Whitefish Point, Michigan climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Whitefish Point's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 74°F August afternoons, with 32.8 inches of precipitation and 121 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.4°C, January lows of −11°C, August highs of 23°C, 834 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWhitefish Point
- Station IDUSC00208920
- Location46.75°N 84.99°W
- Elevation622 ft (190 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Whitefish Point is 51°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 59%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Whitefish Point.
- Jan 25° 13°
- Feb 26° 11°
- Mar 35° 18°
- Apr 45° 29°
- May 58° 38°
- Jun 68° 47°
- Jul 73° 54°
- Aug 74° 56°
- Sep 67° 51°
- Oct 54° 41°
- Nov 41° 30°
- Dec 31° 21°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Whitefish Point each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 74°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.44 in), the least in February (1.57 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 13°F | 18.6°F | 2.07 | 38.8 | 20 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 11°F | 18.8°F | 1.57 | 21.5 | 15 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 35°F | 18°F | 26.1°F | 1.59 | 12.2 | 12 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 45°F | 29°F | 36.6°F | 2.15 | 4.5 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 58°F | 38°F | 48.0°F | 2.56 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 15 h |
| June | 68°F | 47°F | 57.3°F | 2.95 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 73°F | 54°F | 63.3°F | 3.51 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 74°F | 56°F | 65.1°F | 3.13 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 67°F | 51°F | 58.8°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 41°F | 47.0°F | 4.44 | 1.2 | 18 | <1 | 7 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 30°F | 35.2°F | 2.73 | 11.7 | 19 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 31°F | 21°F | 25.6°F | 2.37 | 31.0 | 20 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 34°F | 41.7°F | 32.83 | 121.0 | 177 | <1 | 173 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −11°C | −7.4°C | 53 mm | 99 cm |
| February | −3°C | −11°C | −7.3°C | 40 mm | 55 cm |
| March | 1°C | −8°C | −3.3°C | 40 mm | 31 cm |
| April | 7°C | −2°C | 2.6°C | 55 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 14°C | 3°C | 8.9°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 20°C | 8°C | 14.1°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23°C | 12°C | 17.4°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23°C | 13°C | 18.4°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19°C | 10°C | 14.9°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 5°C | 8.3°C | 113 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 5°C | −1°C | 1.8°C | 69 mm | 30 cm |
| December | −1°C | −6°C | −3.6°C | 60 mm | 79 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00208920; 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.
Which months are mildest at Whitefish Point?
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 USC00208920.
When is the last frost at Whitefish Point?
In Whitefish Point, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before September 27 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 231 year in 10 after June 8; 9 in 10 after May 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before September 27; 9 in 10 before October 31
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 144 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 175 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Whitefish Point in zone 5a in ZIP code 49768, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (20 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 USC00208920; 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 at Whitefish Point?
In a normal year in Whitefish Point, a 90°F day is rare, 173 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 177 days bring measurable precipitation.
- 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
- 173a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 81high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 177a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 40a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1900) is 100°F, on July 20, 1930; the lowest is −30°F, on February 10, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1977, with 41.62 in; the snowiest season is 1976–77, with 241.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00208920; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00208920. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Whitefish Point?
Over a year 68% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Whitefish Point, 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Whitefish Point record?
A normal year at Whitefish Point brings 8,602 heating degree days, 60% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 151 cooling degree days, 83% 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 1,511 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,440 | 0 |
| February | 1,292 | 0 |
| March | 1,208 | 0 |
| April | 852 | 0 |
| May | 526 | 1 |
| June | 243 | 12 |
| July | 101 | 50 |
| August | 64 | 67 |
| September | 206 | 21 |
| October | 557 | 1 |
| November | 893 | 0 |
| December | 1,221 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,602 | 151 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00208920. 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.
How does Whitefish Point's climate compare?
Whitefish Point is warmer than 11 of the 140 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 32. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.7°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Whitefish Point 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.
Questions about Whitefish Point's climate
What is the coldest month at Whitefish Point?
January, with a normal high of 25°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is August (74°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow at Whitefish Point?
Yes: 121 inches in a normal year, falling on 68 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (38.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Whitefish Point?
October, with 4.44 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.57 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Whitefish Point in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Whitefish Point in zone 5a in ZIP code 49768, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Whitefish Point?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 8. Waiting until June 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Michigan climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Paradise, MI10 miles from this station, 40.3°F a year
- Tahquamenon Falls State Park, MI15 miles from this station, 39.7°F a year
- Sault Ste. Marie, MI35 miles from this station, 42.3°F a year
- Rudyard (4 mi N), MI37 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made