East Tawas, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
East Tawas's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 32.3 inches of precipitation and 49 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 27°C, 820 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEast Tawas
- Station IDUSC00202423
- Location44.28°N 83.50°W
- Elevation586 ft (179 m)
- Population2,675
On October 14, the normal high in East Tawas is 60°F and the normal low 39°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 East Tawas.
- Jan 30° 13°
- Feb 32° 13°
- Mar 41° 21°
- Apr 52° 32°
- May 65° 44°
- Jun 75° 53°
- Jul 80° 58°
- Aug 79° 57°
- Sep 72° 49°
- Oct 59° 38°
- Nov 46° 29°
- Dec 35° 21°
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 Tawas each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in April (3.42 in), the least in February (1.82 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 13°F | 21.5°F | 2.08 | 14.3 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 32°F | 13°F | 22.6°F | 1.82 | 12.4 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 21°F | 30.9°F | 1.90 | 7.2 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 32°F | 42.2°F | 3.42 | 2.9 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 65°F | 44°F | 54.4°F | 3.24 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 75°F | 53°F | 64.2°F | 3.29 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 58°F | 69.2°F | 3.10 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 57°F | 67.8°F | 2.95 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 72°F | 49°F | 60.4°F | 2.92 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 38°F | 48.4°F | 2.95 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| November | 46°F | 29°F | 37.3°F | 2.53 | 2.6 | 11 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 35°F | 21°F | 27.8°F | 2.07 | 9.7 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 36°F | 45.6°F | 32.27 | 49.2 | 123 | 5 | 157 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −10°C | −5.8°C | 53 mm | 36 cm |
| February | 0°C | −11°C | −5.2°C | 46 mm | 31 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.6°C | 48 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 87 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 18°C | 7°C | 12.4°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 17.9°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.7°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 10°C | 15.8°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 3°C | 9.1°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 2.9°C | 64 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 2°C | −6°C | −2.3°C | 53 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00202423; 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 Tawas?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00202423.
When is the last frost in East Tawas?
In East Tawas, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 23 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 81 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 148 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 171 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts East Tawas in zone 5b in ZIP code 48730, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, East Tawas's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (30 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 USC00202423; 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 East Tawas?
In a normal year in East Tawas, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 157 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 123 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
- 157a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 52high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 123a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1890) is 106°F, on July 9, 1936; the lowest is −29°F, on February 1, 1918.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2014, with 41.10 in; the snowiest season is 1978–79, with 93.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00202423; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00202423. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is East Tawas?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around East Tawas, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (51%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 1.3 |
| February | 57% | 2.1 |
| March | 68% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 79% | 6.1 |
| August | 77% | 5.2 |
| September | 76% | 4.1 |
| October | 64% | 2.5 |
| November | 57% | 1.5 |
| December | 51% | 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 East Tawas need?
A normal year in East Tawas brings 7,456 heating degree days, 39% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 404 cooling degree days, 56% 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 2,192 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,348 | 0 |
| February | 1,187 | 0 |
| March | 1,057 | 0 |
| April | 684 | 0 |
| May | 345 | 15 |
| June | 98 | 75 |
| July | 25 | 153 |
| August | 35 | 120 |
| September | 175 | 37 |
| October | 516 | 3 |
| November | 831 | 0 |
| December | 1,155 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,456 | 404 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00202423. 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 East Tawas been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 45.8°F, 0.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.6°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.4°F | +1.8°F | 28.90 | 38.0 |
| 2022 | 45.4°F | −0.2°F | 25.50 | 28.5 |
| 2023 | 47.5°F | +1.9°F | 30.87 | 32.9 |
| 2024 | 48.7°F | +3.1°F | 32.90 | 34.6 |
| 2025 | 45.8°F | +0.2°F | 29.47 | 38.0 |
Over 90 complete years from 1898 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.3°F per century (+0.13°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00202423; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does East Tawas's climate compare?
East Tawas is warmer than 50 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 29. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.6°F is warmer than 22%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, East Tawas 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 East Tawas 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.
- Tawas City, MI1,837 people · 1 mi SW
- Au Sable, MI1,780 people · 12 mi NE
- Oscoda, MI757 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 Tawas's climate
What is the coldest month in East Tawas?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in East Tawas?
Yes: 49 inches in a normal year, falling on 31 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (14.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in East Tawas?
April, with 3.42 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.82 in.
What plant hardiness zone is East Tawas in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts East Tawas in zone 5b in ZIP code 48730, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at East Tawas's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in East Tawas?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hale Loud Dam, MI16 miles from this station, 44.5°F a year
- Hale (5 mi SSW) #2, MI17 miles from this station, 43.4°F a year
- Glennie (2 mi SE), MI20 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Standish, MI27 miles from this station, 45.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made