Saginaw, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Saginaw's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 32.1 inches of precipitation and 49 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, 816 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSaginaw Mbs International Airport
- Station IDUSW00014845
- Location43.53°N 84.08°W
- Elevation660 ft (201 m)
- From the center10 miles
- Population43,001
On October 23, the normal high in Saginaw 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 Saginaw.
- Jan 30° 16°
- Feb 32° 17°
- Mar 42° 26°
- Apr 56° 36°
- May 69° 48°
- Jun 79° 58°
- Jul 82° 61°
- Aug 80° 59°
- Sep 73° 52°
- Oct 60° 41°
- Nov 46° 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 Saginaw each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.85 in), the least in February (1.77 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 16°F | 23.0°F | 1.92 | 13.9 | 13 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 17°F | 24.5°F | 1.77 | 11.4 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 26°F | 34.0°F | 2.02 | 6.0 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 36°F | 45.9°F | 3.19 | 2.4 | 12 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 48°F | 58.2°F | 3.41 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 58°F | 68.1°F | 3.28 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 61°F | 71.7°F | 2.83 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 59°F | 69.7°F | 3.85 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 52°F | 62.5°F | 2.81 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 41°F | 50.8°F | 2.91 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 32°F | 39.0°F | 2.28 | 3.3 | 12 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 35°F | 23°F | 28.9°F | 1.85 | 11.8 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 39°F | 48.0°F | 32.12 | 49.0 | 133 | 9 | 139 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −9°C | −5.0°C | 49 mm | 35 cm |
| February | 0°C | −8°C | −4.2°C | 45 mm | 29 cm |
| March | 6°C | −4°C | 1.1°C | 51 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.7°C | 81 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 20°C | 9°C | 14.6°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 16.9°C | 71 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 5°C | 10.4°C | 74 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | 0°C | 3.9°C | 58 mm | 8 cm |
| December | 2°C | −5°C | −1.7°C | 47 mm | 30 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014845; 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 Saginaw?
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 USW00014845.
When is the last frost in Saginaw?
In Saginaw, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 26 in half of years and after May 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before October 2 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 261 year in 10 after May 13; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before October 2; 9 in 10 before October 31
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 172 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 197 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Saginaw in zone 6a across its 2 ZIP code areas (6a in 48602, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Saginaw's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (30 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 USW00014845; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Saginaw ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Saginaw's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 6a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Saginaw?
In a normal year in Saginaw, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 139 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 133 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 139a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 55high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 133a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 17a normal year
The highest temperature in Saginaw's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1912) is 111°F, on July 13, 1936; the lowest is −23°F, on February 5, 1918.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1928, with 43.36 in; the snowiest season is 1966–67, with 87.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014845; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record MBSthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Saginaw, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 59°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 61°F; the driest air comes in January (16°F). December is the windiest month (10.7 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (66%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°F | 76% | 67% | 10.5 mph | – | – |
| February | 19°F | 73% | 61% | 10.4 mph | 44% | 44% |
| March | 29°F | 66% | 52% | 10.7 mph | 48% | 36% |
| April | 38°F | 62% | 46% | 10.4 mph | 52% | 28% |
| May | 51°F | 66% | 49% | 8.8 mph | 56% | 23% |
| June | 59°F | 67% | 49% | 8.3 mph | 62% | 14% |
| July | 61°F | 72% | 53% | 7.3 mph | 63% | 14% |
| August | 59°F | 74% | 55% | 7.3 mph | 66% | 16% |
| September | 47°F | 73% | 52% | 8.6 mph | 57% | 25% |
| October | 36°F | 72% | 57% | 10.0 mph | 46% | 39% |
| November | 27°F | 77% | 67% | 10.6 mph | 33% | 51% |
| December | 20°F | 77% | 70% | 10.7 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00014845. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Saginaw?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Saginaw, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (53%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 1.5 |
| February | 63% | 2.4 |
| March | 68% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.6 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 76% | 4.2 |
| October | 66% | 2.6 |
| November | 61% | 1.6 |
| December | 53% | 1.1 |
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 Saginaw need?
A normal year in Saginaw brings 6,781 heating degree days, 26% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 631 cooling degree days, 30% 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 2,693 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,303 | 0 |
| February | 1,132 | 0 |
| March | 962 | 1 |
| April | 574 | 2 |
| May | 253 | 41 |
| June | 47 | 140 |
| July | 9 | 216 |
| August | 19 | 165 |
| September | 136 | 60 |
| October | 447 | 7 |
| November | 780 | 0 |
| December | 1,119 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,781 | 631 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014845. 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 Saginaw been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.4°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.0°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.3°F | +2.3°F | 30.65 | 38.8 |
| 2022 | 48.2°F | +0.2°F | 27.08 | 34.2 |
| 2023 | 50.2°F | +2.2°F | 34.75 | 40.4 |
| 2024 | 51.9°F | +3.9°F | 25.98 | 38.5 |
| 2025 | 48.4°F | +0.4°F | 27.85 | 42.2 |
Over 116 complete years from 1898 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.4°F per century (+0.25°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014845; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Saginaw's climate compare?
Saginaw is warmer than 98 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 26. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.0°F is warmer than 32%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Saginaw 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 Saginaw 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.
- Freeland, MI7,562 people · 2 mi SW
- Shields, MI7,276 people · 8 mi S
- St. Charles, MI1,945 people · 17 mi S
- Zilwaukee, MI1,493 people · 9 mi SE
- Hemlock, MI1,323 people · 11 mi SW
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 Saginaw's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Saginaw. This page uses Saginaw Mbs International Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saginaw #3 USC00207222 | 1 mi SW | 600 ft | 48.3°F | 16°F | 83°F | 34.0 | 41 | April 29 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Saginaw's climate
What is the coldest month in Saginaw?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Saginaw?
Yes: 49 inches in a normal year, falling on 38 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (13.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Saginaw?
August, with 3.85 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.77 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Saginaw in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Saginaw in zone 6a across its 2 ZIP code areas (6a in 48602, the largest). By the same method at Saginaw's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Saginaw?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 26; in one year in ten it comes after May 13. Waiting until May 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Saginaw in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Auburn, MI7 miles from this station, 47.1°F a year
- Midland, MI8 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Essexville, MI13 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Frankenmuth, MI24 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made