East Lansing, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
East Lansing's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 34.3 inches of precipitation and 36 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.6°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 28°C, 872 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEast Lansing (4 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00202395
- Location42.67°N 84.48°W
- Elevation880 ft (268 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population48,964
On October 23, the normal high in East Lansing is 58°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for East Lansing.
- Jan 32° 18°
- Feb 34° 19°
- Mar 45° 27°
- Apr 58° 37°
- May 70° 48°
- Jun 79° 58°
- Jul 83° 61°
- Aug 81° 60°
- Sep 76° 52°
- Oct 62° 42°
- Nov 48° 32°
- Dec 37° 24°
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 East Lansing each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.36 in), the least in February (1.60 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 18°F | 24.7°F | 2.08 | 14.1 | 13 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 34°F | 19°F | 26.6°F | 1.60 | 7.3 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 27°F | 36.0°F | 1.68 | 4.2 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 37°F | 47.5°F | 3.55 | 0.9 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 48°F | 59.3°F | 4.36 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 58°F | 68.5°F | 3.79 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 61°F | 72.1°F | 3.37 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 60°F | 70.6°F | 3.45 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 76°F | 52°F | 63.6°F | 3.17 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 42°F | 51.5°F | 3.12 | 0.3 | 10 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 32°F | 40.2°F | 2.55 | 1.8 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 37°F | 24°F | 30.3°F | 1.60 | 7.4 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 40°F | 49.2°F | 34.32 | 36.0 | 127 | 9 | 145 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −8°C | −4.1°C | 53 mm | 36 cm |
| February | 1°C | −7°C | −3.0°C | 41 mm | 19 cm |
| March | 7°C | −3°C | 2.2°C | 43 mm | 11 cm |
| April | 14°C | 3°C | 8.6°C | 90 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 15.2°C | 111 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.3°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 11°C | 17.6°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 5°C | 10.8°C | 79 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 9°C | 0°C | 4.6°C | 65 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 3°C | −5°C | −0.9°C | 41 mm | 19 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00202395; 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 East Lansing?
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 USC00202395.
When is the last frost in East Lansing?
In East Lansing, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 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
- April 281 year in 10 after May 16; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 173 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 198 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts East Lansing in zone 6a across its 3 ZIP code areas (6a in 48823, the largest).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Michigan · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00202395; 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.
What hardiness zone is each East Lansing ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. East Lansing's 3 ZIP code areas are all in zone 6a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in East Lansing?
In a normal year in East Lansing, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 145 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 127 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
- 145a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 49high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 127a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 101°F, on July 7, 1988; the lowest is −20°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1994, with 41.21 in; the snowiest season is 1984–85, with 62.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00202395; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00202395. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is East Lansing?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around East Lansing, 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 East Lansing need?
A normal year in East Lansing brings 6,411 heating degree days, 19% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 707 cooling degree days, 22% 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 2,868 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,251 | 0 |
| February | 1,075 | 0 |
| March | 898 | 1 |
| April | 531 | 6 |
| May | 224 | 47 |
| June | 45 | 150 |
| July | 8 | 228 |
| August | 15 | 188 |
| September | 118 | 78 |
| October | 427 | 10 |
| November | 744 | 0 |
| December | 1,076 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,411 | 707 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00202395. 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.
How does East Lansing's climate compare?
East Lansing is warmer than 122 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 64. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.2°F is warmer than 37%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, East Lansing is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 East Lansing share this climate record?
8 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.
- Okemos, MI25,503 people · 4 mi NE
- Holt, MI25,275 people · 3 mi SW
- Haslett, MI19,025 people · 7 mi NE
- Mason, MI8,314 people · 7 mi S
- Williamston, MI3,849 people · 10 mi E
- Dimondale, MI1,179 people · 8 mi W
- Dansville, MI525 people · 12 mi SE
- Shaftsburg, MI498 people · 13 mi NE
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 East Lansing's climate
What is the coldest month in East Lansing?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in East Lansing?
Yes: 36 inches in a normal year, falling on 32 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (14.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in East Lansing?
May, with 4.36 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.60 in.
What plant hardiness zone is East Lansing in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts East Lansing in zone 6a across its 3 ZIP code areas (6a in 48823, the largest).
How late can frost come in East Lansing?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 16. Waiting until May 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- East Lansing in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lansing, MI9 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Eaton Rapids, MI14 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Charlotte, MI19 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- St. Johns, MI24 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made