Eau Claire, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Eau Claire's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 38.3 inches of precipitation and 87 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.9°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 29°C, 973 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEau Claire (4 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00202445
- Location42.02°N 86.24°W
- Elevation840 ft (256 m)
- Population543
On October 23, the normal high in Eau Claire is 61°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 39%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Eau Claire.
- Jan 33° 20°
- Feb 37° 22°
- Mar 48° 30°
- Apr 61° 40°
- May 73° 51°
- Jun 81° 60°
- Jul 85° 64°
- Aug 83° 63°
- Sep 76° 56°
- Oct 64° 45°
- Nov 49° 35°
- Dec 38° 25°
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 Eau Claire each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in August (4.53 in), the least in February (1.88 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 20°F | 26.5°F | 2.36 | 30.5 | 17 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 37°F | 22°F | 29.2°F | 1.88 | 17.0 | 12 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 48°F | 30°F | 38.7°F | 2.04 | 8.1 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 40°F | 50.3°F | 3.55 | 1.4 | 13 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 73°F | 51°F | 61.6°F | 3.45 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 60°F | 70.8°F | 3.79 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 85°F | 64°F | 74.5°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 83°F | 63°F | 72.9°F | 4.53 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 76°F | 56°F | 66.3°F | 3.27 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 45°F | 54.6°F | 4.29 | 0.4 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 35°F | 41.9°F | 3.02 | 6.6 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 38°F | 25°F | 31.7°F | 2.36 | 22.6 | 15 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 43°F | 51.6°F | 38.30 | 86.6 | 141 | 17 | 122 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −7°C | −3.1°C | 60 mm | 77 cm |
| February | 3°C | −6°C | −1.6°C | 48 mm | 43 cm |
| March | 9°C | −1°C | 3.7°C | 52 mm | 21 cm |
| April | 16°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 90 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.6°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 7°C | 12.6°C | 109 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 10°C | 1°C | 5.5°C | 77 mm | 17 cm |
| December | 3°C | −4°C | −0.2°C | 60 mm | 57 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00202445; 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 Eau Claire?
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 (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 USC00202445.
When is the last frost in Eau Claire?
In Eau Claire, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 22 in half of years and after May 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 15 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 221 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after April 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 301 year in 10 before October 15; 9 in 10 before November 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 189 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 213 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before November 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Eau Claire in zone 6a in ZIP code 49111, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Eau Claire's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (22 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Michigan · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00202445; 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 Eau Claire?
In a normal year in Eau Claire, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 122 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 141 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 17a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 122a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 43high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 141a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 30a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1924) is 107°F, on July 24, 1934; the lowest is −22°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1954, with 48.85 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 135.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00202445; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00202445. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Eau Claire?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Eau Claire, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and January the cloudiest (47%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 47% | 1.3 |
| February | 53% | 2.0 |
| March | 64% | 3.5 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 76% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.2 |
| October | 65% | 2.6 |
| November | 58% | 1.6 |
| December | 48% | 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 Eau Claire need?
A normal year in Eau Claire brings 5,815 heating degree days, 8% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 964 cooling degree days, 6% more 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 3,349 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,193 | 0 |
| February | 1,004 | 0 |
| March | 817 | 3 |
| April | 449 | 9 |
| May | 176 | 69 |
| June | 28 | 204 |
| July | 2 | 297 |
| August | 6 | 250 |
| September | 74 | 113 |
| October | 340 | 19 |
| November | 693 | 0 |
| December | 1,034 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,815 | 964 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00202445. 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 Eau Claire's climate compare?
Eau Claire is warmer than 139 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 110. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.6°F is warmer than 48%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Eau Claire 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 Eau Claire share this climate record?
2 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.
- Hartford, MI2,465 people · 14 mi N
- Berrien Springs, MI1,786 people · 7 mi SW
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 Eau Claire's climate
What is the coldest month in Eau Claire?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Eau Claire?
Yes: 87 inches in a normal year, falling on 38 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (30.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Eau Claire?
August, with 4.53 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.88 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Eau Claire in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Eau Claire in zone 6a in ZIP code 49111, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Eau Claire's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Eau Claire?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 22; in one year in ten it comes after May 7. Waiting until May 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Dowagiac, MI6 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Benton Harbor, MI12 miles from this station, 49.7°F a year
- Niles, MI12 miles from this station, 50.3°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