Richmond, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Richmond's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 35.9 inches of precipitation and 47 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.9°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 28°C, 912 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRichmond (4 mi NNW)
- Station IDUSC00206982
- Location42.88°N 82.80°W
- Elevation765 ft (233 m)
- Population5,905
On October 23, the normal high in Richmond is 57°F and the normal low 39°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 Richmond.
- Jan 30° 16°
- Feb 33° 16°
- Mar 42° 25°
- Apr 56° 36°
- May 69° 47°
- Jun 78° 58°
- Jul 83° 62°
- Aug 80° 59°
- Sep 73° 52°
- Oct 60° 41°
- Nov 47° 32°
- Dec 35° 23°
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 Richmond each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.94 in), the least in February (1.92 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 16°F | 23.2°F | 2.37 | 10.8 | 13 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 33°F | 16°F | 24.4°F | 1.92 | 13.3 | 10 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 25°F | 33.5°F | 2.09 | 6.1 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 36°F | 45.8°F | 3.19 | 2.6 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 47°F | 57.9°F | 3.81 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 58°F | 68.0°F | 3.56 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 62°F | 72.5°F | 3.94 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 80°F | 59°F | 69.7°F | 3.27 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 52°F | 62.5°F | 3.46 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 41°F | 50.7°F | 2.95 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 47°F | 32°F | 39.1°F | 2.97 | 3.5 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 35°F | 23°F | 29.3°F | 2.37 | 10.3 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 39°F | 48.1°F | 35.90 | 46.6 | 133 | 14 | 143 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −9°C | −4.9°C | 60 mm | 27 cm |
| February | 0°C | −9°C | −4.2°C | 49 mm | 34 cm |
| March | 6°C | −4°C | 0.8°C | 53 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.7°C | 81 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 20°C | 9°C | 14.4°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.0°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.5°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 16.9°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 5°C | 10.4°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 8°C | 0°C | 3.9°C | 75 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 2°C | −5°C | −1.5°C | 60 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00206982; 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 Richmond?
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 USC00206982.
When is the last frost in Richmond?
In Richmond, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 17 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
- May 11 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 18
- 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 170 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 194 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Richmond in zone 6a in ZIP code 48050, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Richmond's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (19 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 USC00206982; 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 Richmond?
In a normal year in Richmond, 14 days a year reach 90°F, 143 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 133 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 143a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 53high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 133a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00206982.
How sunny is Richmond?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Richmond, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and January the cloudiest (52%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52% | 1.4 |
| February | 58% | 2.3 |
| March | 64% | 3.4 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.3 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 68% | 2.8 |
| November | 62% | 1.8 |
| December | 55% | 1.3 |
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 Richmond need?
A normal year in Richmond brings 6,785 heating degree days, 26% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 649 cooling degree days, 28% 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 2,709 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,297 | 0 |
| February | 1,135 | 0 |
| March | 977 | 1 |
| April | 576 | 2 |
| May | 252 | 33 |
| June | 49 | 139 |
| July | 9 | 242 |
| August | 22 | 168 |
| September | 134 | 59 |
| October | 449 | 6 |
| November | 777 | 0 |
| December | 1,108 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,785 | 649 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00206982. 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 Richmond been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 47.2°F, 0.9°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 48.1°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.2°F | +2.1°F | 42.69 | 48.0 |
| 2022 | 47.3°F | −0.9°F | 24.92 | 44.4 |
| 2023 | 49.8°F | +1.7°F | 40.74 | 32.1 |
| 2024 | 50.8°F | +2.7°F | 33.97 | 38.8 |
| 2025 | 47.2°F | −0.9°F | 30.40 | 44.8 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00206982. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Richmond's climate compare?
Richmond is warmer than 101 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 93. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.1°F is warmer than 32%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Richmond 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 Richmond 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.
- Romeo, MI3,758 people · 12 mi SW
- Almont, MI2,844 people · 13 mi W
- Capac, MI1,946 people · 11 mi NW
- Armada, MI1,687 people · 5 mi SW
- Memphis, MI1,083 people · 2 mi NE
- Emmett, MI236 people · 8 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 Richmond's climate
What is the coldest month in Richmond?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Richmond?
Yes: 47 inches in a normal year, falling on 31 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (13.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Richmond?
July, with 3.94 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.92 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Richmond in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Richmond in zone 6a in ZIP code 48050, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Richmond's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Richmond?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Yale, MI19 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Mount Clemens, MI19 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Port Huron, MI20 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Algonac, MI22 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made