Gull Lake Biological Station, Michigan climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Gull Lake Biological Station's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 39.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.2°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,003 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGull Lake Biological Station
- Station IDUSC00203504
- Location42.39°N 85.39°W
- Elevation925 ft (282 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Gull Lake Biological Station is 60°F and the normal low 42°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gull Lake Biological Station.
- Jan 32° 19°
- Feb 36° 20°
- Mar 48° 28°
- Apr 61° 38°
- May 72° 49°
- Jun 81° 58°
- Jul 85° 62°
- Aug 82° 61°
- Sep 76° 53°
- Oct 63° 43°
- Nov 48° 34°
- Dec 37° 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 at Gull Lake Biological Station each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in August (4.18 in), the least in February (1.93 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 19°F | 25.4°F | 2.95 | – | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 36°F | 20°F | 27.7°F | 1.93 | – | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 48°F | 28°F | 37.9°F | 2.26 | – | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 38°F | 49.4°F | 3.57 | – | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 72°F | 49°F | 60.7°F | 3.93 | – | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 58°F | 69.8°F | 3.95 | – | 5 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 85°F | 62°F | 73.3°F | 3.83 | – | 8 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 61°F | 71.5°F | 4.18 | – | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 76°F | 53°F | 64.3°F | 3.48 | – | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 43°F | 53.1°F | 3.95 | – | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 34°F | 41.1°F | 2.94 | – | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 37°F | 25°F | 30.6°F | 2.52 | – | <1 | 25 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 41°F | 50.4°F | 39.49 | – | 19 | 128 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −7°C | −3.7°C | 75 mm |
| February | 2°C | −7°C | −2.4°C | 49 mm |
| March | 9°C | −2°C | 3.3°C | 57 mm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.7°C | 91 mm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 15.9°C | 100 mm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 21.0°C | 100 mm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 97 mm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 106 mm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 17.9°C | 88 mm |
| October | 17°C | 6°C | 11.7°C | 100 mm |
| November | 9°C | 1°C | 5.1°C | 75 mm |
| December | 3°C | −4°C | −0.8°C | 64 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Battle Creek (5 mi NW) (6 miles away), gets 65 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00203504; 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.
Which months are mildest at Gull Lake Biological Station?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00203504.
When is the last frost at Gull Lake Biological Station?
In Gull Lake Biological Station, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 29 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 4 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 291 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 4; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 173 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 200 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before November 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gull Lake Biological Station in zone 6a in ZIP code 49060, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Michigan · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00203504; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get at Gull Lake Biological Station?
In a normal year in Gull Lake Biological Station, 19 days a year reach 90°F and 128 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 19a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 128a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 39high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1929) is 108°F, on July 13, 1936; the lowest is −21°F, on January 30, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 50.14 in; the snowiest season is 1976–77, with 101.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00203504; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00203504. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Gull Lake Biological Station?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Gull Lake Biological Station, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (50%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52% | 1.4 |
| February | 57% | 2.2 |
| March | 65% | 3.5 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.3 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 65% | 2.7 |
| November | 60% | 1.7 |
| December | 50% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Gull Lake Biological Station record?
A normal year at Gull Lake Biological Station brings 6,089 heating degree days, 13% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 808 cooling degree days, 11% 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 3,083 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,228 | 0 |
| February | 1,044 | 0 |
| March | 841 | 1 |
| April | 475 | 7 |
| May | 189 | 58 |
| June | 29 | 173 |
| July | 5 | 261 |
| August | 12 | 212 |
| September | 106 | 87 |
| October | 377 | 10 |
| November | 716 | 0 |
| December | 1,066 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,089 | 808 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00203504. 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 Gull Lake Biological Station's climate compare?
Gull Lake Biological Station is warmer than 137 of the 140 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 116. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.4°F is warmer than 42%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gull Lake Biological Station 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 Gull Lake Biological Station share this climate record?
6 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.
- South Gull Lake, MI2,145 people · 1 mi SW
- Galesburg, MI2,083 people · 7 mi S
- Richland, MI953 people · 4 mi SW
- Delton, MI865 people · 7 mi N
- Augusta, MI848 people · 4 mi SE
- Hickory Corners, MI151 people · 3 mi N
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 Gull Lake Biological Station's climate
What is the coldest month at Gull Lake Biological Station?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow at Gull Lake Biological Station?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Battle Creek (5 mi NW) (6 miles away), records 65 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Gull Lake Biological Station?
August, with 4.18 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.93 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gull Lake Biological Station in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gull Lake Biological Station in zone 6a in ZIP code 49060, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Gull Lake Biological Station?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 29; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Battle Creek, MI9 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Kalamazoo, MI14 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Hastings, MI18 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Allegan, MI24 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made