Ishpeming, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ishpeming's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 78°F July afternoons, with 30.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.4°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 25°C, 768 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationIshpeming Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Station IDUSC00204130
- Location46.49°N 87.69°W
- Elevation1,406 ft (429 m)
- Population6,207
On October 14, the normal high in Ishpeming is 54°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 49%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ishpeming.
- Jan 22° 6°
- Feb 25° 6°
- Mar 36° 12°
- Apr 47° 25°
- May 62° 38°
- Jun 72° 49°
- Jul 78° 53°
- Aug 76° 51°
- Sep 68° 44°
- Oct 53° 33°
- Nov 38° 23°
- Dec 27° 12°
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 Ishpeming each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.88 in), the least in March (1.23 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 6°F | 14.1°F | 1.59 | 18 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 25°F | 6°F | 15.3°F | 1.34 | 14 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 36°F | 12°F | 23.9°F | 1.23 | 11 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 47°F | 25°F | 36.2°F | 2.41 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 62°F | 38°F | 50.2°F | 2.95 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 15 h |
| June | 72°F | 49°F | 60.5°F | 3.09 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 78°F | 53°F | 65.3°F | 3.88 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 76°F | 51°F | 63.4°F | 2.36 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 68°F | 44°F | 56.0°F | 3.61 | 14 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 33°F | 43.3°F | 3.61 | 16 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 23°F | 30.4°F | 2.19 | 14 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 27°F | 12°F | 19.5°F | 1.99 | 17 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 29°F | 39.9°F | 30.25 | 160 | 4 | 191 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −14°C | −9.9°C | 40 mm |
| February | −4°C | −15°C | −9.3°C | 34 mm |
| March | 2°C | −11°C | −4.5°C | 31 mm |
| April | 9°C | −4°C | 2.3°C | 61 mm |
| May | 17°C | 3°C | 10.1°C | 75 mm |
| June | 22°C | 9°C | 15.8°C | 78 mm |
| July | 25°C | 12°C | 18.5°C | 99 mm |
| August | 24°C | 11°C | 17.4°C | 60 mm |
| September | 20°C | 7°C | 13.3°C | 92 mm |
| October | 12°C | 1°C | 6.3°C | 92 mm |
| November | 3°C | −5°C | −0.9°C | 56 mm |
| December | −3°C | −11°C | −6.9°C | 51 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Marquette station (7 miles away), gets 197 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00204130; 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 Ishpeming?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00204130.
When is the last frost in Ishpeming?
In Ishpeming, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 26 in half of years and after June 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 25 in half of years and before September 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
- May 261 year in 10 after June 8; 9 in 10 after May 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 251 year in 10 before September 4; 9 in 10 before October 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 119 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 146 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 12 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ishpeming in zone 4b in ZIP code 49849, 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 USC00204130; 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 in Ishpeming?
In a normal year in Ishpeming, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 191 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 160 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 191a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 94high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 160a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00204130.
How sunny is Ishpeming?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ishpeming, 3.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (48%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 49% | 1.1 |
| February | 55% | 1.9 |
| March | 63% | 3.2 |
| April | 66% | 4.4 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 77% | 6.0 |
| August | 75% | 5.0 |
| September | 70% | 3.7 |
| October | 60% | 2.2 |
| November | 52% | 1.3 |
| December | 48% | 0.9 |
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 Ishpeming need?
A normal year in Ishpeming brings 9,337 heating degree days, 74% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 205 cooling degree days, 77% 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 1,612 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,578 | 0 |
| February | 1,391 | 0 |
| March | 1,276 | 0 |
| April | 864 | 0 |
| May | 464 | 7 |
| June | 173 | 39 |
| July | 76 | 85 |
| August | 104 | 54 |
| September | 290 | 20 |
| October | 675 | 1 |
| November | 1,038 | 0 |
| December | 1,409 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,337 | 205 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00204130. 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 Ishpeming been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 40.3°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 39.9°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41.8°F | +1.9°F | 24.30 |
| 2022 | 38.8°F | −1.1°F | 39.59 |
| 2023 | 41.8°F | +1.9°F | 35.27 |
| 2024 | 43.4°F | +3.5°F | 33.42 |
| 2025 | 40.3°F | +0.4°F | 36.93 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00204130. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ishpeming's climate compare?
Ishpeming is warmer than 2 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 13. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.9°F is warmer than 5%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ishpeming 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 Ishpeming 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.
- Negaunee, MI4,676 people · 5 mi E
- West Ishpeming, MI2,714 people · 1 mi W
- Palmer, MI342 people · 6 mi SE
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 Ishpeming's climate
What is the coldest month in Ishpeming?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (78°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in Ishpeming?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Ishpeming's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Marquette station (7 miles away), records 197 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Ishpeming?
July, with 3.88 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 1.23 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ishpeming in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ishpeming in zone 4b in ZIP code 49849, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Ishpeming?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 26; in one year in ten it comes after June 8. Waiting until June 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Clarksburg, MI7 miles from this station, 38.3°F a year
- Champion Van Riper Park, MI14 miles from this station, 39.0°F a year
- Marquette, MI15 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Ki Sawyer Wastewater Treatment Plant, MI19 miles from this station, 41.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made