Garden, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Garden's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 78°F July afternoons, with 34.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.2°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 26°C, 867 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGarden Corners
- Station IDUSC00203078
- Location45.90°N 86.55°W
- Elevation587 ft (179 m)
- Population187
On October 14, the normal high in Garden is 56°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 48%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Garden.
- Jan 26° 8°
- Feb 28° 7°
- Mar 36° 13°
- Apr 48° 28°
- May 62° 40°
- Jun 73° 50°
- Jul 78° 54°
- Aug 77° 50°
- Sep 69° 44°
- Oct 55° 35°
- Nov 41° 27°
- Dec 31° 16°
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 Garden each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in September (3.72 in), the least in February (1.54 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 8°F | 16.8°F | 1.80 | 14 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| February | 28°F | 7°F | 17.3°F | 1.54 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 36°F | 13°F | 24.8°F | 1.95 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 48°F | 28°F | 37.9°F | 3.06 | 13 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 62°F | 40°F | 51.2°F | 3.16 | 13 | <1 | 8 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 73°F | 50°F | 61.2°F | 3.44 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 78°F | 54°F | 66.0°F | 3.53 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 77°F | 50°F | 63.1°F | 3.16 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 69°F | 44°F | 56.1°F | 3.72 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 35°F | 44.9°F | 3.51 | 16 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 27°F | 34.0°F | 3.01 | 13 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 31°F | 16°F | 23.4°F | 2.26 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 31°F | 41.4°F | 34.14 | 148 | 1 | 185 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −13°C | −8.4°C | 46 mm |
| February | −2°C | −14°C | −8.2°C | 39 mm |
| March | 2°C | −10°C | −4.0°C | 50 mm |
| April | 9°C | −2°C | 3.3°C | 78 mm |
| May | 17°C | 5°C | 10.7°C | 80 mm |
| June | 23°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 87 mm |
| July | 26°C | 12°C | 18.9°C | 90 mm |
| August | 25°C | 10°C | 17.3°C | 80 mm |
| September | 20°C | 7°C | 13.4°C | 94 mm |
| October | 13°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 89 mm |
| November | 5°C | −3°C | 1.1°C | 76 mm |
| December | −1°C | −9°C | −4.8°C | 57 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00203078; 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 Garden?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USC00203078.
When is the last frost in Garden?
In Garden, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 16 in half of years and after June 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 24 in half of years and before September 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 161 year in 10 after June 3; 9 in 10 after May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 241 year in 10 before September 1; 9 in 10 before October 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 129 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 157 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 3 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Garden in zone 5b in ZIP code 49835, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Garden's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (15 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 USC00203078; 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 Garden?
In a normal year in Garden, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 185 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 148 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 185a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 73high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 148a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00203078.
How sunny is Garden?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Garden, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (54%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.3 |
| February | 62% | 2.2 |
| March | 67% | 3.4 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 75% | 4.0 |
| October | 64% | 2.4 |
| November | 58% | 1.4 |
| December | 54% | 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 Garden need?
A normal year in Garden brings 8,740 heating degree days, 63% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 171 cooling degree days, 81% 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 1,611 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,494 | 0 |
| February | 1,337 | 0 |
| March | 1,246 | 0 |
| April | 812 | 0 |
| May | 431 | 1 |
| June | 140 | 26 |
| July | 57 | 86 |
| August | 103 | 44 |
| September | 279 | 14 |
| October | 623 | 0 |
| November | 930 | 0 |
| December | 1,288 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,740 | 171 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00203078. 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 Garden been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 42.2°F, 0.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43.4°F | +2.0°F | 27.63 |
| 2022 | 40.9°F | −0.5°F | 32.94 |
| 2023 | 43.9°F | +2.5°F | 28.14 |
| 2024 | 45.3°F | +3.9°F | 35.94 |
| 2025 | 42.2°F | +0.8°F | 30.12 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00203078. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Garden's climate compare?
Garden is warmer than 9 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 60. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.4°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Garden 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.
Questions about Garden's climate
What is the coldest month in Garden?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (78°F by day, 54°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Garden?
September, with 3.72 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.54 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Garden in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Garden in zone 5b in ZIP code 49835, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Garden's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Garden?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 16; in one year in ten it comes after June 3. Waiting until June 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Manistique, MI15 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Rapid River (4 mi SSE), MI19 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Escanaba, MI29 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Cornell (5 mi SE), MI30 miles from this station, 43.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made