Zip 49686 (Traverse City, MI) Climate

The climate in Traverse City, MI (49686) is characterized by warm summers and cold winters. Summers are generally pleasant with cool nights, while winters are quite cold and snowy with an average of 75 inches of snow falling annually. The area experiences relatively low humidity year-round, but during the winter months the temperatures can dip well below freezing. Precipitation is fairly consistent throughout the year, but mostly occurs in the late spring and summer months.

Traverse City (zip 49686), Michigan gets 32 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year.

Traverse City (zip 49686) averages 116 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.

On average, there are 165 sunny days per year in Traverse City (zip 49686). The US average is 205 sunny days.

Traverse City (zip 49686) gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 140 days per year. Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. In order for precipitation to be counted you have to get at least .01 inches on the ground to measure.

Weather Highlights

Summer High: the July high is around 80 degrees
Winter Low: the January low is 16
Rain: averages 32 inches of rain a year
Snow: averages 116 inches of snow a year

Bestplaces Comfort Index

The annual BestPlaces Comfort Index for the 49686 zip code is 6.2 (10=best), which means it is less comfortable than most places in Michigan.

9.3 Summer - 3.1 Winter

August, July and June are the most pleasant months in the 49686 zip code, while January and December are the least comfortable months.

Climate	Traverse City, Michigan	United States
	Unlock	38.1 in.
	116.4 in.	Unlock
	Unlock	106.2 days
	165 days	Unlock
	79.9°	85.8°
	Unlock	21.7°
	6.2	Unlock
	Unlock	4.3
	617 ft.	Unlock

Climate

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Many people confuse weather and climate but they are different. Weather is the conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere is over long periods of time.

Weather is how the atmosphere is behaving and its effects upon life and human activities. Weather can change from minute-to-minute. Most people think of weather in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure.

Climate is the description of the long-term pattern of weather in a place. Climate can mean the average weather for a particular region and time period taken over 30 years. Climate is the average of weather over time.

July is the hottest month for the 49686 zip code with an average high temperature of 79.9°, which ranks it as cooler than most places in Michigan. In the 49686 zip code, there are 4 comfortable months with high temperatures in the range of 70-85°. The most pleasant months of the year for the 49686 zip code are August, July and June.

In the 49686 zip code, there are 4.6 days annually when the high temperature is over 90°, which is cooler than most places in Michigan.

February has the coldest nighttime temperatures for the 49686 zip code with an average of 15.4°. This is about average compared to other places in Michigan.

In the 49686 zip code, there are 153.0 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below freezing, which is colder than most places in Michigan.

In the 49686 zip code, there are 5.4 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below zero°, which is warmer than most places in Michigan.

Humidity in the 49686 zip code is generally quite low and comfortable. There are few days during the summer when the humidity becomes unpleasant. The most humid months (but still comfortable) are July, August and June.

September is the wettest month in the 49686 zip code with 3.6 inches of rain, and the driest month is February with 1.4 inches. The wettest season is Autumn with 30% of yearly precipitation and 18% occurs in Spring, which is the driest season. The annual rainfall of 32.1 inches in the 49686 zip code means that it is drier than most places in Michigan.

January is the rainiest month in the 49686 zip code with 15.7 days of rain, and July is the driest month with only 9.0 rainy days. There are 139.7 rainy days annually in the 49686 zip code, which is rainier than most places in Michigan. The rainiest season is Spring when it rains 30% of the time and the driest is Autumn with only a 20% chance of a rainy day.

An annual snowfall of 116.4 inches in the 49686 zip code means that it is one of the snowiest places in Michigan. January is the snowiest month in the 49686 zip code with 35.1 inches of snow, and 6 months of the year have significant snowfall.