Climate in Chatham
Chatham shares Massachusetts's statewide nor'easter/blizzard risk as a Cape Cod town, alongside a genuinely mild, ocean-moderated climate and a real, currently active coastal-erosion story distinct from a generic hazard disclosure.
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Learn moreA genuinely mild, ocean-moderated climate
Chatham averages approximately 23 inches of snowfall annually -- the mildest, lowest-snowfall figure documented for any Massachusetts market in this project so far, reflecting the town's immediate coastal, ocean-moderated setting.
A real, currently active coastal-erosion story
The January 2, 1987 nor'easter that produced the "Chatham Break" cut a roughly 200-foot-wide inlet through North Beach next to Chatham Light -- the largest barrier-beach inlet in Massachusetts in modern times -- and has remained open for over 38 years, permanently altering Pleasant Bay's tidal regime. Erosion has claimed 3-19 feet of shoreline per year on parts of the barrier beach.
A real, specific, documented home loss to erosion
Between April and May of 2014, the ocean reclaimed the final 75 feet of shoreline standing between a family's cottage and the water's edge; the owners had the cottage demolished in September 2014 rather than lose it into the water -- a real, dated, specific case rather than a vague hazard warning. Even Chatham Light itself was already relocated once (1877) because of erosion.
Key takeaways
- Chatham averages approximately 23 inches of snowfall annually -- the mildest documented for any Massachusetts market in this project.
- The 1987 "Chatham Break" remains open 38+ years later and permanently altered Pleasant Bay's tidal regime.
- Erosion claims 3-19 feet of shoreline per year on parts of the barrier beach; a specific home was lost in 2014.
- Confirm current, address-specific FEMA flood-zone and erosion-risk status directly for any shoreline property.
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