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Built 2026-10-19 (19 October 2026)

Nights at or below -20 C (-4 F) in Boston

Boston has had nights with a minimum temperature at or below -20 C (-4 F) in 17 years, most in 1942 with 3. Days per year, season span, streaks and every date.

Key Facts for Boston

  • Boston has had nights with a minimum temperature at or below -20 C (-4 F) in 17 years, 27 days in all.
  • The most in one year was 3 days in 1942.
  • In 2023, the latest year on file, there were 2 such days.
  • The earliest first date in a year was 4 January 1981.
  • The latest last date in a year was 31 December 1962.
  • The longest run inside a single year was 3 days in 1942.
  • 1 year with under 90 percent of days observed is left out of these rankings.

Days per Year

17 years, 27 days
Nights at or below -20 C (-4 F) per year in Boston Days per year in Boston with a minimum temperature at or below -20 C (-4 F). The line is the decade average. The most was 3 in 1942. Grey bars are years with under 90 percent of days observed, left out of rankings. 01231942: 31943: 21945: 11957: 21958: 11961: 11962: 11965: 11968: 21976: 11980: 21981: 21988: 11994: 12004: 32016: 12023: 219421980
Days per year in Boston with a minimum temperature at or below -20 C (-4 F). The line is the decade average. The most was 3 in 1942. Grey bars are years with under 90 percent of days observed, left out of rankings.
Nights at or below -20 C (-4 F) per year in Boston
YearDaysDecade average
194232
194322
194512
195721.5
195811.5
196111.3
196211.3
196511.3
196821.3
197611
198021.7
198121.7
198811.7
199411
200433
201611
202322

Season Span

earliest 4 January, latest 31 December
First to last qualifying date each year in Boston For each year, a bar from the first to the last day in Boston meeting -20 C (-4 F). Long bars mean a long season. 1942: 19 December 1942 to 21 December 19421943: 15 February 1943 to 16 February 19431945: 25 January 1945 to 25 January 19451957: 14 January 1957 to 15 January 19571958: 18 February 1958 to 18 February 19581961: 2 February 1961 to 2 February 19611962: 31 December 1962 to 31 December 19621965: 15 January 1965 to 15 January 19651968: 8 January 1968 to 9 January 19681976: 23 January 1976 to 23 January 19761980: 25 December 1980 to 26 December 19801981: 4 January 1981 to 5 January 19811988: 14 January 1988 to 14 January 19881994: 16 January 1994 to 16 January 19942004: 14 January 2004 to 16 January 20042016: 14 February 2016 to 14 February 20162023: 3 February 2023 to 4 February 2023194219571962197619882016JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
For each year, a bar from the first to the last day in Boston meeting -20 C (-4 F). Long bars mean a long season.
First to last qualifying date each year in Boston
YearFirst dateLast date
19421942-12-191942-12-21
19431943-02-151943-02-16
19451945-01-251945-01-25
19571957-01-141957-01-15
19581958-02-181958-02-18
19611961-02-021961-02-02
19621962-12-311962-12-31
19651965-01-151965-01-15
19681968-01-081968-01-09
19761976-01-231976-01-23
19801980-12-251980-12-26
19811981-01-041981-01-05
19881988-01-141988-01-14
19941994-01-161994-01-16
20042004-01-142004-01-16
20162016-02-142016-02-14
20232023-02-032023-02-04

Every Year

Nights at or below -20 C (-4 F) per year in Boston
YearDaysFirst dateLast dateLongest streak in yearCoverage
202323 February 20234 February 20232 daysComplete
2016114 February 201614 February 20161 daysComplete
2004314 January 200416 January 20043 daysComplete
1994116 January 199416 January 19941 daysComplete
1988114 January 198814 January 19881 daysComplete
198124 January 19815 January 19812 daysComplete
1980225 December 198026 December 19802 daysComplete
1976123 January 197623 January 19761 daysComplete
196828 January 19689 January 19682 daysComplete
1965115 January 196515 January 19651 daysComplete
1962131 December 196231 December 19621 daysComplete
196112 February 19612 February 19611 daysComplete
1958118 February 195818 February 19581 daysComplete
1957214 January 195715 January 19572 daysComplete
1945125 January 194525 January 19451 daysComplete
1943215 February 194316 February 19432 daysComplete
1942319 December 194221 December 19423 daysComplete
Decade averages for Nights at or below -20 C (-4 F) in Boston
DecadeAverage days per yearYears counted
1940s2.03
1950s1.52
1960s1.34
1970s1.01
1980s1.73
1990s1.01
2000s3.01
2010s1.01
2020s2.01

Compare with your own threshold in the threshold explorer. Fahrenheit thresholds are converted to tenths of a degree Celsius once, rounding half up.

Download the Data

  • Data for Nights at or below -20 C (-4 F) in Boston, by year: CSV or JSON. Field meanings are on the data page.

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Climatology Network Daily (GHCN-Daily). Records are computed by World Extreme Weather Monitor and are not official NOAA products. (US Government open data (NOAA NCEI)) Data as of 2026-10-17 (17 October 2026). Threshold counts are computed by this site from the threaded city record.

Data as of . Last revised (2026-10-17).