Massachusetts Has Seen Much Colder Temperatures Than This

If it seems as though it has been cold lately, it has. Windy, too.

It is supposed to be cold and windy. It's January.

National Public Radio says "bone-chilling temperatures" began impacting millions of Americans over this past weekend, "shepherding in days of frigid temperatures and life-threatening conditions" for much of this week.

Wind chills as low as -30 to -40 degrees were expected out west in the Rockies, the northern Plains, and the upper Midwest. They call it a "polar vortex."

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While mighty chilly around these parts, it's like a day at the beach compared to what those folks are experiencing.

I lived in northern Vermont for several years, where I experienced extreme cold, the likes of which I had never felt before. The air temperature can drop to -30 degrees in January and February and remain there for several weeks. That's brutal.

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

Frostbite is the biggest concern with such low temperatures. Prolonged exposure can also lead to hypothermia.

In 1981, three years before Chester set the record for the coldest temperature in Massachusetts, Coldbrook tied a record cold -35 degrees. Taunton had already set the  Massachusetts record cold temperature at -35 in 1943.

Just for kicks, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Massachusetts was 107 degrees on August 2, 1975. That happened in New Bedford. Boston recorded a record-high heat index of 108 degrees in June of 2024.

READ MORE: New Bedford Holds Record for Hottest Day Ever in Massachusetts

Temperatures around here should begin to rebound to near normal by this weekend.