Climate and average weather in Swansea

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

Best: mid May to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Swansea typically varies from 24°F to 80°F, and is rarely below 7°F or above 89°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 Swansea for warm-weather activities is from mid May to mid October.

Hottest
Jul
80°
Coldest
Jan
24°
Wettest
Mar
4.4 in
Driest
May
3.1 in
Rain / yr
43.8 in
118 wet days
Daylight
9.0–15.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
36 ft
41.7°N
Clearest
Oct
54% cloud

Swansea is town in Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts, United States.

Founded
1662

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

Swansea 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 mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.8 months, from May 30 to September 23, with daily high temperatures above 70°F. The hottest month of the year in Swansea is July, with an average high of 80°F and low of 66°F.

The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from December 5 to March 15, with daily high temperatures below 45°F. The coldest month of the year in Swansea is January, with an average low of 24°F and high of 37°F.

Days typically run about 14°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3724
Feb3925
Mar4632
Apr5642
May6551
Jun7560
Jul8066
Aug7965
Sep7258
Oct6248
Nov5138
Dec4230

How hot and cold Swansea 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 13°F (around January 22), with roughly 143 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 14 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)
Jan37371524
Feb39391625
Mar45462432
Apr56563642
May65654951
Jun75756060
Jul81806666
Aug79796565
Sep72725858
Oct62624448
Nov51513138
Dec42422230

Average hourly temperature in Swansea

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 80°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 24°F.

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

Swansea 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
Jan37° / 24°3.69.95.19.30.0
Feb39° / 25°3.18.84.410.30.0
Mar46° / 32°4.410.84.211.71.1
Apr56° / 42°3.810.80.713.13.6
May65° / 51°3.110.8014.35.7
Jun75° / 60°3.49.70156.7
Jul80° / 66°3.19.9014.76.5
Aug79° / 65°3.69.9013.76.7
Sep72° / 58°3.68.4012.37.0
Oct62° / 48°4.19.40.110.95.4
Nov51° / 38°3.68.80.69.62.7
Dec42° / 30°4.310.43.690.4

Chance of rain

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

Swansea gets about 43.8 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 3.3 months, from around Feb 15 to May 26, peaking in May at about 37% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 2.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 4.4 in over about 11 wet days; May 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 wetMay 2 · 37%Sep 2 · 26%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3210
Feb329
Mar3411
Apr3611
May3511
Jun3110
Jul3310
Aug3210
Sep278
Oct309
Nov309
Dec3310

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Swansea collects about 43.8 in of rain across 118 wet days — roughly 3.6 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 4.4 in, while May is the driest at just 3.1 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 29% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.63.14.43.83.13.43.13.63.64.13.64.3
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.6105
Feb3.194
Mar4.4114
Apr3.8111
May3.1110
Jun3.4100
Jul3.1100
Aug3.6100
Sep3.680
Oct4.190
Nov3.691
Dec4.3104

Snow in Swansea

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.

Swansea averages about 19 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 7 to Apr 18 — about 5.4 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 5 days of snow and an estimated 15 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 52 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 27
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan512
Feb415
Mar412
Apr11
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov12
Dec411

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Swansea, 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 25 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around December 7. The clearest month is August, 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 12 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around June 24. The cloudiest month is April, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 60% 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 30 · 55%Apr 1 · 38%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4951
Feb4654
Mar4258
Apr4060
May4159
Jun4555
Jul5149
Aug5347
Sep5248
Oct5248
Nov4951
Dec4753

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 10, brings about 15 hours of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 hours — a swing of roughly 6 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.37:164:33
Feb10.36:505:09
Mar11.76:055:44
Apr13.15:116:19
May14.34:316:51
Jun15.04:157:15
Jul14.74:287:13
Aug13.74:586:40
Sep12.35:315:47
Oct10.96:044:55
Nov9.66:424:18
Dec9.07:114:10

Sunny days

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

Swansea averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 12 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.3 months, from around Aug 4 to Dec 13. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 11 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is April, down near 7 sunny days — about 35% fewer than the October peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedOct 712 daysApr 97 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar8Mixed
Apr7Gloomy
May8Gloomy
Jun8Gloomy
Jul9Mixed
Aug11Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct12Mixed
Nov10Mixed
Dec10Mixed

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 Swansea, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around May 31 to September 30. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 75% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 1 to May 30, and March 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 20 · 100%Jul 28 · 21%oppressivemuggydrycomfortablehumidcomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr972000
May8013610
Jun332523172
Jul818283215
Aug1018292814
Sep382420163
Oct8012620
Nov963100
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 Swansea is typically light breeze, near 8 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Oct 13 to May 3. The windiest month is March, averaging about 9 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 4 to Oct 12, with August the calmest month at about 7 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyMar 6 · 9 mphAug 10 · 7 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan9light breeze
Feb9light breeze
Mar9light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May8light breeze
Jun7calm
Jul7calm
Aug7calm
Sep7calm
Oct8light breeze
Nov9light breeze
Dec9light breeze

Hazard calendar for Swansea

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Swansea sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Atlantic hurricane
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Swansea

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Swansea 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 Swansea for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to mid October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 4 · 7.3

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
Mar1.1poor
Apr3.6fair
May5.7good
Jun6.7good
Jul6.5good
Aug6.7good
Sep7.0good
Oct5.4fair
Nov2.7poor
Dec0.4poor

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 Swansea 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 10 · 6.7

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 Swansea, 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 80°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 37°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Swansea sees daytime highs around 80°F and nights near 66°F. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 10 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Swansea

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 19 mi away) is warmest in August at about 70°F and coldest in February near 37°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 16 to Sep 8 — about 1.8 months when the water holds above 68°F.

30°40°50°60°70°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan41Bracing
Feb37Bracing
Mar38Bracing
Apr44Bracing
May53Bracing
Jun61Cool
Jul68Refreshing
Aug70Refreshing
Sep67Cool
Oct62Cool
Nov54Bracing
Dec47Bracing

UV index (midday) in Swansea 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 Swansea peaks around June 23 at about 8 (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 highHighModerateLowJun 23UV 8Dec 23UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug5High
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Swansea

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4.5 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
Jun84.5
Jul7.54
Aug60
Sep5.50
Oct20
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Swansea by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Swansea is worst in July — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (November, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1516 µg/m³Nov 189 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar14Moderate
Apr14Moderate
May15Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul16Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct10Good
Nov8Good
Dec10Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Swansea typically lasts about 263 days, from around March 18 to December 5 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 11 to October 31.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1850%Apr 1190%Oct 3190%Dec 550%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2431
Feb2428
Mar5231
Apr939
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct970
Nov7429
Dec4031

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. Swansea banks about 2,786 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
Apr20
May248
Jun519
Jul723
Aug678
Sep452
Oct146
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.

Swansea 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 6.2 months, from around Mar 16 to Sep 21. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.0 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.7 kWh/m² — roughly 72% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 306.1 kWhDec 171.6 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.0Moderate
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar3.9Moderate
Apr4.9Bright
May5.5Bright
Jun5.9Bright
Jul5.9Bright
Aug5.2Bright
Sep4.2Bright
Oct3.0Moderate
Nov2.1Moderate
Dec1.7Dim

Where is Swansea?

Swansea sits at 41.7°N, 71.2°W, 36 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Somerset, 3.7 mi away.

Topography around Swansea

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Swansea has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 240 ft around an average of 92 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 394 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,286 ft.

The land around Swansea is covered by trees (64%) within 2 miles, trees (61%) and water (20%) within 10 miles, and trees (52%) and water (40%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
240 ft
10 miles
394 ft
50 miles
1,286 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Somerset 3.7 mi · Fall River 3.7 mi · Barrington 6.2 mi · Bristol 6.2 mi · East Providence 11 mi · Portsmouth 11 mi · Taunton 12 mi · Warwick 12 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 Swansea (41.7482°, -71.1898°, elevation 36 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).