Climateby Month

Grand Rapids, MI climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 640 ft elevation

Grand Rapids has warm and often humid summers and cold and snowy winters. Highs peak at 83°F in July and fall to 31°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 10 to 17 a month. Normal snowfall is about 78 in a year. By our comfort score the best months are May, June and September.

Warmest month
83°F
July normal high
Coldest month
19°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
149
39.4 in of precipitation
Snow a year
77.6 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Grand Rapids?

Normal highs range from 31°F in January to 83°F in July.

0°20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 31°F (-1°C), low 19°F (-7°C) 31° 19° February: normal high 34°F (1°C), low 20°F (-7°C) March: normal high 45°F (7°C), low 27°F (-3°C) April: normal high 58°F (14°C), low 37°F (3°C) May: normal high 70°F (21°C), low 49°F (9°C) June: normal high 79°F (26°C), low 58°F (14°C) July: normal high 83°F (28°C), low 63°F (17°C) 83° 63° August: normal high 81°F (27°C), low 61°F (16°C) September: normal high 74°F (23°C), low 53°F (12°C) October: normal high 61°F (16°C), low 42°F (6°C) November: normal high 47°F (8°C), low 33°F (1°C) December: normal high 36°F (2°C), low 25°F (-4°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Grand Rapids?

January has the most wet days (about 17); the year brings about 39 in of precipitation.

January: 17 wet days 17 February: 13 wet days March: 12 wet days April: 13 wet days May: 13 wet days June: 11 wet days July: 10 wet days August: 10 wet days 10 September: 10 wet days October: 13 wet days November: 13 wet days December: 16 wet days JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How much does it snow?

Normal snowfall is 77.6 in a year, most of it in January.

January: 22.6 in of snow 22.6 February: 17.2 in of snow March: 7.6 in of snow April: 2.0 in of snow May: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 June: 0.0 in of snow July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 0.3 in of snow November: 7.1 in of snow December: 20.8 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Grand Rapids?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 10 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 1 muggy days June: 4 muggy days July: 10 muggy days 10 August: 9 muggy days September: 3 muggy days October: 0 muggy days November: 0 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Gerald R Ford International Airport, 9.2 mi SE of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.1 hours in December to 15.3 hours in June.

January: 9.4 hours of daylight February: 10.6 hours of daylight March: 11.9 hours of daylight April: 13.4 hours of daylight May: 14.7 hours of daylight June: 15.3 hours of daylight 15.3 July: 15.0 hours of daylight August: 13.9 hours of daylight September: 12.5 hours of daylight October: 11.0 hours of daylight November: 9.7 hours of daylight December: 9.1 hours of daylight 9.1 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Grand Rapids, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 31°F19°F 2.5 in17 22.6 in 0 9.4 h
February 34°F20°F 2.1 in13 17.2 in 0 10.6 h
March 45°F27°F 2.4 in12 7.6 in 0 11.9 h
April 58°F37°F 4.0 in13 2.0 in 0 13.4 h
May 70°F49°F 4.0 in13 0.0 in 1 14.7 h
June 79°F58°F 3.9 in11 0.0 in 4 15.3 h
July 83°F63°F 3.9 in10 0.0 in 10 15.0 h
August 81°F61°F 3.5 in10 0.0 in 9 13.9 h
September 74°F53°F 3.4 in10 0.0 in 3 12.5 h
October 61°F42°F 4.0 in13 0.3 in 0 11.0 h
November 47°F33°F 3.1 in13 7.1 in 0 9.7 h
December 36°F25°F 2.5 in16 20.8 in 0 9.1 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Grand Rapids

By our comfort score, the best months are May, June and September.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 230726
Feb 290622
Mar 412613
Apr 58882
May 721580
Jun 691263
Jul 62864
Aug 641062
Sep 691661
Oct 55980
Nov 37279
Dec 250723

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Grand Rapids

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 29, and the first fall frost around Oct 20, leaving 174 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Grand Rapids
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 29after May 15
First fall frost (32°F)Oct 20before Oct 4
Last hard freeze (28°F)Apr 16after May 2
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 2before Oct 19
Frost-free season174 daysunder 151 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Grand Rapids (USW00094860), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Michigan.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 104°F (July 6, 2012); the lowest was -22°F (January 19, 1994).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Grand Rapids

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth, frost dates and humidity and wind by hour: Grand Rapids (USW00094860), 7.9 mi SE of the city center, 778 ft (138 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Cloud cover: Lansing Capital City Airport (USW00014836), 57 mi ESE of the city center, 841 ft (201 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Gerald R Ford International Airport (726350-94860), 9.2 mi SE of the city center, 788 ft (148 ft higher than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error