Yale, Michigan climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Yale's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 31.3 inches of precipitation and 41 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.4°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 28°C, 796 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationYale (1 mi NNW)
- Station IDUSC00209188
- Location43.14°N 82.80°W
- Elevation820 ft (250 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population1,878
On October 23, the normal high in Yale is 56°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Yale.
- Jan 29° 13°
- Feb 32° 12°
- Mar 42° 21°
- Apr 55° 31°
- May 66° 42°
- Jun 78° 52°
- Jul 82° 56°
- Aug 80° 54°
- Sep 73° 47°
- Oct 60° 37°
- Nov 46° 28°
- Dec 35° 20°
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 Yale each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.31 in), the least in February (1.62 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 13°F | 20.8°F | 1.86 | 13.0 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 12°F | 22.2°F | 1.62 | 9.5 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 21°F | 31.4°F | 1.86 | 6.3 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 31°F | 42.8°F | 3.04 | 2.1 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 42°F | 53.8°F | 3.31 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 52°F | 64.7°F | 3.29 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 56°F | 68.9°F | 3.06 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 54°F | 67.0°F | 2.97 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 47°F | 60.3°F | 3.08 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 37°F | 48.6°F | 2.81 | 0.2 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 28°F | 36.9°F | 2.40 | 2.0 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 35°F | 20°F | 27.5°F | 2.03 | 7.6 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 34°F | 45.4°F | 31.33 | 40.7 | 120 | 8 | 160 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −11°C | −6.2°C | 47 mm | 33 cm |
| February | 0°C | −11°C | −5.4°C | 41 mm | 24 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.3°C | 47 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 6.0°C | 77 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 11°C | 18.2°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 13°C | 20.5°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 12°C | 19.4°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 8°C | 15.7°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 71 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 2.7°C | 61 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 2°C | −7°C | −2.5°C | 52 mm | 19 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00209188; 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 Yale?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00209188.
When is the last frost in Yale?
In Yale, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 23 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 121 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 147 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 169 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Yale in zone 6a in ZIP code 48097, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Michigan · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00209188; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Yale?
In a normal year in Yale, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 160 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 120 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 160a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 58high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 120a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00209188.
How sunny is Yale?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Yale, 3.6 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 | 50% | 1.3 |
| February | 54% | 2.0 |
| March | 63% | 3.3 |
| April | 68% | 4.5 |
| May | 70% | 5.3 |
| June | 76% | 6.0 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 76% | 4.1 |
| October | 65% | 2.5 |
| November | 57% | 1.6 |
| December | 48% | 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 Yale need?
A normal year in Yale brings 7,491 heating degree days, 39% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 385 cooling degree days, 58% 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 2,190 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,370 | 0 |
| February | 1,197 | 0 |
| March | 1,043 | 0 |
| April | 665 | 0 |
| May | 361 | 13 |
| June | 86 | 78 |
| July | 26 | 147 |
| August | 44 | 104 |
| September | 180 | 39 |
| October | 510 | 4 |
| November | 845 | 0 |
| December | 1,164 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,491 | 385 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00209188. 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 Yale's climate compare?
Yale is warmer than 47 of the other 139 places with their own NOAA record in Michigan, and wetter than 17. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.4°F is warmer than 21%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Yale 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 Yale share this climate record?
3 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.
- Brown City, MI1,292 people · 11 mi NW
- Peck, MI597 people · 8 mi N
- Melvin, MI151 people · 4 mi NW
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 Yale's climate
What is the coldest month in Yale?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Yale?
Yes: 41 inches in a normal year, falling on 33 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (13.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Yale?
May, with 3.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.62 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Yale in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Yale in zone 6a in ZIP code 48097, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Yale?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; 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
- Lexington, MI16 miles from this station, 46.5°F a year
- Richmond, MI19 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Sandusky, MI19 miles from this station, 46.4°F a year
- Port Huron, MI22 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made