Climate and average weather in Fitchburg

In Fitchburg, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid May to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Fitchburg typically varies from 19°F to 82°F, and is rarely below 1°F or above 91°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Fitchburg for warm-weather activities is from mid May to early October.

Hottest
Jul
82°
Coldest
Jan
19°
Wettest
Dec
4.3 in
Driest
Feb
3.1 in
Rain / yr
45.0 in
123 wet days
Daylight
8.9–15.1 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
466 ft
42.6°N
Clearest
Sep
56% cloud

Fitchburg is city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States.

Density
557/km²
people per km²
Founded
1730

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Fitchburg weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid May to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Fitchburg, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.0 months, from May 25 to September 22, with daily high temperatures above 69°F. The hottest month of the year in Fitchburg is July, with an average high of 82°F and low of 64°F.

The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from December 3 to March 12, with daily high temperatures below 42°F. The coldest month of the year in Fitchburg is January, with an average low of 19°F and high of 33°F.

Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3319
Feb3620
Mar4428
Apr5638
May6748
Jun7658
Jul8264
Aug8062
Sep7254
Oct6044
Nov4834
Dec3825

How hot and cold Fitchburg really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 7°F (around January 21), with roughly 162 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 69 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan3333819
Feb36361020
Mar44441928
Apr56563338
May66674648
Jun76765858
Jul82826364
Aug80806262
Sep72725454
Oct60603944
Nov48482734
Dec38381625

Average hourly temperature in Fitchburg

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 82°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 19°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Fitchburg weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan33° / 19°3.49.86.69.20.0
Feb36° / 20°3.18.7610.30.0
Mar44° / 28°4.211.15.711.60.7
Apr56° / 38°3.811.31.613.13.6
May67° / 48°3.411.30.114.45.8
Jun76° / 58°4.011.7015.16.4
Jul82° / 64°3.810.9014.86.2
Aug80° / 62°3.810.4013.76.6
Sep72° / 54°3.78.5012.36.9
Oct60° / 44°3.99.80.410.84.9
Nov48° / 34°3.59.51.49.61.9
Dec38° / 25°4.310.45.88.90.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Fitchburg gets about 45.0 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.7 months, from around Feb 26 to Aug 18, peaking in June at about 39% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 31.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 4.3 in over about 10 wet days; February is the driest, with 3.1 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 21 · 39%Aug 31 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3110
Feb319
Mar3611
Apr3811
May3611
Jun3812
Jul3611
Aug3410
Sep289
Oct3110
Nov3210
Dec3410

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Fitchburg collects about 45.0 in of rain across 123 wet days — roughly 3.8 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 4.3 in, while February is the driest at just 3.1 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 28% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

012345JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.43.14.23.83.44.03.83.83.73.93.54.3
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.4107
Feb3.196
Mar4.2116
Apr3.8112
May3.4110
Jun4.0120
Jul3.8110
Aug3.8100
Sep3.790
Oct3.9100
Nov3.5101
Dec4.3106

Snow in Fitchburg

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Fitchburg averages about 28 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 22 to Apr 30 — about 6.3 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 19 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 81 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 12
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan719
Feb619
Mar617
Apr23
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct01
Nov14
Dec619

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Fitchburg, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 28 and lasts for 5.4 months, ending around December 7. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 53% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 17 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around June 27. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 63% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 14 · 53%May 11 · 37%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4852
Feb4654
Mar4060
Apr3862
May3763
Jun4258
Jul4852
Aug4951
Sep5347
Oct5149
Nov4852
Dec4654

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 11, brings about 15 h 06 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 8 h 54 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.27:204:32
Feb10.36:545:10
Mar11.66:085:46
Apr13.15:136:22
May14.44:316:56
Jun15.14:147:21
Jul14.84:287:18
Aug13.74:596:44
Sep12.35:335:50
Oct10.86:084:57
Nov9.66:474:18
Dec8.97:174:10

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Fitchburg averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 12 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.3 months, from around Aug 15 to Feb 22. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 11 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is May, down near 7 sunny days — about 39% fewer than the October peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedOct 412 daysMay 116 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar8Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul8Gloomy
Aug10Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct11Mixed
Nov10Mixed
Dec9Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Fitchburg, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around June 1 to September 27. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 52% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 28 to May 31, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 2 · 100%Jul 27 · 43%muggyhumiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr982000
May869410
Jun52211891
Jul242527204
Aug272624194
Sep57201481
Oct907310
Nov991000
Dec1000000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Fitchburg is typically calm, near 7 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Oct 13 to Apr 29. The windiest month is March, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 30 to Oct 12, with August the calmest month at about 6 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyMar 4 · 9 mphAug 7 · 6 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan8light breeze
Feb8light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May7calm
Jun7calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep7calm
Oct8light breeze
Nov8light breeze
Dec8light breeze

Best time to visit Fitchburg

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Fitchburg throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late May, Fitchburg is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Fitchburg for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to early October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 4 · 7.2

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.7poor
Apr3.6fair
May5.8good
Jun6.4good
Jul6.2good
Aug6.6good
Sep6.9good
Oct4.8fair
Nov1.9poor
Dec0.1poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Fitchburg for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 14 · 6.6

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Fitchburg, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 82°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 33°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Fitchburg sees daytime highs around 82°F and nights near 64°F. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Fitchburg by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fitchburg peaks around July 10 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 10UV 7Dec 23UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug5High
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Fitchburg

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar40
Apr60
May7.54
Jun84
Jul7.54
Aug60
Sep5.50
Oct20
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Fitchburg typically lasts about 237 days, from around March 29 to November 20 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 22 to October 20.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 810%Mar 2950%Apr 2290%Oct 2090%Nov 2050%Jan 3110%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1331
Feb1428
Mar3431
Apr8119
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct9210
Nov5730
Dec2331

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Fitchburg banks about 2,544 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr10
May228
Jun508
Jul696
Aug639
Sep391
Oct74
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Fitchburg receives about 3.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.6 and 6.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 15 to Sep 21. The brightest month is July, averaging about 5.9 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.6 kWh/m² — roughly 72% less than the July peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 26.1 kWhDec 171.6 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.0Dim
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar3.9Moderate
Apr4.9Bright
May5.5Bright
Jun5.8Bright
Jul5.9Bright
Aug5.2Bright
Sep4.1Bright
Oct2.9Moderate
Nov2.0Moderate
Dec1.6Dim

Where is Fitchburg?

Fitchburg sits at 42.6°N, 71.8°W, 466 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Leominster, 4.3 mi away.

Topography around Fitchburg

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Fitchburg.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Fitchburg has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 699 ft around an average of 630 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,798 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,176 ft.

The land around Fitchburg is covered by trees (71%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 2 miles, trees (86%) within 10 miles, and trees (88%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
699 ft
10 miles
1,798 ft
50 miles
3,176 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Leominster 4.3 mi · Gardner 9.9 mi · Holden 16 mi · Westford 19 mi · Acton 20 mi · Shrewsbury 21 mi · Marlborough 21 mi · Nashua 21 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Fitchburg (42.5834°, -71.8023°, elevation 466 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).