Boston Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

How Often It Snows in Boston

The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).

10-year snowfall averages at Boston, 2010 to 2019

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
3.3	January	15.8	40.1
4.2	February	20.5	52.0
1.7	March	8.5	21.5
0.3	April	1.0	2.6
0.0	October	0.1	0.3
0.1	November	0.3	0.8
1.5	December	6.5	16.5
11.1	Year	52.7	133.8

30-year snowfall averages at Boston, 1991 to 2020

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
6.6	January	14.3	36.3
6.2	February	14.4	36.6
4.4	March	9.0	22.9
0.8	April	1.6	4.1
0.2	October	0.2	0.5
0.6	November	0.7	1.8
4.2	December	9.0	22.9
23.0	Year	49.2	125.0

These averages don't show how much Boston's snowfall varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 11.6 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 1.5 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 17.8 inches, while the lightest years get less than five inches.

Snow in February ranges from over 19.3 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 4.7 inches in light years.

When Boston Has Its First & Last Snowfalls

Boston's first snowfall of winter usually arrives in December. The season's last snowfall typically happens in March. Over the long-term Boston has averaged half-an-inch or so of snow during October, November and April. But in most years those months have no snow.

Boston is normally free of snow every year from May to September.

How Many Snowstorms Boston Gets

About half the snowfalls in Boston result in just a skiff of less than an inch left on the ground. On an average of 11 days a year, at least an inch of snow lands in one day.

Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur three times a year. But major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day are rare events that don't happen every year.

Number of days per month and year on average in Boston with a total snowfall of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches

1 inch 2.5 cm	3 inches 7.6 cm		5 inches 12.7 cm	10 inches 25.4 cm
3.5	1.4	January	0.9	0.2
2.9	1.4	February	0.9	0.4
2.2	1.0	March	0.6	0.1
0.3	0.1	April	0.1	0.0
0.1	0.0	October	0.0	0.0
0.2	0.1	November	0.0	0.0
1.9	1.0	December	0.6	0.1
11.1	5.0	Year	3.1	0.8

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Boston

For about one-quarter to one-third of winter days, Boston has at least an inch of snow on the ground. Snow mostly accumulates during January.

Typically, for a couple of days in January, the snow covering Boston gets to ten or more inches deep.

Average total days per month and year in Boston with snow depth of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches on the ground

1 inch 2.5 cm	3 inches 7.6 cm		5 inches 12.7 cm	10 inches 25.4 cm
10.9	7.3	January	4.8	2.0
9.4	5.9	February	3.2	0.8
5.6	3.2	March	1.6	0.3
0.3	0.2	April	0.1	0.1
0.9	0.4	November	0.1	0.0
4.5	2.4	December	1.8	0.8
31.6	19.4	Year	11.6	4.0