Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Massachusetts
Every extreme cold/wind chill event the National Weather Service has filed in Massachusetts, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
The most significant on the map
The most significant extreme cold/wind chill episodes in Massachusetts.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 64
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- None recorded
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, February 3 to 4, 2007Low pressure anchored over the Maritimes combined with strong high pressure over the Plains brought a prolonged surge of arctic air into southern New England.
- Blizzard and Coastal Flood in Massachusetts, February 14 to 16, 2015Low pressure off the Delmarva peninsula intensified rapidly as it moved northeastward. Its path just southeast of Nantucket brought heavy snow to all of southern New England and blizzard conditions and coastal flooding to coastal areas.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, February 13 to 14, 2016Arctic high pressure brought strong northwest winds and extremely cold wind chills to southern New England. Many locations reported wind chills between 25 and 35 degrees below zero.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, February 7 to 9, 2026A strong cold front crossed western Massachusetts during the morning hours on February 7, 2026, ushering in an arctic air mass which remained in place through the morning hours on February 9, 2026.
- Extreme Cold and Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, January 4 to 7, 2018A deep upper level trough swept across the southern US and turned northeastward offshore of the east coast from the morning of January 3 through the morning of January 4, 2018.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 19 to 22, 2019A winter storm impacted western Massachusetts on January 19th and 20th. Low pressure formed over the lower Mississippi Valley and lifted northeast across the Tennessee Valley during the night of the 19th before moving along the Mason-Dixon line on the 20th.
- Extreme Cold and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, February 3 to 4, 2023A brief but powerful arctic airmass moved across the region on February 3-4, 2023 which brought dangerously low wind chill values to much of the region along with strong wind gusts.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, January 29 to 31, 2026A persistent polar airmass created a prolonged period of frigid conditions across western Massachusetts for the final days of January into the very beginning of February.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 23 to 24, 2011Bitterly cold air settled into the region as Canadian high pressure built in. Temperatures plummeted to 10 to 20 degrees below zero across the Berkshires. Brisk westerly winds diminished during the evening becoming light and variable to calm after midnight.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, February 19 to 20, 2015In the wake of a departing storm system, strong northwest winds brought yet another frigid Arctic air mass into the region during the evening on Thursday, February 19th.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, February 15 to 16, 2015Behind a rapidly developing coastal storm, an extremely frigid Arctic air mass pour into the region from the north, beginning during the late morning hours on Sunday, February 15th.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 7 to 8, 2015Behind an arctic cold front, bitter cold air moved into western Massachusetts for the night of Wednesday, January 7th. Overnight lows were below zero in all areas, with the coldest temperatures of around -20 degrees within the high terrain of the Berkshires.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, February 13 to 14, 2016Behind an Arctic cold front, very cold temperatures poured into the region upon brisk northwesterly winds. Temperatures dropped through the day on Saturday, February 13th, reaching lows of 10 to 25 degrees below zero across western Massachusetts on Saturday night.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, December 31, 2017A bitterly cold air mass in place allowed temperatures to plummet several degrees below zero on New Years Eve into New Years Day. Temperatures ranged from two degrees below zero to 20 degrees below zero in Berkshire county, Massachusetts.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, December 27 to 29, 2017A frigid Arctic air mass poured into the region Wednesday, December 27th along with gusty northwesterly winds. Despite gusty winds, low temperatures fell to as low as one below zero to 10 degrees below zero across western Massachusetts on Wednesday night.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, January 6 to 7, 2018Strong west winds trailed the January 4 winter storm. These winds drew bitterly cold arctic air over Massachusetts.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 1 to 2, 2018A frigid airmass combined with northwesterly winds up to 15 miles per hour resulted in dangerously cold wind chills on the first and second days of 2018. Wind chills fell as low as 15 to 35 below zero in many locations across the region on New Year's morning.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 21, 2019Strong west to northwest winds trailing the January 20th storm drew cold air across Southern New England on January 21st and caused wind chill values of 25 below zero or colder in Central and Western Massachusetts.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 30 to 31, 2019An arctic cold front tracked through western Massachusetts during the afternoon of the 30th, accompanied by a heavy snow squall. Frigid air poured in behind this front along with strong westerly winds. Wind chills the morning of the 31st fell to 15 to 30 degrees below zero.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, January 29 to 30, 2021A combination of an arctic airmass and winds resulted in low cold wind chills across west Massachusetts the night of January 29th into January 30th, 2021. Low temperatures ranged from 12 degrees below zero up to 3 degrees above zero in Berkshire county.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, January 28 to 29, 2021A combination of an arctic airmass and gusty winds resulted in dangerously cold wind chills across west Massachusetts the night of January 28th into January 29th, 2021. Low temperatures ranged from 7 degrees below zero up to 6 degrees above zero in Berkshire county.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 14 to 15, 2022An Arctic high pressure system brought dangerously cold temperatures to western Massachusetts on January 14 and 15. Wind chills fell to -10 to -30 degrees over most areas on the morning of the 15th.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 17, 2000A very large arctic high built southward from eastern Canada early on January 17. At the same, deep low pressure system settled in over the Canadian Maritimes.
- Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, February 20, 2015High pressure to the west and low pressure to the east funneled winds through southern New England overnight. Coupled with strong cold advection into the region, this resulted in wind chills well below zero overnight.
More
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in Massachusetts
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.