Sault Ste Marie, MI Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Sault Ste Marie's primary NOAA station, SAULT STE MARIE.
The climate verdict for Sault Ste Marie
Sault Ste Marie, Michigan has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 41°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 41°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 35.8"
- annual precipitation · 117" snow
- 135 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Sault Ste Marie: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00207364 · Sault Ste Marie, MI 41°F mean · 35.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 41°F
- RANK-COOL #412
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Rudyard
- PRCP-MID 35.8"
- SWING-WIDE 52°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,083 HDD
- STN-1 USC00207364
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Rudyard, MT (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every MI station list.
- Sault Ste Marie (this station) 41°F
- Hot Caribou, ME 41°F
- Near Rudyard, MT 41°F
- Near Houlton, ME 41°F
- Cold York Pond, NH 40°F
Climate Living Index · Sault Ste Marie
Sault Ste Marie: 27/100 · grade F
Sault Ste Marie publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Sault Ste Marie, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 35.8 in · 0.8 from 35 in | 94/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 181 calendar days | 24/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 135 days/year | 15/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 40.5°F · 27.0° from 67.5°F | 6/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 117.4 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Sault Ste Marie · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Sault Ste Marie is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 13.1°F and warmest-month mean 65.2°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 65.2°F
- Coldest month
- 13.1°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Sault Ste Marie sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Sault Ste Marie's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 94%
- Among 6,861 stations, Sault Ste Marie sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 49th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 86%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Sault Ste Marie is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Sault Ste Marie compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Sault Ste Marie's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Sault Ste Marie's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 132 complete annual observations from 1889 to 2025, SAULT STE MARIE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.14°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Sault Ste Marie primary station fitted change +0.14 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F (-5°C) | 4°F (-16°C) | 13°F (-10°C) | 2.5" | 28.6" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 25°F (-4°C) | 4°F (-16°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 1.7" | 24.0" | 27.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 35°F (1°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 1.9" | 13.5" | 29.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 47°F (8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 2.7" | 7.6" | 22.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 62°F (17°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 2.6" | 0.5" | 6.2 | 0.2 |
| June | 72°F (22°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 3.0" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| July | 76°F (25°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 3.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| August | 75°F (24°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 3.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| October | 53°F (12°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 4.6" | 1.2" | 11.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 40°F (5°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 3.6" | 14.3" | 21.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-2°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 3.0" | 27.7" | 29.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 77°F around July 21, short of 90°F on every date, while 181 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 2°F near January 26.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 26, then returns to freezing around October 29, covering 181 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is January 10, when 65% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 20 at 36%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 176 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 30 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 23°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Sault Ste Marie.
Where Sault Ste Marie Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 181 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Sault Ste Marie earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 28.6"
20.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 24.0"
16.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 13.5"
12.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.6"
12.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
11.7 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
11.2 days with precipitation
11.7 days with precipitation
13.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
17.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.3"
17.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 27.7"
19.0 days with precipitation
Sault Ste Marie spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 26% of the annual total and December through February 20%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Sault Ste Marie has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 52.1°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 4.6" and February 1.7". The three wettest months together take 34% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
How Sault Ste Marie's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 175 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 35.8" between them, or roughly 0.20 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Sault Ste Marie
Sault Ste Marie averages 117.4 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 80 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 117.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 80 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 33% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 4
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 22
50% probability date
Growing Season
135 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,083
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
201
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MI closest to Sault Ste Marie on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (41°F here).
- Alta, WY 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Dubois, WY 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Max, ND 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Ouzinkie, AK 41°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (35.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Albert Lea, MN 35.8" · 0.0" off
- Emporia, KS 35.8" · 0.0" off
- Dakota City, IA 35.8" · 0.0" off
- Ladysmith, WI 35.8" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Sault Ste Marie
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Sault Ste Marie's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,083 annual heating degree days against 201 for cooling. Its 52.1°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 135 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Sault Ste Marie coldest normal
January
Averaging 13°F (-10°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Sault Ste Marie typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Sault Ste Marie snow peak
January
Sault Ste Marie averages 117.4 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Sault Ste Marie's climate
How much snow does Sault Ste Marie get? ▼
How cold does Sault Ste Marie get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Sault Ste Marie? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Sault Ste Marie's primary station: SAULT STE MARIE (USC00207364). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2671740). Match rule for Sault Ste Marie: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Sault Ste Marie comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.