Manistee, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Manistee's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 36.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.6°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 27°C, 923 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationManistee (3 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00205065
- Location44.21°N 86.29°W
- Elevation670 ft (204 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population6,241
On October 23, the normal high in Manistee is 56°F and the normal low 40°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 Manistee.
- Jan 30° 19°
- Feb 33° 19°
- Mar 42° 25°
- Apr 55° 35°
- May 67° 45°
- Jun 76° 54°
- Jul 80° 59°
- Aug 78° 59°
- Sep 72° 52°
- Oct 59° 42°
- Nov 46° 33°
- Dec 35° 24°
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 Manistee each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.12 in), the least in February (1.59 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 19°F | 24.4°F | 2.20 | 17 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 33°F | 19°F | 25.9°F | 1.59 | 12 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 25°F | 33.7°F | 2.22 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 35°F | 44.8°F | 3.44 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 67°F | 45°F | 55.9°F | 3.29 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 54°F | 65.0°F | 3.76 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 59°F | 69.4°F | 3.29 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 78°F | 59°F | 68.4°F | 3.32 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 52°F | 62.2°F | 3.26 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 42°F | 50.7°F | 4.12 | 15 | <1 | 5 | 11 h |
| November | 46°F | 33°F | 39.5°F | 3.17 | 15 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 35°F | 24°F | 29.7°F | 2.68 | 16 | <1 | 26 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 39°F | 47.5°F | 36.34 | 150 | 3 | 140 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −7°C | −4.2°C | 56 mm |
| February | 0°C | −7°C | −3.4°C | 40 mm |
| March | 6°C | −4°C | 0.9°C | 56 mm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.1°C | 87 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 13.3°C | 84 mm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 18.3°C | 96 mm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 84 mm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.2°C | 84 mm |
| September | 22°C | 11°C | 16.8°C | 83 mm |
| October | 15°C | 6°C | 10.4°C | 105 mm |
| November | 8°C | 1°C | 4.2°C | 81 mm |
| December | 2°C | −4°C | −1.3°C | 68 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Wellston (17 miles away), gets 120 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00205065; 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 Manistee?
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 (9).
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 USC00205065.
When is the last frost in Manistee?
In Manistee, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 14 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 12 in half of years and before September 27 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 141 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 121 year in 10 before September 27; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 151 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 182 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Manistee in zone 6b in ZIP code 49626, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Manistee's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −2°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Michigan · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00205065; 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 Manistee?
In a normal year in Manistee, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 140 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 150 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 140a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 55high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 150a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1888) is 100°F, on August 5, 1947; the lowest is −29°F, on February 3, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 48.97 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 140.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00205065; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00205065. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Manistee?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Manistee, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (46%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 48% | 1.1 |
| February | 56% | 2.0 |
| March | 65% | 3.4 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.0 |
| October | 63% | 2.4 |
| November | 55% | 1.4 |
| December | 46% | 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 Manistee need?
A normal year in Manistee brings 6,848 heating degree days, 27% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 493 cooling degree days, 46% 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 2,434 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,259 | 0 |
| February | 1,096 | 0 |
| March | 971 | 1 |
| April | 609 | 2 |
| May | 306 | 26 |
| June | 88 | 89 |
| July | 30 | 167 |
| August | 36 | 141 |
| September | 145 | 61 |
| October | 452 | 7 |
| November | 764 | 0 |
| December | 1,093 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,848 | 493 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00205065. 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 Manistee been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 49.5°F, 2.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.5°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.1°F | +0.6°F | 36.22 |
| 2022 | 46.3°F | −1.2°F | 41.64 |
| 2023 | 48.6°F | +1.1°F | 25.69 |
| 2024 | 49.5°F | +2.0°F | 33.00 |
Over 84 complete years from 1889 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00205065; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Manistee's climate compare?
Manistee is warmer than 84 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 100. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.5°F is warmer than 30%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Manistee 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 Manistee share this climate record?
8 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.
- Parkdale, MI631 people · 4 mi N
- Oak Hill, MI440 people · 1 mi NW
- Eastlake, MI407 people · 2 mi N
- Onekama, MI401 people · 12 mi NE
- Stronach, MI187 people · 1 mi E
- Filer City, MI183 people · 0 mi NE
- Fountain, MI181 people · 13 mi SE
- Free Soil, MI149 people · 8 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 Manistee's climate
What is the coldest month in Manistee?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Manistee?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Manistee's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Wellston (17 miles away), records 120 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Manistee?
October, with 4.12 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.59 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Manistee in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Manistee in zone 6b in ZIP code 49626, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Manistee's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −2°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Manistee?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 14; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wellston, MI17 miles from this station, 44.2°F a year
- Ludington, MI22 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Beulah, MI24 miles from this station, 46.5°F a year
- Frankfort, MI30 miles from this station, 46.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made