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Has the climate in Houghton Lake changed?

Houghton Lake has warmed about 0.9°F between 2001 and 2012.

About 0.7°F per decade, measured from Houghton Lake's official daily weather records, 2001–2012. Individual years still bounce around — some recent ones came in cool — but the long-term line has clearly risen.

Is that a lot? Houghton Lake's climate has warmed faster than most other cities in United States.

What has actually changed

Each card compares the 1970s (the first ten years of the record) with recent years (the last ten) — the same span the headline and the chart use.

Freezing nights
1 more night
1970s
174 / yr
Recent
175 / yr
Colder winters — more frosts
Average temperature
+0.8°F
1970s
44.3°F
Recent
45.1°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
2 fewer days
1970s
9 / yr
Recent
7 / yr
Slightly fewer hot days
Rainy days
12 more days
1970s
121 / yr
Recent
133 / yr
Wetter on average

Houghton Lake's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 2001 to 2012.

41°43°45°47°2001: 46.0°F2002: 44.6°F2003: 43.0°F2004: 43.5°F2005: 45.1°F2006: 46.2°F2007: 45.1°F2008: 42.8°F2009: 42.6°F2010: 46.1°F2011: 44.7°F2012: 46.9°Flong-term trend200120102012
a warmer-than-average year a cooler-than-average year

Each bar is one year. Most recent years sit above the older ones. Some recent years still came in cool — warming is a slope, not a straight climb.

In day-to-day terms, that long-term shift shows up as about 88 more freezing nights a year and about 7 more days above 90°F compared with the 1970s.

When in the year the change shows up

How much warmer each month is now than in the 1970s. Useful if you garden or care about a particular season — otherwise the headline above already has the answer.

-3.0°-2.5°-2.0°-1.5°-1.0°-0.5°0.0°+0.5°+1.0°+1.5°+2.0°+2.5°+3.0°+3.5°+4.0°+4.5°+5.0°+5.5°+6.0°+6.5°+7.0°+7.5°+8.0°+8.5°+9.0°January: +3.8°F+3.8JFebruary: +3.1°F+3.1FMarch: +2.5°F+2.5MApril: +1.9°F+1.9AMay: -1.7°F-1.7MJune: +0.8°F+0.8JJuly: +2.6°F+2.6JAugust: +1.7°F+1.7ASeptember: +1.4°F+1.4SOctober: -2.7°F-2.7ONovember: +0.0°F+0.0NDecember: +8.9°F+8.9D

December has warmed the most — about 8.9°F. The warming runs across the whole year, not just one season.

Methodology & sources

Temperature — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Houghton Lake 2nw (NOAA GHCN station USC00203930), inside the city.

How we build these numbers →