Recent Massachusetts Cold Snap Not Close to Record-Setting

Cold enough for ya? Don't you hate it when people, usually New Englanders, pose such stupid questions? The reverse is true in August, when they ask, "Hot enough for ya?"

It has been especially cold lately. In my opinion, the 2025–2026 winter will go down as one of the coldest and snowiest in recent memory in Massachusetts. Although 2015 may not have been as cold as this winter, it was certainly snowier.

When I awoke on Sunday to a temperature just a couple of degrees above zero and a wind chill at 12 to 15 degrees below zero, I thought about how consistently cold it has been this season. However, despite the mercury's low readings, cold temperature records have not been broken – at least not yet.

Get our free mobile app

The Coldest Temperature Ever in Massachusetts

The coldest temperature ever recorded in Massachusetts occurred on January 22, 1984, in Chester in Hampden County, in western Massachusetts, when the temperature dropped to -40 degrees.

Earlier Massachusetts Cold Weather Records

The prior record was -35 degrees recorded in Taunton in 1943. In 1981, Coldbrook, in north-central Massachusetts, tied Taunton's record low temperature.

If all this talk of record-setting cold temperatures and snowy weather has you jonesing for balmier times, take heart; spring is just around the corner.

The Hottest Day in Massachusetts History

For those who will ask if you are hot enough yet when August arrives, you can remind them that the hottest temperature ever recorded in Massachusetts occurred in New Bedford.

On August 2, 1975, the thermometer recorded an eye-popping 107 degrees in New Bedford, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

Gallery Credit: Anuradha Varanasi

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Gallery Credit: KATELYN LEBOFF