Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Nantucket features a climate that borders between a humid continental climate (Dfb) and an oceanic climate (Cfb), the latter a climate type rarely found on the east coast of North America. Nantucket's climate is heavily influenced by the Atlantic Ocean which helps moderates temperatures in the town throughout the course of the year. As a result, the island's winter climate is warmer than that on the mainland of New England and summers are cooler than on the mainland. Average temperatures during the town's coldest month (January) are just below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius), while average temperatures during the town's warmest months (July and August) hovers around 69 degrees Fahrenheit (or roughly 20 degrees Celsius). Nantucket's sees on average 38 inches (965 mm) of precipitation annually which is relatively evenly spread throughout the year. Similar to many other cities with an oceanic climate, Nantucket features a large number of cloudy or overcast days, particularly outside the summer months.
| Climate data for Nantucket (Nantucket Memorial Airport) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 37.8 (3.2) |
39.4 (4.1) |
44.2 (6.8) |
51.9 (11.1) |
60.1 (15.6) |
67.9 (19.9) |
74.9 (23.8) |
75.0 (23.9) |
70.2 (21.2) |
60.7 (15.9) |
52.7 (11.5) |
44.1 (6.7) |
56.6 (13.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 31.4 (−0.3) |
33.2 (0.7) |
37.8 (3.2) |
45.2 (7.3) |
53.4 (11.9) |
61.9 (16.6) |
68.6 (20.3) |
68.6 (20.3) |
63.6 (17.6) |
54.3 (12.4) |
46.4 (8.0) |
37.7 (3.2) |
50.2 (10.1) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 24.9 (−3.9) |
27.0 (−2.8) |
31.4 (−0.3) |
38.6 (3.7) |
46.6 (8.1) |
55.8 (13.2) |
62.3 (16.8) |
62.3 (16.8) |
57.1 (13.9) |
47.8 (8.8) |
40.2 (4.6) |
31.2 (−0.4) |
43.8 (6.6) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 2.86 (72.6) |
2.16 (54.9) |
3.57 (90.7) |
3.51 (89.2) |
3.16 (80.3) |
3.02 (76.7) |
2.38 (60.5) |
2.91 (73.9) |
3.66 (93) |
3.80 (96.5) |
3.49 (88.6) |
3.46 (87.9) |
37.98 (964.7) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 11.3 | 9.1 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 10.6 | 12.4 | 13.9 | 14.5 | 13.3 | 12.6 | 11.6 | 11.8 | 143.1 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
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