Traverse City climate — normals and trends
Traverse City (United States) has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 7.2 °C and it receives 872 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (20.3 °C on average) and the coldest is February (-6.3 °C). Rainfall peaks in August.
Traverse City averages 134 frost days, 4 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 143 rainy days per year.
Traverse City has warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.24 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 146 to 122 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 34.8 °C (on 2 July 1966) and the coldest -28.4 °C (on 3 February 1996).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
Traverse CityMichigan
- coords
- 44.76°, -85.62°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
7.2°C
Average daily high
11.0°C
Average daily low
3.4°C
Annual rainfall
872mm
Sunshine / day
8.5h
Mean relative humidity
76%
Average peak wind
19.4km/h
Seasonal range
26.6°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
134 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
4 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
143 d/yr
Annual snowfall
143.1 cm
Average feels-like high
8.7 °C
Average feels-like low
0.0 °C
Average peak gust
37.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
7 d/yr
Solar radiation
14.1 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.0 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.39 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
34.8 °C
2 July 1966
Coldest day
-28.4 °C
3 February 1996
Wettest day
91 mm
13 September 1961
Windiest day
53.4 km/h
12 November 1940
Strongest gust
103.7 km/h
16 November 1955
Hottest feels-like
38.3 °C
26 July 1955
Coldest feels-like
-33.3 °C
3 February 1996
Snowiest day
27.6 cm
26 January 1978
Sunniest day
15.0 h
27 June 2022
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -2.6 °C | +0.6 °C | 58 mm | +3 mm |
| Feb | -2.9 °C | -0.3 °C | 54 mm | +13 mm |
| Mar | 5.9 °C | +3.4 °C | 137 mm | +79 mm |
| Apr | 10.9 °C | +1.2 °C | 59 mm | -15 mm |
| May | 15.5 °C | -0.7 °C | 61 mm | -15 mm |
| Jun | 23.2 °C | +1.7 °C | 69 mm | -12 mm |
| Jul | 26.0 °C | +1.3 °C | 78 mm | -5 mm |
| Aug | 24.5 °C | +0.6 °C | 69 mm | -21 mm |
| Sep | 21.8 °C | +1.9 °C | 46 mm | -44 mm |
| Oct | 16.3 °C | +2.8 °C | 64 mm | -19 mm |
| Nov | 6.3 °C | +0.1 °C | 61 mm | -18 mm |
| Dec | -0.4 °C | -0.7 °C | 85 mm | +19 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Traverse City?
Traverse City has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 7.2 °C and it receives 872 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Traverse City?
The hottest day measured in Traverse City between 1940 and 2025 was 2 July 1966, reaching 34.8 °C.
What is the coldest day in Traverse City?
The coldest day measured in Traverse City between 1940 and 2025 was 3 February 1996, at -28.4 °C.
Does it snow in Traverse City?
Yes. Traverse City gets on average 143.1 cm of snow per year and has around 134 frost days.
Has the climate of Traverse City warmed?
Yes: Traverse City warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Traverse City?
The wettest day measured in Traverse City between 1940 and 2025 was 13 September 1961, with 91 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Traverse City?
The windiest day measured in Traverse City between 1940 and 2025 was 12 November 1940, with winds reaching 53.4 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Traverse City?
The warmest month in Traverse City is July (20.3 °C on average); the coldest is February (-6.3 °C).
How much does it rain in Traverse City?
Traverse City receives on average 872 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 143 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Traverse City?
Traverse City gets on average 8.5 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,103 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Traverse City?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Traverse City between 1940 and 2025 was 26 January 1978, with 27.6 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Traverse City?
Yes: Traverse City has on average 7 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Traverse City?
In Traverse City, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 38.3 °C on 26 July 1955, and the lowest was -33.3 °C on 3 February 1996.
Compare Traverse City with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Traverse City