Charlotte, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Charlotte's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 35.8 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.5°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 28°C, 909 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCharlotte
- Station IDUSC00201476
- Location42.55°N 84.83°W
- Elevation902 ft (275 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population9,301
On October 23, the normal high in Charlotte is 57°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 44%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Charlotte.
- Jan 30° 15°
- Feb 33° 16°
- Mar 43° 24°
- Apr 57° 35°
- May 68° 46°
- Jun 78° 56°
- Jul 82° 60°
- Aug 79° 58°
- Sep 73° 50°
- Oct 60° 40°
- 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 Charlotte 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 (4.03 in), the least in February (1.69 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 15°F | 22.4°F | 2.26 | 14.9 | 15 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 33°F | 16°F | 24.6°F | 1.69 | 4.4 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 24°F | 33.7°F | 2.27 | 5.8 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 35°F | 45.6°F | 3.43 | 1.0 | 14 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 46°F | 57.4°F | 4.03 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 78°F | 56°F | 66.8°F | 3.82 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 60°F | 70.6°F | 3.02 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 79°F | 58°F | 68.7°F | 3.56 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 50°F | 61.6°F | 3.20 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 40°F | 50.0°F | 3.55 | 0.3 | 14 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 30°F | 38.1°F | 2.74 | 2.1 | 13 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 35°F | 22°F | 28.5°F | 2.20 | 9.6 | 14 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 38°F | 47.3°F | 35.77 | 38.1 | 145 | 6 | 149 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −9°C | −5.3°C | 57 mm | 38 cm |
| February | 0°C | −9°C | −4.1°C | 43 mm | 11 cm |
| March | 6°C | −4°C | 0.9°C | 58 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 87 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 14.1°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 4°C | 10.0°C | 90 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −1°C | 3.4°C | 70 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 2°C | −6°C | −1.9°C | 56 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00201476; 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 Charlotte?
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 USC00201476.
When is the last frost in Charlotte?
In Charlotte, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 1 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 18; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 29
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 Charlotte in zone 6a in ZIP code 48813, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Charlotte's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (27 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 USC00201476; 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 Charlotte?
In a normal year in Charlotte, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 149 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 145 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
- 149a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 57high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 145a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 17a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1902) is 106°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −31°F, on February 10, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1957, with 44.81 in; the snowiest season is 1981–82, with 76.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00201476; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00201476. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Charlotte?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Charlotte, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (52%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.5 |
| February | 62% | 2.4 |
| March | 67% | 3.6 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 76% | 6.2 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 67% | 2.7 |
| November | 62% | 1.8 |
| December | 52% | 1.2 |
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 Charlotte need?
A normal year in Charlotte brings 6,941 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 536 cooling degree days, 41% 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 2,543 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,319 | 0 |
| February | 1,133 | 0 |
| March | 972 | 1 |
| April | 583 | 3 |
| May | 269 | 32 |
| June | 60 | 114 |
| July | 14 | 189 |
| August | 27 | 141 |
| September | 154 | 52 |
| October | 472 | 5 |
| November | 805 | 0 |
| December | 1,133 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,941 | 536 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00201476. 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 Charlotte been warmer than normal lately?
Over 69 complete years from 1906 to 2018, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.8°F per century (+0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Charlotte's climate compare?
Charlotte is warmer than 81 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 91. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.3°F is warmer than 29%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Charlotte 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 Charlotte share this climate record?
5 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.
- Potterville, MI3,121 people · 7 mi NE
- Olivet, MI1,533 people · 9 mi SW
- Bellevue, MI1,345 people · 12 mi SW
- Vermontville, MI756 people · 12 mi NW
- Mulliken, MI550 people · 15 mi N
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 Charlotte's climate
What is the coldest month in Charlotte?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Charlotte?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 29 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (14.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Charlotte?
May, with 4.03 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.69 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Charlotte in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Charlotte in zone 6a in ZIP code 48813, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Charlotte's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Charlotte?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Eaton Rapids, MI9 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- East Lansing, MI19 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Lansing, MI21 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Hastings, MI24 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made