St. James, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
St. James's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 76°F July afternoons. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.9°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 24°C.
- NOAA stationSt James 4 mi SSW Beaver
- Station IDUSC00207277
- Location45.69°N 85.55°W
- Elevation672 ft (205 m)
- Population (census place)259
On October 14, the normal high in St. James is 56°F and the normal low 43°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for St. James.
- Jan 27° 15°
- Feb 28° 14°
- Mar 37° 21°
- Apr 49° 31°
- May 63° 42°
- Jun 72° 52°
- Jul 76° 58°
- Aug 75° 59°
- Sep 68° 52°
- Oct 55° 42°
- Nov 43° 32°
- Dec 33° 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 St. James each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 15°F | 21.0°F | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| February | 28°F | 14°F | 21.3°F | – | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 21°F | 29.2°F | – | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 49°F | 31°F | 40.2°F | – | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 63°F | 42°F | 52.3°F | – | <1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 72°F | 52°F | 61.9°F | – | <1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 76°F | 58°F | 67.2°F | – | <1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 75°F | 59°F | 66.9°F | – | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 68°F | 52°F | 60.0°F | – | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 42°F | 48.4°F | – | <1 | 3 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 32°F | 37.5°F | – | <1 | 16 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 33°F | 23°F | 27.9°F | – | <1 | 27 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 37°F | 44.5°F | – | <1 | 151 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −9°C | −6.1°C |
| February | −2°C | −10°C | −5.9°C |
| March | 3°C | −6°C | −1.6°C |
| April | 10°C | 0°C | 4.6°C |
| May | 17°C | 6°C | 11.3°C |
| June | 22°C | 11°C | 16.6°C |
| July | 24°C | 15°C | 19.6°C |
| August | 24°C | 15°C | 19.4°C |
| September | 20°C | 11°C | 15.6°C |
| October | 13°C | 5°C | 9.1°C |
| November | 6°C | 0°C | 3.1°C |
| December | 0°C | −5°C | −2.3°C |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00207277; 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 St. James?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September.
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 USC00207277.
When is the last frost in St. James?
In St. James, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 11 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 19 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
- May 111 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 191 year in 10 before October 2; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 159 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 183 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts St. James in zone 6a in ZIP code 49782, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, St. James's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (26 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 USC00207277; 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 St. James?
In a normal year in St. James, a 90°F day is rare and 151 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 151a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 71high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1905) is 95°F, on June 9, 1914; the lowest is −25°F, on February 17, 1979.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 44.66 in; the snowiest season is 2013–14, with 146.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00207277; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00207277. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is St. James?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around St. James, 3.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (48%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 51% | 1.2 |
| February | 58% | 2.0 |
| March | 67% | 3.4 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 79% | 6.1 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 74% | 3.9 |
| October | 61% | 2.3 |
| November | 53% | 1.3 |
| December | 48% | 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 St. James need?
A normal year in St. James brings 7,711 heating degree days, 44% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 273 cooling degree days, 70% 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 1,955 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,366 | 0 |
| February | 1,224 | 0 |
| March | 1,110 | 0 |
| April | 743 | 0 |
| May | 398 | 5 |
| June | 129 | 36 |
| July | 36 | 104 |
| August | 36 | 97 |
| September | 180 | 30 |
| October | 516 | 2 |
| November | 825 | 0 |
| December | 1,149 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,711 | 273 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00207277. 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 St. James been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 44.6°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.5°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.2°F | +1.7°F |
| 2023 | 46.4°F | +1.9°F |
| 2025 | 44.6°F | +0.1°F |
Over 47 complete years from 1910 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.3°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00207277; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does St. James's climate compare?
St. James is warmer than 40 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.5°F is warmer than 17%.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers.
Questions about St. James's climate
What is the coldest month in St. James?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (76°F by day, 58°F at night).
What plant hardiness zone is St. James in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts St. James in zone 6a in ZIP code 49782, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at St. James's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in St. James?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 11; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cross Village, MI26 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Charlevoix, MI29 miles from this station, 45.5°F a year
- Engadine Mdot, MI30 miles from this station, 41.0°F a year
- Petoskey, MI35 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made