Alma, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Alma's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 34.5 inches of precipitation and 39 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.3°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 28°C, 876 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAlma
- Station IDUSC00200146
- Location43.39°N 84.65°W
- Elevation729 ft (222 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population9,349
On October 23, the normal high in Alma is 57°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Alma.
- Jan 29° 15°
- Feb 32° 15°
- Mar 43° 23°
- Apr 56° 35°
- May 69° 46°
- Jun 78° 56°
- Jul 82° 59°
- Aug 80° 58°
- Sep 73° 50°
- Oct 60° 39°
- Nov 46° 30°
- Dec 35° 22°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Alma each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.73 in), the least in February (1.76 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 15°F | 22.0°F | 2.17 | 10.7 | 13 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 15°F | 23.7°F | 1.76 | 9.9 | 10 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 23°F | 33.0°F | 2.10 | 5.4 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 35°F | 45.2°F | 3.46 | 2.1 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 46°F | 57.0°F | 3.73 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 56°F | 66.9°F | 3.64 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 59°F | 70.8°F | 3.26 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 58°F | 69.0°F | 3.71 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 50°F | 61.3°F | 2.73 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 39°F | 49.7°F | 3.24 | 0.3 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 30°F | 37.7°F | 2.66 | 2.7 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 35°F | 22°F | 28.2°F | 2.04 | 8.2 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 37°F | 47.0°F | 34.50 | 39.3 | 131 | 11 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −9°C | −5.6°C | 55 mm | 27 cm |
| February | 0°C | −9°C | −4.6°C | 45 mm | 25 cm |
| March | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 53 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 13°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 88 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.9°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.6°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.6°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 4°C | 9.8°C | 82 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −1°C | 3.2°C | 68 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 1°C | −6°C | −2.1°C | 52 mm | 21 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00200146; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Alma?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (10).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00200146.
When is the last frost in Alma?
In Alma, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 13 in half of years and before September 29 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- May 11 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 131 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before October 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 164 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 188 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 20 in half of springs and before October 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Alma in zone 6a in ZIP code 48801, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Alma's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (24 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Michigan · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00200146; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Alma?
In a normal year in Alma, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 54high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1887) is 108°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −29°F, on February 5, 1918.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1994, with 41.98 in; the snowiest season is 1917–18, with 80.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00200146; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00200146. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Alma?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Alma, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (53%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 1.5 |
| February | 63% | 2.4 |
| March | 68% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.6 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 76% | 4.2 |
| October | 66% | 2.6 |
| November | 61% | 1.6 |
| December | 53% | 1.1 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Alma need?
A normal year in Alma brings 7,051 heating degree days, 31% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 544 cooling degree days, 40% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,519 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,331 | 0 |
| February | 1,156 | 0 |
| March | 992 | 0 |
| April | 596 | 2 |
| May | 277 | 31 |
| June | 61 | 116 |
| July | 14 | 192 |
| August | 25 | 147 |
| September | 161 | 49 |
| October | 479 | 5 |
| November | 817 | 0 |
| December | 1,141 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,051 | 544 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00200146. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
How does Alma's climate compare?
Alma is warmer than 73 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 73. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.0°F is warmer than 28%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Alma is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Alma share this climate record?
6 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- St. Louis, MI7,465 people · 2 mi NE
- Ithaca, MI2,813 people · 7 mi S
- Breckenridge, MI1,269 people · 9 mi E
- Carson City, MI1,140 people · 17 mi SW
- Riverdale, MI262 people · 10 mi W
- Elm Hall, MI224 people · 9 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Alma's climate
What is the coldest month in Alma?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Alma?
Yes: 39 inches in a normal year, falling on 27 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Alma?
May, with 3.73 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.76 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Alma in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Alma in zone 6a in ZIP code 48801, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Alma's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Alma?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 19. Waiting until May 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Oil City (2 mi S), MI14 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Mount Pleasant, MI15 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- St. Johns, MI26 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Midland, MI27 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made