West Branch, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
West Branch's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 33.6 inches of precipitation and 53 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.8°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 27°C, 852 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWest Branch (3 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00208800
- Location44.25°N 84.20°W
- Elevation885 ft (270 m)
- Population2,355
On October 14, the normal high in West Branch is 59°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 43%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for West Branch.
- Jan 27° 10°
- Feb 30° 10°
- Mar 41° 19°
- Apr 54° 30°
- May 67° 42°
- Jun 76° 52°
- Jul 80° 56°
- Aug 79° 55°
- Sep 71° 46°
- Oct 58° 36°
- Nov 44° 27°
- Dec 33° 18°
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 West Branch each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.53 in), the least in February (1.61 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 10°F | 18.9°F | 2.05 | 14.7 | 13 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 30°F | 10°F | 20.3°F | 1.61 | 11.7 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 19°F | 29.9°F | 1.83 | 6.9 | 9 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 30°F | 42.0°F | 3.40 | 2.9 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 67°F | 42°F | 54.6°F | 3.48 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 4 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 52°F | 64.2°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 56°F | 68.3°F | 3.48 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 55°F | 66.5°F | 3.44 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 71°F | 46°F | 58.9°F | 2.73 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 36°F | 46.9°F | 3.31 | 0.3 | 13 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 44°F | 27°F | 35.3°F | 2.55 | 3.8 | 12 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 33°F | 18°F | 25.5°F | 2.15 | 12.6 | 13 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 34°F | 44.3°F | 33.56 | 53.0 | 137 | 6 | 176 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −12°C | −7.3°C | 52 mm | 37 cm |
| February | −1°C | −12°C | −6.5°C | 41 mm | 30 cm |
| March | 5°C | −7°C | −1.2°C | 46 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 12°C | −1°C | 5.6°C | 86 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.6°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 14°C | 20.2°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 8°C | 14.9°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 84 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6°C | −3°C | 1.8°C | 65 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 0°C | −8°C | −3.6°C | 55 mm | 32 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00208800; 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 West Branch?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, 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 USC00208800.
When is the last frost in West Branch?
In West Branch, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after May 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 21 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 151 year in 10 after May 29; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 143 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 166 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts West Branch in zone 5a in ZIP code 48661, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, West Branch's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (27 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 USC00208800; 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 West Branch?
In a normal year in West Branch, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 176 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 137 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 176a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 61high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 137a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 17a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1900) is 107°F, on July 13, 1936; the lowest is −36°F, on February 10, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 45.95 in; the snowiest season is 2008–09, with 81.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00208800; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00208800. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is West Branch?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around West Branch, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (50%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 1.3 |
| February | 62% | 2.3 |
| March | 67% | 3.5 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 79% | 6.2 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.1 |
| October | 63% | 2.5 |
| November | 56% | 1.5 |
| December | 50% | 1.0 |
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 West Branch need?
A normal year in West Branch brings 7,872 heating degree days, 47% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 354 cooling degree days, 61% 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 2,090 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,429 | 0 |
| February | 1,253 | 0 |
| March | 1,088 | 0 |
| April | 691 | 1 |
| May | 341 | 19 |
| June | 97 | 74 |
| July | 31 | 135 |
| August | 50 | 96 |
| September | 211 | 28 |
| October | 563 | 2 |
| November | 893 | 0 |
| December | 1,226 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,872 | 354 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00208800. 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 West Branch been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 44.8°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.3°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.7°F | +2.4°F | 33.64 | 47.8 |
| 2022 | 44.3°F | at normal | 29.48 | 44.2 |
| 2023 | 46.9°F | +2.6°F | 31.73 | 37.8 |
| 2024 | 47.9°F | +3.6°F | 33.12 | 40.3 |
| 2025 | 44.8°F | +0.5°F | 32.76 | 61.1 |
Over 88 complete years from 1902 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00208800; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does West Branch's climate compare?
West Branch is warmer than 36 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 50. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.3°F is warmer than 17%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, West Branch 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.
Which places near West Branch share this climate record?
2 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.
- St. Helen, MI2,841 people · 13 mi NW
- Skidway Lake, MI2,800 people · 9 mi SE
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 West Branch's climate
What is the coldest month in West Branch?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in West Branch?
Yes: 53 inches in a normal year, falling on 39 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (14.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in West Branch?
June, with 3.53 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.61 in.
What plant hardiness zone is West Branch in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts West Branch in zone 5a in ZIP code 48661, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at West Branch's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in West Branch?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 29. Waiting until May 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lupton, MI14 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Hale (5 mi SSW) #2, MI19 miles from this station, 43.4°F a year
- Standish, MI22 miles from this station, 45.8°F a year
- Gladwin, MI24 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made