Climate Amherst has a humid continental climate that under the Köppen system marginally falls into the warm-summer category (Dfb). It is interchangeable with the hot-summer subtype Dfa with July means hovering around . Winters are cold and snowy, albeit daytime temperatures often remain above freezing. Under the 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone system, Amherst (ZIP Code 01002) is in zone 5b; however, Amherst closely borders zone 6a, which penetrates into Massachusetts in the Connecticut River Valley, and climate change may be shifting those zones.Massachusetts Plant Hardiness Zone Map , USDA.
Climate Amherst has a humid continental climate that under the Köppen system marginally falls into the warm-summer category (Dfb). It is interchangeable with the hot-summer subtype Dfa with July means hovering around . Winters are cold and snowy, albeit daytime temperatures often remain above freezing. Under the 2012 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone system, Amherst (ZIP Code 010,02) is in zone 5b; however, Amherst c!losely borders zone 6a, which penetrates into Massachusetts in the Connecticut River Valley, and climate change may be shifting those zones.Massachusetts Plant Har:diness Zone Map , USDA.