Climate - Detroit (Michigan)

The climate of Detroit, the largest city of Michigan, is continental, with very cold winters and warm to hot summers, during which there are quite frequent thunderstorms.
The city is located at 190 meters (625 feet) above sea level, in the Great Lakes region, north of Lake Erie and south of Lake Huron. The two lakes are connected by a river, also called Detroit, which near the city widens into a smaller lake, Lake St. Clair. Across the river lies the Canadian city of Windsor.
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of -3.6 °C (26 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 23.2 °C (74 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 850 millimeters (33.5 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. It ranges from 50 mm (2 in) in the driest months (January, February) to 90 mm (3.5 in) in the wettest (June). Here is the average precipitation.

Winter, from late November to early March, is very cold. Snowfalls are frequent, and at times can be abundant. On average, 108 centimeters (42.5 inches) of snow fall per year. The heaviest snowfall in one day occurred in December 1974, when 46.5 cm (18.5 in) of snow fell. However, snow is not as abundant as on the southern and western shores of Lake Erie (see Cleveland, Buffalo), which are directly exposed to the wet winds coming from the lake.
Cold waves are intense, in fact, the temperature drops below -20 °C (-4 °F) almost every year. The record cold, -29.5 °C (-21 °F), occurred in January 1984. In 1976-77, the temperature remained consistently below freezing even during the day from December 27 to February 8.
However, there may be short periods when the temperature exceeds 10/12 °C (50/54 °F) even in the middle of winter.

Summer, from June to August, is hot and sunny, although thunderstorms can break out in the afternoon.
There can sometimes be very hot periods. Typically, the temperature reaches 35 °C (95 °F) on the hottest days of the year, although the record is 39.5 °C (103 °F), recorded in late June 1988.

Spring and autumn, from mid-March to May and from September to mid-November, are contrasted seasons, with fairly frequent rains and sudden changes in temperature. However, there are also stable and pleasant periods.



On average, there are around 2,435 sunshine hours per year. Therefore, even though the winter is cold and the summer is rainy, the sun shines for a good number of hours. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

The temperature of lake Erie ranges between 2 °C (36 °F) and 22 °C (72 °F). During cold spells, the lake can freeze partially. In February 2015, which was a particularly cold month, it almost completely froze. Here are the average lake temperatures.

Best Time

The best times to visit Detroit are spring and fall, especially the months of May and September.
In October, you can admire the beautiful colors of the trees losing their leaves (the phenomenon called fall foliage).