SAGINAW, MI (MBS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT)

Overview:
Saginaw is a city situated near the geographic center of Lower Michigan. Distanced from Lakes Michigan and Huron, temperature variations are larger than in some areas of Michigan. The city of Saginaw lies on the Saginaw River and is 15 miles inland from the Saginaw Bay, which is an arm of Lake Huron.

Normal precipitation varies little from month to month during the growing season, with 3.33 to 3.79 inches falling during the months of May, June, August, and September with amounts between 2.60 and 2.86 inches in April, July, October, and November. While annual normal precipitation is similar to locations closer to Lake Michigan, winter precipitation is lower due to lesser amounts of lake-effect snow.

State/ Province ID: MI

Station ID: W00014845

Directory Name: SAGINAW_MBS_INTL_AP__MI_W00014845

Elevation: 201.20m


The resources presented here were developed in cooperation with the Office of the Michigan State Climatologist using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. For more information regarding our data sources, quality control, and methodology, please see our Historical Climatologies: Quality Control reference guide.

Recent Climate Summary, 1991-2020

Average Temperature48.0°F8.9°C
Average Low Temperature39.0°F3.9°C
Average High Temperature57.1°13.9°C
Days/Year that exceed 90°F6.6 
Days/Year that fall below 32°F129.4 
Lowest Annual Average Temperature45.7°F7.6°C
Highest Annual Average Temperature51.5°F10.8°C
Average Annual Total Precipitation32.1 in81.6 cm
Lowest Annual Precipitation Total22.2 in56.4 cm
Highest Annual Precipitation Total41.7 in105.8 cm
Days/Year that exceed 1.25" of Precipitation3.3 

Temperature

Click on the following links to be taken to the corresponding portion of the page.

  • Monthly Average Temperature
  • How Temperatures are Changing
    • Changes in Average Temperature – Includes a summary table of the average annual and seasonal temperature changes, and time series graphs of how the annual low, average, and high temperatures compare to the long term average plotted for every year on record.
    • Cold Temperatures – View time series plots of the number of days per year below 32°F and the number of heating degree days per year to see how cold days are changing.
    • Hot Temperatures – View time series plots of the number of days per year above 90°F and the number of cooling degree days per year to see how hot days are changing.
    • Growing Season Changes – View a time series of the annual number of days in the freeze-free period.

Monthly Average Temperature

Changes in Average Temperature, 1951-2025.

 °F°C
Annual average temperature2.81.6
Winter average temperature4.22.4
Spring average temperature3.01.7
Summer average temperature2.11.2
Fall average temperature2.31.3

Annual High and Low Temperature Departure

Cold Temperatures

¹Heating Degree Days (HDDs) are indexed units, not actual days, that roughly describe the demand to heat a building. HDDs accumulate on days colder than 65°F when heating is required. Every degree below 65°F is added to the annual total for an annual HDD value, which is plotted in the figure.

Hot Temperatures

²Cooling Degree Days (CDDs) are indexed units, not actual days, that roughly describe the demand to cool a building. CDDs accumulate on days warmer than 65°F when cooling is required. Every degree above 65°F is added to the annual total for an annual CDD value, which is plotted in the figure.

Growing Season Changes

Precipitation

Click on the following links to be taken to the corresponding portion of the page.

  • Monthly Average Precipitation – View a graph of the monthly low, average, and high precipitation climatology (average) of the past 30 years
  • How Precipitation is Changing
    • Changes in Total Precipitation – Includes a summary table of the average annual and seasonal precipitation changes.
    • Heavy Precipitation – View a bar chart of how annual number of days receiving more than 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2 inches of precipitation are changing over the period of record.

Monthly Average Precipitation

Changes in Average Precipitation, 1951-2025.

 in.cm.%
Annual total precipitation1.64.05.30
Winter total precipitation-0.4-1.1-7.80
Spring total precipitation0.51.25.90
Summer total precipitation2.56.430.00
Fall total precipitation-1.0-2.5-12.40

Heavy Precipitation