Big Bay, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Big Bay's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 75°F July afternoons, with 32.8 inches of precipitation and 132 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.4°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 24°C, 833 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBig Bay (1 mi NW)
- Station IDUSC00200770
- Location46.83°N 87.75°W
- Elevation765 ft (233 m)
- Population (census place)307
On October 23, the normal high in Big Bay is 51°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 48%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Big Bay.
- Jan 24° 10°
- Feb 27° 11°
- Mar 36° 18°
- Apr 47° 28°
- May 60° 40°
- Jun 70° 50°
- Jul 75° 56°
- Aug 75° 55°
- Sep 68° 48°
- Oct 54° 38°
- Nov 41° 27°
- Dec 29° 18°
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 Big Bay each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 75°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in September (3.62 in), the least in March (1.44 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 10°F | 17.2°F | 2.37 | 32.2 | 19 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 27°F | 11°F | 19.0°F | 1.72 | 28.7 | 14 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 36°F | 18°F | 26.8°F | 1.44 | 11.6 | 10 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 47°F | 28°F | 37.4°F | 2.85 | 12.8 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 60°F | 40°F | 49.9°F | 2.80 | 1.1 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 15 h |
| June | 70°F | 50°F | 59.8°F | 3.25 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 75°F | 56°F | 65.7°F | 3.09 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 75°F | 55°F | 65.1°F | 3.32 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 68°F | 48°F | 57.9°F | 3.62 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 38°F | 45.7°F | 3.26 | 1.3 | 15 | <1 | 9 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 27°F | 33.8°F | 2.78 | 18.1 | 15 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 29°F | 18°F | 23.4°F | 2.31 | 26.5 | 17 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 33°F | 41.8°F | 32.81 | 132.3 | 151 | 5 | 181 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −12°C | −8.2°C | 60 mm | 82 cm |
| February | −3°C | −11°C | −7.2°C | 44 mm | 73 cm |
| March | 2°C | −8°C | −2.9°C | 37 mm | 29 cm |
| April | 8°C | −2°C | 3.0°C | 72 mm | 33 cm |
| May | 16°C | 4°C | 9.9°C | 71 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 21°C | 10°C | 15.4°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 13°C | 18.4°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 9°C | 14.4°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 3°C | 7.6°C | 83 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 5°C | −3°C | 1.0°C | 71 mm | 46 cm |
| December | −2°C | −8°C | −4.8°C | 59 mm | 67 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00200770; 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 Big Bay?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00200770.
When is the last frost in Big Bay?
In Big Bay, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 22 in half of years and after June 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 20 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 221 year in 10 after June 5; 9 in 10 after May 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 137 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 164 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 9 in half of springs and before October 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Big Bay in zone 5b in ZIP code 49808, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Michigan · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00200770; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Big Bay?
In a normal year in Big Bay, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 181 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 151 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 181a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 83high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 151a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 40a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1945) is 103°F, on July 7, 1988; the lowest is −32°F, on February 17, 1979.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2017, with 43.53 in; the snowiest season is 2025–26, with 204.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00200770; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00200770. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Big Bay?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Big Bay, 3.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (48%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 49% | 1.1 |
| February | 55% | 1.9 |
| March | 63% | 3.2 |
| April | 66% | 4.4 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 77% | 6.0 |
| August | 75% | 5.0 |
| September | 70% | 3.7 |
| October | 60% | 2.2 |
| November | 52% | 1.3 |
| December | 48% | 0.9 |
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 Big Bay need?
A normal year in Big Bay brings 8,687 heating degree days, 62% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 264 cooling degree days, 71% 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 1,729 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,483 | 0 |
| February | 1,288 | 0 |
| March | 1,185 | 0 |
| April | 828 | 0 |
| May | 482 | 12 |
| June | 197 | 41 |
| July | 76 | 96 |
| August | 82 | 83 |
| September | 244 | 29 |
| October | 599 | 3 |
| November | 935 | 0 |
| December | 1,290 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,687 | 264 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00200770. 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 Big Bay been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 42.3°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.8°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.4°F | +2.6°F | 28.04 | 99.7 |
| 2022 | 41.3°F | −0.5°F | 38.12 | 171.3 |
| 2023 | 43.4°F | +1.6°F | 35.26 | 126.8 |
| 2024 | 45.4°F | +3.6°F | 32.37 | 103.6 |
| 2025 | 42.3°F | +0.5°F | 38.83 | 179.6 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00200770. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Big Bay's climate compare?
Big Bay is warmer than 11 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 31. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.8°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Big Bay 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.
Questions about Big Bay's climate
What is the coldest month in Big Bay?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (75°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Big Bay?
Yes: 132 inches in a normal year, falling on 74 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (32.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Big Bay?
September, with 3.62 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 1.44 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Big Bay in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Big Bay in zone 5b in ZIP code 49808, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Big Bay?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 22; in one year in ten it comes after June 5. Waiting until June 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Clarksburg, MI24 miles from this station, 38.3°F a year
- Ishpeming, MI24 miles from this station, 39.9°F a year
- Champion Van Riper Park, MI24 miles from this station, 39.0°F a year
- Marquette, MI27 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made