Just how bad is the weather up there?
We are having CRAZY good weather. The weekend was fantastic. The campus is all abloom. It’s a beautiful spring week.
Which makes it a good time to answer the question: How terrible is the weather in the Medford/Somerville metro area?
Let me start with the bad news. We have a long winter. It can be consistently cold in January and February, and chilly from December to March, meaning that snow sometimes (but not always!) hangs around for that entire time. And our spring comes late. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to come at all — we just jump from winter to summer.
But really, when comparing Boston to other cities on the East Coast, that’s about the limit of the bad news. This is hardly the far north, and the nearby ocean helps regulate the temperature, keeping us a little warmer in winter and cooler in summer. The temperatures may differ by a few degrees, but when it’s cold in Boston, it’s cold in New York, and probably cold in D.C., too. Not enough of a difference to choose a grad school by. I know I’m not alone in preferring the best of our winters — cold but bright — to the damp and dreary winters in many other locations. And we have fabulous weather in late spring and in the fall.
So, incoming students and prospective applicants, fear not the weather! Bring a warm coat and gloves, and you’ll be fine! It’s always warm here at Fletcher.
That’s great! Snow is amazing stuff. So beautiful as it falls. It’s magical when our students experience snow for the first time.
Hi Jessica
I live near the Equator and have never seen or touched snow. I am looking forward to a first! 🙂
Dear Jessica,
I really can not imagine myself selecting one school or another just because of the weather. I have lived in DC and it was cold during the winter, indeed the coolest place I have ever lived at but if I am pursuing a dream, as a Master’s degree is to me, I would not let it vanish under the snow nor under the sunlight. I guess it is, as many other things in life, a matter of will.
Thanks, Chris, for sticking up for our local weather! Yes, the fall is truly beautiful up here. Great foliage. Apples ready for picking. Definitely the weather highlight of each year.
How could you have forgotten about the fall season? Granted some years it’s shorter than others, but the fall in Massachusetts is beautiful. For people not familiar with the state, the Berkshires in the western part are especially scenic during that time of the year. Routes 9 and 202 are best for enjoying the changes in foliage out that way. No worries though, the area around Fletcher will be enjoyable as well. 🙂