Boston Weather Forecast for Today

Plus the weather prediction for the next few days

Here's a quick snapshot of current Boston weather plus a Boston weather forecast from AccuWeather for the next few days.  If you have Boston vacation or travel plans for the near future, this forecast will help you decide what to pack.

If you're planning Boston travel, the weather forecast may impact your plans.   And because the weather here can change so rapidily, regardless of season, forecasts are seldom accurate beyond 2 or 3 days, despite meteorologists' best efforts. 

An important point to remember is that even though Boston is a compact city, you'll also find microclimates. 

If you're near the Charles River or the Boston Harbor waterfront, you'll sometimes experience a stiff breeze that you won't find a few blocks "inland." 

On hot summer days, waterfront areas may be a number of degrees cooler than, for example, Back Bay or the South End.  

Still, your best strategy will be to check the Boston weather forecast frequently so that you'll have the best available information when deciding what to pack for your Boston visit.

Will weather predictions for areas outside of Boston mirror Boston?

No, not necessarily.

If you're traveling outside of central Boston, even just to outlying suburbs such as Wakefield or Lexington, you should be aware that you may encounter temperature differences of as much as 10° - 15° within a range of fewer than 10 - 15 miles. 

Fortunately, this often works to Boston's advantage.  During the summer, despite all of its concrete, brick, and granite, Boston is usually cooler than inland areas because of sea breezes.  Once fall arrives, foliage stays spectacular longer.  In the winter, the concrete, brick, and granite plus the nearby water keep Boston warmer.

During the winter or early spring, you should get more than just a general Boston forecast if the temperature is near freezing and you're traveling more than just a few miles north or west.  Be sure to also get a local weather prediction for the area where you're going. 

What about snow, sleet, and other frozen stuff?

When weather conditions are borderline freezing, what's rain in Boston may be sleet, freezing rain, or snow in Lexington, only 8 miles to the west.  The same is true if you're traveling north.  Slushy snowflakes in Boston can change to treacherous sleet by the time you reach Amherst.

Furthermore, the land elevation rises just to the west and north of Boston in a series of hills and ridges, so areas 8-10 miles from Boston often experience much heavier snowfalls than the city because they're in a different microclimate.

But if you're going south or to Cape Cod, you can't be sure. Often these areas will be slightly warmer than Boston weather - but if a storm is coming up from the south with cold air behind it, those areas can sometimes get significantly more snow than Boston.

Don't take chances if you're traveling: check the weather forecasts early and often!

And one more thing that you may not know if you're not from New England:  during the winter, always make sure you have a snow shovel and ice scraper in the car.  If you're not wearing a hat, gloves, scarf, and boots or waterproof shoes, make sure you bring those items as well.