation
11.5 days with precipitation
10.7 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
11.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
10.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.3"
12.3 days with precipitation
Southbridge spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 25% of the annual total and December through February 24%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Southbridge has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 44.6°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: December averages 5.1" and February 3.5". The three wettest months together take 28% 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 Southbridge, it arrives in quantity
51.9" of precipitation falls across only about 140 wet days here, averaging 0.37 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 140 a year, 38% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.37 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 14
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 10
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 Southbridge
Southbridge averages 52.4 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 18 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: 52.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 18 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 10% 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 13
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 25
50% probability date
Growing Season
171 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,572
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
478
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MA closest to Southbridge 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 (48°F here).
- Belle Plaine, IA 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Broadus, MT 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Compton, IL 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Copake, NY 48°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (51.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Woonsocket, RI 51.9" · 0.0" off
- Rock Hill, NY 51.9" · 0.0" off
- Jackson, KY 51.9" · 0.0" off
- Lehighton, PA 51.9" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Southbridge
heating led · wet · mid swing
Southbridge's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,572 annual heating degree days against 478 for cooling. Its 44.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Southbridge's frost-free season lasts about 171 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Southbridge coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 26°F (-4°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Southbridge typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Southbridge snow peak
January
Southbridge averages 52.4 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Southbridge's climate
How much snow does Southbridge get? ▼
How cold does Southbridge get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Southbridge? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Southbridge's primary station: SOUTHBRIDGE 3 SW (USC00197627). 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 Southbridge; 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 Southbridge 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.