Dowagiac, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dowagiac's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 41.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.9°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,060 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDowagiac (1 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00202250
- Location41.99°N 86.13°W
- Elevation740 ft (226 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population5,742
On October 23, the normal high in Dowagiac is 58°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dowagiac.
- Jan 31° 16°
- Feb 34° 18°
- Mar 44° 25°
- Apr 57° 36°
- May 69° 47°
- Jun 78° 57°
- Jul 82° 60°
- Aug 80° 58°
- Sep 74° 51°
- Oct 61° 40°
- Nov 47° 31°
- Dec 36° 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 Dowagiac each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.33 in), the least in February (2.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 16°F | 23.7°F | 3.10 | 15 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 34°F | 18°F | 25.9°F | 2.41 | 12 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 25°F | 34.8°F | 2.44 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 36°F | 46.4°F | 3.69 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 47°F | 57.9°F | 4.19 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 78°F | 57°F | 67.4°F | 4.26 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 82°F | 60°F | 70.8°F | 4.09 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 80°F | 58°F | 69.0°F | 4.12 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 51°F | 62.1°F | 3.38 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 40°F | 50.3°F | 4.33 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 47°F | 31°F | 39.0°F | 2.90 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 36°F | 23°F | 29.4°F | 2.82 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 38°F | 48.1°F | 41.73 | 133 | 11 | 145 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.6°C | 79 mm |
| February | 1°C | −8°C | −3.4°C | 61 mm |
| March | 7°C | −4°C | 1.6°C | 62 mm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 8.0°C | 94 mm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 106 mm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 108 mm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 104 mm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 105 mm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 86 mm |
| October | 16°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 110 mm |
| November | 8°C | −1°C | 3.9°C | 74 mm |
| December | 2°C | −5°C | −1.4°C | 72 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Eau Claire (6 miles away), gets 87 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00202250; 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 Dowagiac?
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 (9).
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 USC00202250.
When is the last frost in Dowagiac?
In Dowagiac, 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 11 in half of years and before September 27 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 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 111 year in 10 before September 27; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 158 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 181 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dowagiac in zone 6a in ZIP code 49047, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dowagiac's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (28 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 USC00202250; 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 Dowagiac?
In a normal year in Dowagiac, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 145 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 133 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
- 145a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 44high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 133a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1953) is 103°F, on June 20, 1953; the lowest is −23°F, on February 7, 1978.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 53.51 in; the snowiest season is 2013–14, with 135.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00202250; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00202250. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dowagiac?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dowagiac, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.6 |
| February | 60% | 2.4 |
| March | 66% | 3.5 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 78% | 4.4 |
| October | 69% | 2.9 |
| November | 63% | 1.9 |
| December | 56% | 1.3 |
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 Dowagiac need?
A normal year in Dowagiac brings 6,729 heating degree days, 25% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 583 cooling degree days, 36% 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 2,634 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,282 | 0 |
| February | 1,095 | 0 |
| March | 937 | 1 |
| April | 560 | 3 |
| May | 263 | 41 |
| June | 58 | 131 |
| July | 16 | 194 |
| August | 26 | 148 |
| September | 147 | 58 |
| October | 462 | 6 |
| November | 780 | 0 |
| December | 1,105 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,729 | 583 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00202250. 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 Dowagiac been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.9°F, 0.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.1°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.8°F | +2.7°F | 41.67 |
| 2023 | 50.1°F | +2.0°F | – |
| 2024 | 51.8°F | +3.7°F | 39.44 |
| 2025 | 48.9°F | +0.8°F | 39.34 |
Over 59 complete years from 1954 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.0°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00202250; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dowagiac's climate compare?
Dowagiac is warmer than 101 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 123. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.1°F is warmer than 32%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dowagiac 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 Dowagiac share this climate record?
3 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.
- Cassopolis, MI1,707 people · 8 mi SE
- Decatur, MI1,660 people · 12 mi NE
- Vandalia, MI323 people · 12 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.
Questions about Dowagiac's climate
What is the coldest month in Dowagiac?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Dowagiac?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Dowagiac's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Eau Claire (6 miles away), records 87 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Dowagiac?
October, with 4.33 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dowagiac in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dowagiac in zone 6a in ZIP code 49047, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Dowagiac's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Dowagiac?
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, MI6 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Niles, MI12 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Benton Harbor, MI18 miles from this station, 49.7°F a year
- South Bend, IN22 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made