Climate and average weather in Gardner

In Gardner, 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 Gardner typically varies from 18°F to 81°F, and is rarely below -0°F or above 90°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 Gardner for warm-weather activities is from mid May to early October.

Hottest
Jul
81°
Coldest
Jan
18°
Wettest
Dec
4.3 in
Driest
Feb
3.1 in
Rain / yr
44.3 in
123 wet days
Daylight
8.9–15.1 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,063 ft
42.6°N
Clearest
Sep
56% cloud

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

Density
341/km²
people per km²
Founded
1764

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

Gardner 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 Gardner, 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 24 to September 22, with daily high temperatures above 69°F. The hottest month of the year in Gardner is July, with an average high of 81°F and low of 63°F.

The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from December 3 to March 12, with daily high temperatures below 41°F. The coldest month of the year in Gardner is January, with an average low of 18°F and high of 32°F.

Days typically run about 16°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3218
Feb3519
Mar4327
Apr5538
May6648
Jun7657
Jul8163
Aug7961
Sep7154
Oct5943
Nov4733
Dec3724

How hot and cold Gardner 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 6°F (around January 23), with roughly 165 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 76 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)
Jan3232718
Feb3535919
Mar43431827
Apr55553238
May66664548
Jun76765757
Jul81816363
Aug79796161
Sep71715354
Oct59593943
Nov47472633
Dec37371524

Average hourly temperature in Gardner

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 81°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 18°F.

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

Gardner 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
Jan32° / 18°3.49.66.69.20.0
Feb35° / 19°3.18.66.110.30.0
Mar43° / 27°4.110.95.711.60.6
Apr55° / 38°3.811.31.813.13.5
May66° / 48°3.411.40.114.45.7
Jun76° / 57°3.911.7015.16.4
Jul81° / 63°3.610.7014.86.3
Aug79° / 61°3.610.4013.76.6
Sep71° / 54°3.78.7012.36.8
Oct59° / 43°4.09.70.410.84.7
Nov47° / 33°3.49.61.69.61.6
Dec37° / 24°4.310.55.88.90.0

Chance of rain

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

Gardner gets about 44.3 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 17, 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 11 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 18 · 39%Aug 31 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3110
Feb319
Mar3511
Apr3811
May3711
Jun3812
Jul3611
Aug3310
Sep299
Oct3110
Nov3210
Dec3411

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gardner collects about 44.3 in of rain across 123 wet days — roughly 3.7 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.

012345JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.43.14.13.83.43.93.63.63.74.03.44.3
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.4107
Feb3.196
Mar4.1116
Apr3.8112
May3.4110
Jun3.9120
Jul3.6110
Aug3.6100
Sep3.790
Oct4.0100
Nov3.4102
Dec4.3116

Snow in Gardner

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.

Gardner averages about 28 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 21 to May 1 — about 6.3 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 18 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 81 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 10
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan718
Feb619
Mar617
Apr23
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct01
Nov24
Dec619

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Gardner, 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 5.1 months, ending around November 30. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 52% 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 April, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 62% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 29 · 53%Apr 29 · 37%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4753
Feb4654
Mar4060
Apr3862
May3961
Jun4258
Jul4852
Aug4951
Sep5248
Oct4951
Nov4753
Dec4357

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)
Jan9.27:214:33
Feb10.36:545:11
Mar11.66:085:47
Apr13.15:146:23
May14.44:326:57
Jun15.14:157:21
Jul14.84:297:19
Aug13.75:006:44
Sep12.35:345:51
Oct10.86:084:58
Nov9.66:474:19
Dec8.97:174:11

Sunny days

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

Gardner 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 3.5 months, from around Aug 12 to Nov 27. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 11 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 7 sunny days — about 36% fewer than the October peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedOct 212 daysJun 76 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan9Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar8Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul8Gloomy
Aug10Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct11Mixed
Nov9Mixed
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 Gardner, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around June 3 to September 28. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 49% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 29 to June 2, 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 23 · 46%muggyhumiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr982000
May869400
Jun52221681
Jul262527193
Aug302623183
Sep59191480
Oct906310
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 Gardner is typically calm, near 7 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around Oct 12 to May 1. The windiest month is March, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 2 to Oct 11, with August the calmest month at about 6 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyMar 6 · 8 mphAug 7 · 6 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan8light breeze
Feb8light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May7calm
Jun7calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep7calm
Oct7calm
Nov8light breeze
Dec8light breeze

Best time to visit Gardner

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Gardner 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 Gardner 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 2 · 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
Mar0.6poor
Apr3.5poor
May5.7good
Jun6.4good
Jul6.3good
Aug6.6good
Sep6.8good
Oct4.7fair
Nov1.7poor
Dec0.0poor

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 Gardner 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 13 · 6.5

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 Gardner, 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 81°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 32°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Gardner sees daytime highs around 81°F and nights near 63°F. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Gardner 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 Gardner 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 Gardner

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
Sep60
Oct20
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Gardner typically lasts about 234 days, from around March 30 to November 18 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 23 to October 20.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 1310%Mar 3050%Apr 2390%Oct 2090%Nov 1850%Jan 2310%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1231
Feb1228
Mar3131
Apr7920
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct9111
Nov5530
Dec2131

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. Gardner banks about 2,462 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
Apr6
May216
Jun495
Jul682
Aug625
Sep376
Oct62
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.

Gardner 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 73% less than the July peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 36.1 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
Nov2.0Dim
Dec1.6Dim

Where is Gardner?

Gardner sits at 42.6°N, 72.0°W, 1,063 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Fitchburg, 9.9 mi away.

Topography around Gardner

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Gardner has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 407 ft around an average of 1,063 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,545 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,094 ft.

The land around Gardner is covered by trees (73%) within 2 miles, trees (90%) within 10 miles, and trees (91%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
407 ft
10 miles
1,545 ft
50 miles
3,094 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Fitchburg 9.9 mi · Leominster 12 mi · Holden 17 mi · Worcester 24 mi · Shrewsbury 24 mi · Auburn 27 mi · Marlborough 28 mi · Westford 29 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 Gardner (42.5751°, -71.9981°, elevation 1,063 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).