Grayling, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Grayling's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 33.2 inches of precipitation and 88 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.3°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 27°C, 844 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGrayling
- Station IDUSC00203391
- Location44.65°N 84.70°W
- Elevation1,137 ft (347 m)
- Population1,949
On October 23, the normal high in Grayling is 53°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 56%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Grayling.
- Jan 26° 10°
- Feb 29° 9°
- Mar 39° 16°
- Apr 53° 29°
- May 67° 41°
- Jun 77° 51°
- Jul 80° 55°
- Aug 79° 53°
- Sep 71° 45°
- Oct 57° 35°
- Nov 43° 26°
- Dec 32° 18°
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 Grayling each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.01 in), the least in February (1.39 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 10°F | 17.8°F | 1.82 | 25.8 | 19 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 9°F | 18.7°F | 1.39 | 18.9 | 14 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 39°F | 16°F | 27.9°F | 1.68 | 10.8 | 12 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 29°F | 40.8°F | 3.39 | 4.2 | 12 | <1 | 22 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 41°F | 53.8°F | 3.23 | 0.1 | 14 | <1 | 8 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 51°F | 63.7°F | 3.64 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 55°F | 67.6°F | 3.07 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 79°F | 53°F | 66.0°F | 3.26 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 45°F | 58.0°F | 3.22 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 35°F | 46.0°F | 4.01 | 1.4 | 17 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 26°F | 34.4°F | 2.58 | 6.9 | 16 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 32°F | 18°F | 24.6°F | 1.95 | 20.2 | 17 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 32°F | 43.3°F | 33.24 | 88.3 | 171 | 6 | 185 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −12°C | −7.9°C | 46 mm | 66 cm |
| February | −2°C | −13°C | −7.4°C | 35 mm | 48 cm |
| March | 4°C | −9°C | −2.3°C | 43 mm | 27 cm |
| April | 12°C | −2°C | 4.9°C | 86 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 10°C | 17.6°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 12°C | 18.9°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 7°C | 14.4°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 2°C | 7.8°C | 102 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 6°C | −3°C | 1.3°C | 66 mm | 18 cm |
| December | 0°C | −8°C | −4.1°C | 50 mm | 51 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00203391; 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 Grayling?
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 (12).
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 USC00203391.
When is the last frost in Grayling?
In Grayling, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 27 in half of years and before September 11 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 231 year in 10 after June 7; 9 in 10 after May 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 271 year in 10 before September 11; 9 in 10 before October 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 124 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 151 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 10 in half of springs and before October 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Grayling in zone 5a in ZIP code 49738, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Grayling's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (30 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 USC00203391; 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 Grayling?
In a normal year in Grayling, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 185 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 171 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a 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
- 76high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 171a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 40a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1891) is 104°F, on July 12, 1936; the lowest is −42°F, on February 17, 1979.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2006, with 42.75 in; the snowiest season is 1989–90, with 172.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00203391; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00203391. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Grayling?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Grayling, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (50%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 1.3 |
| February | 62% | 2.3 |
| March | 67% | 3.5 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 79% | 6.2 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.1 |
| October | 63% | 2.5 |
| November | 56% | 1.5 |
| December | 50% | 1.0 |
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 Grayling need?
A normal year in Grayling brings 8,228 heating degree days, 53% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 353 cooling degree days, 61% 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 2,013 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,461 | 0 |
| February | 1,296 | 0 |
| March | 1,150 | 0 |
| April | 727 | 1 |
| May | 368 | 22 |
| June | 113 | 74 |
| July | 46 | 128 |
| August | 66 | 95 |
| September | 240 | 30 |
| October | 592 | 3 |
| November | 917 | 0 |
| December | 1,252 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,228 | 353 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00203391. 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 Grayling been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 43.1°F, 0.2°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 43.3°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.8°F | +1.5°F | 31.92 | 65.5 |
| 2022 | 42.3°F | −1.0°F | 29.20 | 82.0 |
| 2023 | 45.1°F | +1.8°F | 29.05 | 67.5 |
| 2024 | 46.2°F | +2.9°F | 31.83 | 67.0 |
| 2025 | 43.1°F | −0.2°F | 30.04 | 98.5 |
Over 89 complete years from 1894 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.6°F per century (+0.09°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00203391; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Grayling's climate compare?
Grayling is warmer than 27 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 42. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.3°F is warmer than 13%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Grayling 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 Grayling's climate
What is the coldest month in Grayling?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Grayling?
Yes: 88 inches in a normal year, falling on 51 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (25.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Grayling?
October, with 4.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.39 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Grayling in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Grayling in zone 5a in ZIP code 49738, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Grayling's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Grayling?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 7. Waiting until June 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
- Houghton Lake, MI21 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Kalkaska, MI24 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Gaylord, MI25 miles from this station, 42.7°F a year
- Mio, MI28 miles from this station, 44.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made