Ottawa County, MI Climate


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Ottawa County, Michigan is located in the Great Lakes region of the Midwest and has a humid continental climate. Summers are warm with average highs in the mid-80s Fahrenheit and can be quite humid. Winters are cold, with temperatures below freezing for several months each year. The county receives an average of about 32 inches of precipitation each year, which is evenly distributed over all four seasons, and an average yearly snowfall of around 55 inches. Ottawa County experiences frequent thunderstorms during the summer months; however, tornadoes are very rare.

Ottawa County, Michigan gets 36 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year.

Ottawa County averages 75 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.

On average, there are 162 sunny days per year in Ottawa County. The US average is 205 sunny days.

Ottawa County gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 123 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 81 degrees
Winter Low: the January low is 19
Rain: averages 36 inches of rain a year
Snow: averages 75 inches of snow a year


Bestplaces Comfort Index

The annual BestPlaces Comfort Index for Ottawa County is 6.6 (10=best), which means it is about average compared to other places in Michigan.

9.3 Summer - 3.8 Winter
July, August and June are the most pleasant months in Ottawa County, while January and December are the least comfortable months.

  ClimateOttawa, MichiganUnited States
    Unlock38.1 in.
  75.4 in.  Unlock
    Unlock106.2 days
  162 days  Unlock
  80.9°85.8°
    Unlock21.7°
  6.6  Unlock
    Unlock4.3
  659 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 Ottawa County with an average high temperature of 80.9°, which ranks it as cooler than most places in Michigan. In Ottawa County, there are 4 comfortable months with high temperatures in the range of 70-85°. The most pleasant months of the year for Ottawa County are June, August and July.
In Ottawa County, there are 3.8 days annually when the high temperature is over 90°, which is cooler than most places in Michigan.
January has the coldest nighttime temperatures for Ottawa County with an average of 19.2°. This is one of the warmest places in Michigan.
In Ottawa County, there are 130.7 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below freezing, which is warmer than most places in Michigan.
In Ottawa County, there are 1.6 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below zero°, which is one of the warmest places in Michigan.
The humidity is usually comfortable in Ottawa County but some summer months can be sticky or muggy. July is the most humid month, though humidity is low for most of the year. The most humid months are July, August and June.
September is the wettest month in Ottawa County with 3.9 inches of rain, and the driest month is February with 1.8 inches. The wettest season is Winter with 30% of yearly precipitation and 18% occurs in Spring, which is the driest season. The annual rainfall of 36.2 inches in Ottawa County means that it is wetter than most places in Michigan.
December is the rainiest month in Ottawa County with 13.4 days of rain, and August is the driest month with only 8.0 rainy days. There are 122.8 rainy days annually in Ottawa County, which is less rainy than most places in Michigan. The rainiest season is Spring when it rains 29% of the time and the driest is Autumn with only a 20% chance of a rainy day.
An annual snowfall of 75.4 inches in Ottawa County means that it is snowier than most places in Michigan. January is the snowiest month in Ottawa County with 23.7 inches of snow, and 6 months of the year have significant snowfall.
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