Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Sault Ste. Marie's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 34.5 inches of precipitation and 120 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.7°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 25°C, 875 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSault Ste Marie Sanderson Field
- Station IDUSW00014847
- Location46.48°N 84.36°W
- Elevation722 ft (220 m)
- Population13,288
On October 23, the normal high in Sault Ste. Marie is 51°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 54%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Sault Ste. Marie.
- Jan 24° 8°
- Feb 26° 9°
- Mar 36° 18°
- Apr 49° 30°
- May 63° 41°
- Jun 73° 50°
- Jul 77° 55°
- Aug 76° 55°
- Sep 68° 49°
- Oct 54° 39°
- Nov 41° 28°
- Dec 31° 17°
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 Sault Ste. Marie each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.38 in), the least in February (1.51 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 | 24°F | 8°F | 16.2°F | 2.21 | 30.3 | 19 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 9°F | 17.8°F | 1.51 | 20.7 | 14 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 36°F | 18°F | 26.7°F | 1.81 | 13.0 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 49°F | 30°F | 39.4°F | 2.63 | 7.6 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 63°F | 41°F | 52.1°F | 2.64 | 0.4 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 15 h |
| June | 73°F | 50°F | 61.1°F | 2.85 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 77°F | 55°F | 66.0°F | 3.07 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 76°F | 55°F | 65.6°F | 3.19 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 68°F | 49°F | 58.4°F | 3.93 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 39°F | 46.3°F | 4.38 | 1.7 | 17 | <1 | 7 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 28°F | 34.8°F | 3.44 | 16.0 | 17 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 31°F | 17°F | 23.8°F | 2.80 | 30.4 | 19 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 33°F | 42.3°F | 34.46 | 120.1 | 165 | 1 | 164 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −13°C | −8.8°C | 56 mm | 77 cm |
| February | −3°C | −13°C | −7.9°C | 38 mm | 53 cm |
| March | 2°C | −8°C | −2.9°C | 46 mm | 33 cm |
| April | 9°C | −1°C | 4.1°C | 67 mm | 19 cm |
| May | 17°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 67 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 23°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 9°C | 14.7°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 4°C | 7.9°C | 111 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 5°C | −2°C | 1.6°C | 87 mm | 41 cm |
| December | −1°C | −8°C | −4.6°C | 71 mm | 77 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014847; 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 Sault Ste. Marie?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USW00014847.
When is the last frost in Sault Ste. Marie?
In Sault Ste. Marie, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 11 in half of years and before September 26 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 91 year in 10 after May 27; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 111 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 151 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 179 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 27 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sault Ste. Marie in zone 4b in ZIP code 49783, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Sault Ste. Marie's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°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 USW00014847; 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 Sault Ste. Marie?
In a normal year in Sault Ste. Marie, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 164 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 165 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 164a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 83high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 165a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 38a normal year
The highest temperature in Sault Ste. Marie's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1888) is 98°F, on July 30, 1916; the lowest is −37°F, on February 10, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2013, with 48.78 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 222.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014847; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record ANJthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Sault Ste. Marie, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 56°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 57°F; the driest air comes in January (10°F). April is the windiest month (8.3 mph on average), and July has the most clear or nearly clear hours (62%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°F | 75% | 68% | 7.5 mph | 27% | 62% |
| February | 12°F | 71% | 60% | 7.7 mph | 45% | 43% |
| March | 23°F | 67% | 54% | 8.1 mph | 49% | 39% |
| April | 32°F | 60% | 45% | 8.3 mph | 57% | 31% |
| May | 45°F | 67% | 51% | 7.2 mph | 61% | 25% |
| June | 54°F | 72% | 56% | 6.8 mph | 60% | 25% |
| July | 57°F | 75% | 57% | 6.6 mph | 62% | 19% |
| August | 55°F | 78% | 59% | 6.6 mph | 60% | 23% |
| September | 45°F | 78% | 61% | 7.1 mph | 47% | 35% |
| October | 33°F | 76% | 66% | 8.1 mph | 30% | 56% |
| November | 23°F | 79% | 73% | 8.2 mph | 19% | 69% |
| December | 13°F | 77% | 72% | 7.8 mph | 24% | 67% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00014847. 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 Sault Ste. Marie?
Over a year 68% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Sault Ste. Marie, 3.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (49%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 51% | 1.1 |
| February | 58% | 2.0 |
| March | 62% | 3.2 |
| April | 66% | 4.4 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 77% | 6.0 |
| August | 75% | 5.1 |
| September | 71% | 3.8 |
| October | 60% | 2.2 |
| November | 52% | 1.2 |
| December | 49% | 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 Sault Ste. Marie need?
A normal year in Sault Ste. Marie brings 8,457 heating degree days, 57% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 236 cooling degree days, 74% 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 1,795 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,513 | 0 |
| February | 1,320 | 0 |
| March | 1,187 | 0 |
| April | 770 | 0 |
| May | 407 | 7 |
| June | 150 | 33 |
| July | 60 | 91 |
| August | 60 | 79 |
| September | 225 | 25 |
| October | 581 | 1 |
| November | 908 | 0 |
| December | 1,277 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,457 | 236 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014847. 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 Sault Ste. Marie been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 42.5°F, 0.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 42.3°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.2°F | +3.9°F | 34.03 | 117.1 |
| 2022 | 42.0°F | −0.3°F | 39.03 | 154.5 |
| 2023 | 45.0°F | +2.7°F | 35.04 | 120.0 |
| 2024 | 46.7°F | +4.4°F | 42.06 | 130.2 |
| 2025 | 42.5°F | +0.2°F | 42.51 | 202.8 |
Over 94 complete years from 1931 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.7°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014847; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sault Ste. Marie's climate compare?
Sault Ste. Marie is warmer than 16 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 68. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.3°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sault Ste. Marie 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.
What do Sault Ste. Marie's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Sault Ste. Marie. This page uses Sault Ste Marie Sanderson Field; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sault Ste Marie station USC00207364 | 3 mi W | 630 ft | 40.5°F | 4°F | 76°F | 35.8 | 117 | May 22 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Sault Ste. Marie's climate
What is the coldest month in Sault Ste. Marie?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Sault Ste. Marie?
Yes: 120 inches in a normal year, falling on 81 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (30.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Sault Ste. Marie?
October, with 4.38 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.51 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sault Ste. Marie in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sault Ste. Marie in zone 4b in ZIP code 49783, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Sault Ste. Marie's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Sault Ste. Marie?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Sault Ste. Marie in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Rudyard (4 mi N), MI16 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Pickford (3 mi NE), MI21 miles from this station, 41.9°F a year
- Rudyard (5 mi SE), MI21 miles from this station, 39.8°F a year
- Paradise, MI34 miles from this station, 40.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made