Manchester, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Manchester's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 33.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.1°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 28°C, 853 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationManchester
- Station IDUSC00205050
- Location42.15°N 84.02°W
- Elevation965 ft (294 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,056
On October 23, the normal high in Manchester is 59°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Manchester.
- Jan 31° 15°
- Feb 35° 16°
- Mar 45° 25°
- Apr 58° 35°
- May 70° 47°
- Jun 79° 56°
- Jul 83° 60°
- Aug 81° 59°
- Sep 75° 51°
- Oct 62° 40°
- Nov 48° 30°
- Dec 37° 22°
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 Manchester each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.06 in), the least in February (1.96 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 15°F | 23.3°F | 2.33 | 13 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 35°F | 16°F | 25.3°F | 1.96 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 25°F | 35.2°F | 2.16 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 35°F | 46.8°F | 3.18 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 47°F | 58.4°F | 4.06 | 14 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 79°F | 56°F | 67.5°F | 3.06 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 83°F | 60°F | 71.2°F | 3.45 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 59°F | 69.9°F | 3.09 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 51°F | 62.6°F | 2.91 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 40°F | 50.7°F | 2.60 | 12 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 30°F | 38.9°F | 2.67 | 11 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 37°F | 22°F | 29.4°F | 2.11 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 38°F | 48.3°F | 33.58 | 135 | 12 | 148 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.8°C | 59 mm |
| February | 2°C | −9°C | −3.7°C | 50 mm |
| March | 7°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 55 mm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 81 mm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 103 mm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 78 mm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.8°C | 88 mm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 78 mm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.0°C | 74 mm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.4°C | 66 mm |
| November | 9°C | −1°C | 3.8°C | 68 mm |
| December | 3°C | −5°C | −1.4°C | 54 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Chelsea (12 miles away), gets 33 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00205050; 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 Manchester?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September 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 USC00205050.
When is the last frost in Manchester?
In Manchester, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 14 in half of years and before October 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
- April 301 year in 10 after May 16; 9 in 10 after April 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 141 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 165 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 188 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Manchester in zone 6a in ZIP code 48158, 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 USC00205050; 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 Manchester?
In a normal year in Manchester, 12 days a year reach 90°F, 148 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 135 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 148a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 46high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 135a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00205050.
How sunny is Manchester?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Manchester, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (52%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.5 |
| February | 62% | 2.4 |
| March | 67% | 3.6 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 76% | 6.2 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 67% | 2.7 |
| November | 62% | 1.8 |
| December | 52% | 1.2 |
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 Manchester need?
A normal year in Manchester brings 6,652 heating degree days, 24% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 592 cooling degree days, 35% 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 2,680 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,291 | 0 |
| February | 1,112 | 0 |
| March | 926 | 1 |
| April | 548 | 2 |
| May | 238 | 32 |
| June | 47 | 122 |
| July | 11 | 204 |
| August | 16 | 167 |
| September | 129 | 57 |
| October | 448 | 6 |
| November | 785 | 0 |
| December | 1,102 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,652 | 592 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00205050. 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 Manchester been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.1°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.3°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.3°F | +2.0°F | 40.89 |
| 2022 | 48.9°F | +0.6°F | 28.47 |
| 2023 | 50.6°F | +2.3°F | 34.82 |
| 2025 | 49.1°F | +0.9°F | 33.62 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00205050. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Manchester's climate compare?
Manchester is warmer than 106 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 51. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.3°F is warmer than 33%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Manchester 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 Manchester share this climate record?
Napoleon has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Napoleon, MI969 people · 11 mi W
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 Manchester's climate
What is the coldest month in Manchester?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Manchester?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Manchester's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Chelsea (12 miles away), records 33 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Manchester?
May, with 4.06 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.96 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Manchester in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Manchester in zone 6a in ZIP code 48158, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Manchester?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 16. Waiting until May 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Tipton (2 mi WNW), MI9 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Tecumseh, MI11 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Chelsea, MI12 miles from this station, 48.3°F a year
- Saline, MI12 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made