Benton Harbor, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Benton Harbor's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 35.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.8°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 28°C, 889 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBenton Harbor Airport
- Station IDUSW00094871
- Location42.12°N 86.43°W
- Elevation643 ft (196 m)
- Population8,848
On October 23, the normal high in Benton Harbor is 59°F and the normal low 41°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 Benton Harbor.
- Jan 33° 20°
- Feb 36° 22°
- Mar 46° 28°
- Apr 58° 37°
- May 69° 47°
- Jun 78° 57°
- Jul 82° 61°
- Aug 80° 60°
- Sep 74° 52°
- Oct 62° 43°
- Nov 49° 34°
- Dec 38° 26°
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 Benton Harbor each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.16 in), the least in February (1.60 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 20°F | 26.9°F | 1.99 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 36°F | 22°F | 29.0°F | 1.60 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 46°F | 28°F | 37.1°F | 2.02 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 37°F | 47.3°F | 3.25 | 13 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 47°F | 57.8°F | 3.78 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 78°F | 57°F | 67.5°F | 3.04 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 82°F | 61°F | 71.5°F | 3.17 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 80°F | 60°F | 70.1°F | 3.61 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 52°F | 63.3°F | 3.62 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 43°F | 52.6°F | 4.16 | 14 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 34°F | 41.8°F | 2.74 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 38°F | 26°F | 32.2°F | 2.02 | 13 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 41°F | 49.7°F | 35.00 | 145 | 9 | 127 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −6°C | −2.8°C | 51 mm |
| February | 2°C | −6°C | −1.7°C | 41 mm |
| March | 8°C | −2°C | 2.8°C | 51 mm |
| April | 14°C | 3°C | 8.5°C | 83 mm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 14.3°C | 96 mm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 77 mm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 81 mm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 92 mm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 17.4°C | 92 mm |
| October | 17°C | 6°C | 11.4°C | 106 mm |
| November | 10°C | 1°C | 5.4°C | 70 mm |
| December | 3°C | −3°C | 0.1°C | 51 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Benton Harbor's own co-op station Benton Harbor Airport does: 78 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094871; 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 Benton Harbor?
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 USW00094871.
When is the last frost in Benton Harbor?
In Benton Harbor, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before September 30 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 41 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before September 30; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 164 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 192 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 22 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Benton Harbor in zone 6b in ZIP code 49022, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Benton Harbor's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (23 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 USW00094871; 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 Benton Harbor?
In a normal year in Benton Harbor, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 127 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 145 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 127a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 41high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 145a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 103°F, on July 30, 1999; the lowest is −17°F, on January 20, 2009.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 43.86 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094871; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094871. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Benton Harbor?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Benton Harbor, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and January the cloudiest (47%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 47% | 1.3 |
| February | 53% | 2.0 |
| March | 64% | 3.5 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 76% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.2 |
| October | 65% | 2.6 |
| November | 58% | 1.6 |
| December | 48% | 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 Benton Harbor need?
A normal year in Benton Harbor brings 6,184 heating degree days, 15% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 656 cooling degree days, 28% 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 2,782 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,183 | 0 |
| February | 1,008 | 0 |
| March | 868 | 2 |
| April | 536 | 5 |
| May | 264 | 40 |
| June | 61 | 136 |
| July | 15 | 216 |
| August | 19 | 175 |
| September | 123 | 70 |
| October | 394 | 11 |
| November | 698 | 0 |
| December | 1,017 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,184 | 656 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094871. 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 Benton Harbor been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 54.2°F, 4.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.7°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.9°F | +2.2°F | 29.94 |
| 2024 | 54.2°F | +4.5°F | 41.05 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094871. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Benton Harbor's climate compare?
Benton Harbor is warmer than 134 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 81. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.7°F is warmer than 39%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Benton Harbor 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 Benton Harbor share this climate record?
10 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. Joseph, MI7,930 people · 4 mi SW
- Fair Plain, MI6,992 people · 3 mi SW
- Paw Paw Lake, MI3,794 people · 10 mi NE
- Benton Heights, MI3,572 people · 1 mi E
- Watervliet, MI1,707 people · 10 mi NE
- Coloma, MI1,422 people · 7 mi NE
- Stevensville, MI1,153 people · 9 mi SW
- Lake Michigan Beach, MI914 people · 6 mi NE
- Shoreham, MI860 people · 6 mi SW
- Millburg, MI437 people · 4 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Benton Harbor's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Benton Harbor. This page uses Benton Harbor Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Harbor Airport USC00200710 | in town | 625 ft | 50.1°F | 20°F | 83°F | 38.2 | 78 | May 5 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Benton Harbor's climate
What is the coldest month in Benton Harbor?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Benton Harbor?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Benton Harbor's NOAA station; Benton Harbor's own co-op station Benton Harbor Airport records 78 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Benton Harbor?
October, with 4.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.60 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Benton Harbor in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Benton Harbor in zone 6b in ZIP code 49022, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Benton Harbor's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Benton Harbor?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Eau Claire, MI12 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Dowagiac, MI18 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- South Haven, MI21 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Niles, MI21 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made