Kalkaska, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Kalkaska's normal year runs from 11°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 33.7 inches of precipitation and 132 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.1°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 26°C, 855 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationKalkaska
- Station IDUSC00204257
- Location44.73°N 85.17°W
- Elevation1,035 ft (316 m)
- Population2,255
On October 23, the normal high in Kalkaska is 53°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 Kalkaska.
- Jan 26° 11°
- Feb 28° 10°
- Mar 38° 16°
- Apr 51° 29°
- May 65° 41°
- Jun 75° 51°
- Jul 79° 55°
- Aug 77° 54°
- Sep 70° 46°
- Oct 56° 37°
- Nov 42° 27°
- Dec 31° 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 Kalkaska each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 11°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.15 in), the least in February (1.50 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 11°F | 18.0°F | 2.00 | 38.3 | 17 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 28°F | 10°F | 18.8°F | 1.50 | 24.8 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 16°F | 27.4°F | 1.71 | 13.7 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 51°F | 29°F | 40.2°F | 2.91 | 6.8 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 41°F | 53.2°F | 3.28 | 0.7 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 75°F | 51°F | 63.1°F | 3.28 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 79°F | 55°F | 66.9°F | 3.09 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 77°F | 54°F | 65.3°F | 2.98 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 70°F | 46°F | 58.0°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 37°F | 46.2°F | 4.15 | 1.0 | 15 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 27°F | 34.6°F | 2.93 | 17.1 | 15 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 31°F | 18°F | 24.7°F | 2.16 | 29.7 | 16 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 53°F | 33°F | 43.0°F | 33.67 | 132.1 | 148 | 4 | 179 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −12°C | −7.8°C | 51 mm | 97 cm |
| February | −2°C | −12°C | −7.3°C | 38 mm | 63 cm |
| March | 3°C | −9°C | −2.6°C | 43 mm | 35 cm |
| April | 11°C | −2°C | 4.6°C | 74 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 18°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 83 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 24°C | 11°C | 17.3°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 12°C | 18.5°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | 3°C | 7.9°C | 105 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 6°C | −3°C | 1.4°C | 74 mm | 43 cm |
| December | 0°C | −8°C | −4.1°C | 55 mm | 75 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00204257; 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 Kalkaska?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, June 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 USC00204257.
When is the last frost in Kalkaska?
In Kalkaska, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 24 in half of years and after June 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 14 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 241 year in 10 after June 7; 9 in 10 after May 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 14; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 128 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 157 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 10 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Kalkaska in zone 5b in ZIP code 49680, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Kalkaska's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°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 USC00204257; 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 Kalkaska?
In a normal year in Kalkaska, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 179 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 148 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
- 179a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 79high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 148a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 45a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1974) is 97°F, on July 1, 2018; the lowest is −34°F, on February 5, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2017, with 44.70 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 211.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00204257; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00204257. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Kalkaska?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Kalkaska, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (47%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52% | 1.3 |
| February | 59% | 2.2 |
| March | 67% | 3.5 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 79% | 6.2 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.1 |
| October | 62% | 2.4 |
| November | 55% | 1.4 |
| December | 47% | 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 Kalkaska need?
A normal year in Kalkaska brings 8,288 heating degree days, 54% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 318 cooling degree days, 65% 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 1,946 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,455 | 0 |
| February | 1,295 | 0 |
| March | 1,168 | 0 |
| April | 745 | 1 |
| May | 387 | 20 |
| June | 127 | 68 |
| July | 57 | 115 |
| August | 74 | 83 |
| September | 238 | 28 |
| October | 585 | 3 |
| November | 911 | 0 |
| December | 1,248 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,288 | 318 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00204257. 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 Kalkaska been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 43.3°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.0°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.1°F | +2.1°F | 34.36 | 102.4 |
| 2023 | 45.7°F | +2.7°F | 30.47 | – |
| 2024 | 46.6°F | +3.6°F | 33.16 | 125.2 |
| 2025 | 43.3°F | +0.3°F | 32.99 | 153.7 |
Over 35 complete years from 1991 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 7.2°F per century (+0.40°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00204257; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Kalkaska's climate compare?
Kalkaska is warmer than 25 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 53. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.0°F is warmer than 12%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska share this climate record?
5 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.
- Mancelona, MI1,391 people · 13 mi NE
- Rapid City, MI1,315 people · 10 mi NW
- Manistee Lake, MI364 people · 8 mi NE
- Bear Lake, MI245 people · 11 mi E
- Alden, MI92 people · 12 mi NW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Kalkaska's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Kalkaska. This page uses Kalkaska; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalkaska (11 mi SE) USC00204258 | 11 mi SE | 1,083 ft | 41.7°F | 10°F | 77°F | 36.5 | 126 | May 27 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Kalkaska's climate
What is the coldest month in Kalkaska?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 11°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Kalkaska?
Yes: 132 inches in a normal year, falling on 54 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (38.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Kalkaska?
October, with 4.15 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.50 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Kalkaska in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Kalkaska in zone 5b in ZIP code 49680, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Kalkaska's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Kalkaska?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 24; 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
- South Boardman, MI10 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Fife Lake, MI14 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Traverse City, MI20 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Old Mission (3 mi SSW), MI22 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made