Bad Axe, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bad Axe's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 32.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.0°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 27°C, 835 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBad Axe
- Station IDUSC00200417
- Location43.81°N 82.99°W
- Elevation715 ft (218 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,966
On October 23, the normal high in Bad Axe is 55°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 43%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bad Axe.
- Jan 28° 16°
- Feb 30° 16°
- Mar 40° 23°
- Apr 53° 33°
- May 66° 45°
- Jun 76° 55°
- Jul 80° 60°
- Aug 79° 59°
- Sep 72° 51°
- Oct 59° 41°
- Nov 45° 31°
- Dec 34° 23°
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 Bad Axe each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.67 in), the least in March (1.83 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F | 16°F | 21.9°F | 1.96 | 15 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 30°F | 16°F | 22.9°F | 1.88 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 40°F | 23°F | 31.6°F | 1.83 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 33°F | 43.2°F | 3.19 | 12 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 45°F | 55.3°F | 3.34 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 55°F | 65.4°F | 3.17 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 60°F | 69.9°F | 3.67 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 59°F | 68.5°F | 3.36 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 51°F | 61.5°F | 3.16 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 41°F | 50.0°F | 2.90 | 13 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 45°F | 31°F | 38.4°F | 2.36 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 34°F | 23°F | 28.5°F | 2.07 | 14 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 38°F | 46.4°F | 32.89 | 140 | 6 | 150 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −9°C | −5.6°C | 50 mm |
| February | −1°C | −9°C | −5.1°C | 48 mm |
| March | 4°C | −5°C | −0.2°C | 46 mm |
| April | 12°C | 1°C | 6.2°C | 81 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 85 mm |
| June | 24°C | 13°C | 18.6°C | 81 mm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 93 mm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.3°C | 85 mm |
| September | 22°C | 11°C | 16.4°C | 80 mm |
| October | 15°C | 5°C | 10.0°C | 74 mm |
| November | 7°C | 0°C | 3.6°C | 60 mm |
| December | 1°C | −5°C | −1.9°C | 53 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Harbor Beach (18 miles away), gets 47 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00200417; 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 Bad Axe?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July 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 USC00200417.
When is the last frost in Bad Axe?
In Bad Axe, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 19 in half of years and before October 2 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 51 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 191 year in 10 before October 2; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 163 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 190 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bad Axe in zone 6a in ZIP code 48413, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bad Axe's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (20 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 USC00200417; 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 Bad Axe?
In a normal year in Bad Axe, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 150 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 140 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 150a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 63high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 140a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1925) is 103°F, on July 13, 1936; the lowest is −23°F, on January 30, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2013, with 42.23 in; the snowiest season is 1984–85, with 96.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00200417; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00200417. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bad Axe?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bad Axe, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (48%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 50% | 1.3 |
| February | 54% | 2.0 |
| March | 63% | 3.3 |
| April | 68% | 4.5 |
| May | 70% | 5.3 |
| June | 76% | 6.0 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 76% | 4.1 |
| October | 65% | 2.5 |
| November | 57% | 1.6 |
| December | 48% | 1.0 |
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 Bad Axe need?
A normal year in Bad Axe brings 7,229 heating degree days, 35% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 499 cooling degree days, 45% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,396 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,334 | 0 |
| February | 1,179 | 0 |
| March | 1,034 | 1 |
| April | 656 | 2 |
| May | 327 | 28 |
| June | 85 | 97 |
| July | 22 | 173 |
| August | 32 | 140 |
| September | 157 | 52 |
| October | 471 | 6 |
| November | 800 | 0 |
| December | 1,133 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,229 | 499 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00200417. 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.
Has Bad Axe been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.5°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.3°F | +1.9°F | 27.67 |
| 2022 | 46.4°F | at normal | 29.67 |
| 2023 | 48.2°F | +1.8°F | 34.98 |
| 2024 | 49.6°F | +3.3°F | 32.69 |
| 2025 | 46.5°F | +0.1°F | 26.68 |
Over 63 complete years from 1926 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.1°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00200417; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bad Axe's climate compare?
Bad Axe is warmer than 62 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 34. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.4°F is warmer than 25%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bad Axe 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 Bad Axe share this climate record?
Ubly has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Ubly, MI831 people · 8 mi SE
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 Bad Axe's climate
What is the coldest month in Bad Axe?
January, with a normal high of 28°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Bad Axe?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Bad Axe's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Harbor Beach (18 miles away), records 47 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Bad Axe?
July, with 3.67 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 1.83 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bad Axe in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bad Axe in zone 6a in ZIP code 48413, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bad Axe's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Bad Axe?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Filion (5 mi NNW), MI9 miles from this station, 45.3°F a year
- Port Austin, MI17 miles from this station, 45.9°F a year
- Harbor Beach, MI17 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Port Hope, MI18 miles from this station, 47.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made