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Boston Marathon Weather: Extreme Heat to Wind-Blown Snow
April 16, 2022
By WeatherBug Sr. Meteorologist, Chad Merrill
Inspired by the adrenaline rush of the Olympic Marathon, the man who organized the Boston Marathon never thought it would become an iconic race that brings together the fastest runners in the world. Today we celebrate the 126th year of this race and while the weather is looking pristine, the Boston Marathon has seen its share of ups and downs over the years!
John Graham spearheaded efforts to organize the first Boston Marathon way back in April of 1897 with a whopping 15 runners toeing the starting line. The course was only 24.5 miles at the time, but later in 1924, it was lengthened to 26.2 miles to conform to the Olympic standards. The increased distance meant the starting line moved from Ashland, Mass., to Hopkinton, Mass.
Deciding the race day was easy; the marathon was used to commemorate the start of the Revolutionary War, a holiday only recognized in Massachusetts and Maine as Patriots’ Day. The holiday was originally recognized on April 19th, but since 1969, Patriots’ Day has been honored on the third Monday in April.
The coronavirus changed things temporarily. The 2020 Boston Marathon was postponed from April to September and then officials decided to make it a complete virtual race. The 2021 race was moved from the traditional Patriots’ Day to October 11th, again, due to the coronavirus.
Legends range from Kenya’s Ibrahim Hussein, who became the first African to win the Boston Marathon in 1988 to Geoffrey Mutai from Kenya who not only set a new course record but broke a marathon world record with a time of 2:03:02 in 2011. Keen interest in the race (including the prize money) over the years has allowed the field to expand from 15 runners in 1897 to 36,748 runners by the mid-90s!
Marathon runners prefer temperatures in the middle to upper 40s with cloudy skies. A tailwind is preferred, which for the point-to-point Boston Marathon course, is a southwest breeze.
Unfortunately, the weather in Boston is usually anything but ideal on race day. In 1905, the temperature hit 100 degrees and then two years later runners had to contend with sleet. Wind-blown snow squalls were common in two races during the early to mid-1960s. Since 2010, there have been seven races where the starting line temperature was in the 50s or warmer and only five races where the temperature at the finish line on Boylston Street in Boston was in the 40s or 50s.
What’s the average temperature for the middle of April in Boston? Morning lows typically range from the lower to middle 40s with afternoon highs in the upper 50s. Average rainfall for any one day in mid-April is 0.11 inches. Today’s weather will be dry with near average temperatures and light wind, so there should be fast times recorded on the course.
Good luck to all the runners and best wishes for that personal best time today! Don’t forget to download the WeatherBug phone application for the latest hourly to 10-day forecast in your neighborhood.
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Source: Boston Athletic Association, Boston Discovery Guide, NOAA Regional Climate Centers
Story Image: A view of Boston from our camera at the American Meteorological Society.