Climate averages 1991–2020
Dorchester weather
in March.
A cold, wet month: the 9th warmest and the wettest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
March is a cold month in Dorchester: daytime highs average 6.7°C and nights cool to about -1.9°C. By daytime temperature it is the 9th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 116 mm of rain on roughly 11 days, which makes March a wet month (the wettest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 54 min on an average March day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Boston (7 km away). In March its highs average 6.7°C, about as warm as Dorchester, with 116 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Dorchester ranks joint 442nd of 498 for the warmest March highs and joint 448th of 498 for the driest March (rainfall, lowest first). The mean March high of those 498 cities is 14.9°C; Dorchester is 8.2°C cooler than that mean.
From March to April, average highs rise by 6.3°C to 13.0°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 116 mm to 100 mm.
The annual picture
March in context
Monthly precipitation
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Dorchester climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.7°C-6.3°C | -6.3°C | 94 | 10.0 | 9.59 h |
| February | 3.0°C-5.5°C | -5.5°C | 84 | 8.9 | 10.511 h |
| March, selected | 6.7°C-1.9°C | -1.9°C | 116 | 11.1 | 11.912 h |
| April | 13.0°C3.8°C | 3.8°C | 100 | 11.0 | 13.313 h |
| May | 18.5°C9.5°C | 9.5°C | 81 | 10.6 | 14.615 h |
| June | 23.8°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 87 | 10.1 | 15.215 h |
| July | 27.2°C18.6°C | 18.6°C | 73 | 9.6 | 14.915 h |
| August | 26.3°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 85 | 9.1 | 13.914 h |
| September | 22.2°C14.4°C | 14.4°C | 88 | 8.1 | 12.513 h |
| October | 15.9°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 108 | 9.8 | 11.111 h |
| November | 9.9°C2.8°C | 2.8°C | 95 | 9.6 | 9.810 h |
| December | 4.6°C-2.4°C | -2.4°C | 115 | 10.8 | 9.29 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
March in nearby cities
- Boston in MarchUnited States · 7 kmHigh 6.7°C · Low -2.4°C · 116 mm rain
- Quincy in MarchUnited States · 8 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low -1.2°C · 116 mm rain
- Newton in MarchUnited States · 12 kmHigh 7.0°C · Low -2.0°C · 109 mm rain
- Lynn in MarchUnited States · 21 kmHigh 5.9°C · Low -1.3°C · 115 mm rain
- Brockton in MarchUnited States · 24 kmHigh 6.9°C · Low -1.2°C · 112 mm rain
- Lowell in MarchUnited States · 42 kmHigh 6.8°C · Low -2.6°C · 104 mm rain
- Lawrence (Massachusetts), United States in MarchUnited States · 46 kmHigh 6.7°C · Low -2.6°C · 104 mm rain
- Pawtucket in MarchUnited States · 53 kmHigh 7.8°C · Low -1.3°C · 109 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Dorchester) is explained once on the Dorchester year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Boston and Quincy lie in the same rainfall cell, so their rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.