How many days a year does it snow in Boston? (apartment, house)

[Pianista]

I think Boston is a very interesting and fascinating city; I love the architecture there, the walkability, and a lot of people say it's a very European city. I think it's my favorite city in the country, I also like San Francisco, but dislike the hills and earthquakes.

The only thing I'm concerned about is the weather. Is it really terrible there? can you walk outside in the winters?

[mmyk72]

People walk outside in the winter all the time. It helps to have a good jacket, hat, gloves, and boots if walking in snow or slush.

This past winter was horrible. Cold and snowy all of Feb and March. Some winters were mild and I consider those a treat.

[Pianista]

I like winters but I've never been in extreme cold, how long do extreme winters last? around how many days a year?

I'm in California and hate the heat and the fact that there is only one season here.

[Dm84]

It only snows a few days a year, but depending on how cold it is the snow can linger for months.

The definition of extreme cold varies by person, to me anything under 15 degrees is extreme cold; this only happens a few days a year usually. That being said, someone from SF will probably think it's extremely cold every day from November to April. You should expect to wear a winter coat every day from December to March, if not longer.

[bUU]

On average, it snows 22.4 days per year in Boston. [Source: 1981-2010 Climate Normals. National Climatic Data Center. NOAA.]

We used to joke, as Boston residents, about our "five month winters". But it wasn't really a joke. We expected to be cold from early December through April. We moved to Georgia last November. I was recently speaking at church about how we left behind 110 inches of snow. Our new church friends thought I was kidding. I wasn't. We loved living in the Boston area. We also love living in Georgia. Weather-wise, we'll take Georgia, as long as there is air conditioning.

On average, it snows 2.1 days per year in Atlanta.

[bostonguy1960]

It's very hard to have a white Christmas in downtown Boston. No lie. 65 degrees last Dec. 25.

Average highs in Dec/Jan/Feb are 35-37. Not as cold, temp wise, as outsiders think. But the wind can make 20 degrees at 6 am feel awful even without snow on the ground.

[notafan]

Originally Posted by Pianista

I like winters but I've never been in extreme cold, how long do extreme winters last? around how many days a year?

I'm in California and hate the heat and the fact that there is only one season here.

Boston has an extreme climate. Very severe winter weather and hot and humid summers. Yes, there are 4 seasons, but Spring and Autumn are short. I would not recommend moving from one extreme climate to another unless you know it is something you can cope with. This past winter in Boston was pure hell (the latter part of it). Anyone who says otherwise, well....I suppose we are all different in terms of our tolerance to weather. It's summer here now (almost). Had you asked this question in winter, I think you would be getting very different replies. To reiterate, winter here is tough and messy.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by notafan

Boston has an extreme climate. Very severe winter weather and hot and humid summers. Yes, there are 4 seasons, but Spring and Autumn are short. I would not recommend moving from one extreme climate to another unless you know it is something you can cope with. This past winter in Boston was pure hell (the latter part of it). Anyone who says otherwise, well....I suppose we are all different in terms of our tolerance to weather. It's summer here now (almost). Had you asked this question in winter, I think you would be getting very different replies. To reiterate, winter here is tough and messy.

Winter in Boston for someone who lives in an apartment and commutes via the T is easy to cope with if you dress warmly.

Someone who owns a single family house in the suburbs will have a much more difficult time with winter.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by Dm84

It only snows a few days a year, but depending on how cold it is the snow can linger for months.

The definition of extreme cold varies by person, to me anything under 15 degrees is extreme cold; this only happens a few days a year usually. That being said, someone from SF will probably think it's extremely cold every day from November to April. You should expect to wear a winter coat every day from December to March, if not longer.

This is a good approach for setting reasonable expectations because realistically, it could potentially be freezing any day in that span.

In practice late December to the beginning of March is the real "freezing" span where the majority of days are typically frigid (for me, that number is under 20, so not far off from you). I feel like November, December, April, and the last half of March are usually a crap shoot. Have the winter coat ready, but also expect a good number of days where a long sleeve and jeans will cut it. I broke a sweat in a long sleeve shirt playing with the kids outside on Christmas this year. I feel like more recent Thanksgivings have been in the 50-70 range than the 25-45 range. I can't remember the last white Christmas. Late March usually brings the first buds on trees and flowers sprouting. It also brings the first t-shirt weather days.

We'll remember this past winter as one of the worst because of the snowfall and the unusually long sustained cold. We'll probably forget that November, December, March and April and almost all of January were relatively mild and free of snow. We had two major storms (late January, then a week or so later in February) that dumped most of the snow on us. What crippled us was the sustained cold and intermittent snowfalls (3-6 inches each time) that prevented the major snow from melting. It was about one month of nightmare sandwiched between an otherwise mild winter. I'm not downplaying how bad the end of January and February were, but it wasn't a constant shellacking from November-April.

[Cliff Clavin]

Originally Posted by Dm84

Winter in Boston for someone who lives in an apartment and commutes via the T is easy to cope with if you dress warmly.

This. I don't even own a shovel.