Detroit, MI: average weather by month
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals at the DETROIT METRO AIRPORT station, read through NOAA's Regional Climate Centers' ACIS service. Every column below is the station's own average for that month over that 30-year period — not a forecast. The rainfall figures are NOAA's precipitation normal, so they count rain plus melted snow (and any other frozen precipitation, as water), not rain alone.
59.1°F
42°F
34.3 in
All 12 months
| Month | Avg. high | Avg. low | Rainfall | Snowfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32.3°F (0°C) | 19.2°F (-7°C) | 2.23 in (57 mm) | 14.0 in (35.6 cm) |
| February | 35.2°F (2°C) | 20.8°F (-6°C) | 2.08 in (53 mm) | 12.5 in (31.8 cm) |
| March | 45.9°F (8°C) | 28.6°F (-2°C) | 2.43 in (62 mm) | 6.2 in (15.7 cm) |
| April | 58.7°F (15°C) | 39.1°F (4°C) | 3.26 in (83 mm) | 1.5 in (3.8 cm) |
| May | 70.3°F (21°C) | 50.2°F (10°C) | 3.72 in (94 mm) | 0.0 in (0.0 cm) |
| June | 79.7°F (27°C) | 60.2°F (16°C) | 3.26 in (83 mm) | 0.0 in (0.0 cm) |
| July | 83.7°F (29°C) | 64.4°F (18°C) | 3.51 in (89 mm) | 0.0 in (0.0 cm) |
| August | 81.4°F (27°C) | 63.2°F (17°C) | 3.26 in (83 mm) | 0.0 in (0.0 cm) |
| September | 74.4°F (24°C) | 55.5°F (13°C) | 3.22 in (82 mm) | 0.0 in (0.0 cm) |
| October | 62°F (17°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 2.53 in (64 mm) | 0.0 in (0.0 cm) |
| November | 48.6°F (9°C) | 33.9°F (1°C) | 2.57 in (65 mm) | 1.9 in (4.8 cm) |
| December | 37.2°F (3°C) | 25.3°F (-4°C) | 2.25 in (57 mm) | 8.9 in (22.6 cm) |
Snowfall is the station's own snowfall normal (fresh snow as it falls, in inches), a separate ACIS element from the rainfall column, which already counts that snow once melted.
Reading the twelve months
By these station averages, July runs the warmest (83.7°F average high) and January the coolest (32.3°F average high). May averages the most rain (3.72 in) and February the least (2.08 in). Second wettest: July, 3.51 in. Third wettest: April, June and August (a tie), 3.26 in.
On average lows, the coldest month is January at 19.2°F.
Annual snowfall: 45.0 in (1991–2020 normal, sum of the 12 monthly normals; single winters vary widely and are not in this data).
How much snow does Detroit get?
Detroit gets about 45.0 inches of snow a year at this station (1991–2020 normal, the sum of the twelve monthly normals). Snow shows up in the normals from November to April: November 1.9 in, December 8.9, January 14.0, February 12.5, March 6.2, April 1.5. May through October are 0.0 in the table.
Months within our comfort range
We set one fixed, objective threshold ourselves — average high between 65°F and 80°F, and average rainfall under 2 in — and check each of the twelve rows against it. This is not a claim that any other month is bad, and not our judgment of which month suits any trip; it is just which rows on the table above clear the stated numbers. See how we set this threshold.
No month at Detroit clears both parts of the threshold at once by this station's normals. July and August have average highs above 80°F. January, February, March, April, October, November and December have average highs below 65°F. Every month averages 2 in of rain or more.
About the station
These normals are read at a single NOAA/NWS station, DETROIT METRO AIRPORT (station ID 94847), not averaged across the whole metro area. The station is at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, southwest of the city. A different station nearby — higher ground, closer to water, further inland — can read noticeably different numbers, especially for rain. This site's fetcher read these normals from ACIS on 2026-10-05. Run this station's ACIS query yourself.
What this page adds
This page puts all twelve months of the 1991–2020 average on one screen, in both °F/°C and inches/mm, and names the exact station behind the numbers.
Source: NOAA's current (1991–2020) climate normals, pulled via the Regional Climate Centers' ACIS lookup tool. How we read this data.