Traverse City weather in March

In March, Traverse City sees average daytime highs of 38°F and overnight lows near 23°F, with 2.1 in of precipitation across 8.7 wet days and about 11.6 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 32°F in the first days to 43°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 48 min at the start of March to 12 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Traverse City's 7th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Traverse City's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 38°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 23°; 3rd coldest
Precipitation: 2.1 in; 8.7 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 36 min; 7:04 AM – 6:41 PM
Cloud cover: 66%; 7th clearest
Wind: 8 mph; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 4.14 kWh/m²
Travel score: 0.1; out of 10

Traverse City is city in and seat of Grand Traverse County, Michigan, United States.

Density: 679/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1891

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← February Traverse City year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 32°F in the first days to 43°F by the end.

A typical March day in Traverse City reaches about 38°F in the afternoon and slips back to 23°F overnight — a 15°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 25°F and 51°F. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 9°F warmer than February and about 13°F cooler than April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	32	32	32	33	33	33	34	34	35	35	36	36	37	37	37	38	38	38	39	39	40	40	40	41	41	42	42	42	43	43	44
Avg low (°F)	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	21	21	22	22	22	23	23	24	24	24	25	25	26	26	26	27	27	28	28	28	29

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	32	18
2	32	18
3	32	18
4	33	19
5	33	19
6	33	19
7	34	19
8	34	20
9	35	20
10	35	20
11	36	21
12	36	21
13	37	22
14	37	22
15	37	22
16	38	23
17	38	23
18	38	24
19	39	24
20	39	24
21	40	25
22	40	25
23	40	26
24	41	26
25	41	26
26	42	27
27	42	27
28	42	28
29	43	28
30	43	28
31	44	29

How March really feels in Traverse City

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 31 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

17 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in March is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Traverse City weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 9th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 17°	2.1	11.8	13.9	9	0.0
Feb	28° / 16°	1.6	8.5	8.8	10.1	0.0
Mar	38° / 23°	2.1	8.7	6.2	11.6	0.1
Apr	50° / 34°	3.2	11	3.5	13.2	2.3
May	62° / 45°	3.2	10.9	0.2	14.6	5.1
Jun	71° / 55°	3.1	10	0	15.3	6.6
Jul	76° / 61°	3.3	11	0	15	6.9
Aug	75° / 60°	3.3	10.6	0	13.9	7.0
Sep	69° / 53°	3.2	11.6	0	12.3	6.1
Oct	56° / 43°	3.7	14	0.4	10.7	3.4
Nov	43° / 34°	2.8	13.3	6.6	9.4	0.6
Dec	34° / 26°	2.4	13.3	13.3	8.7	0.0

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 64%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	29	29	29	30	32	33	33	34	35	35	36	36	36	36	37	37	37	37	37	38	39	38	38	38	38	38	37	37	37	37	37
Cloudier (%)	71	71	71	70	68	67	67	66	65	65	64	64	64	64	63	63	63	63	63	62	61	62	62	62	62	62	63	63	63	63	63

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	29	71
2	29	71
3	29	71
4	30	70
5	32	68
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	34	66
9	35	65
10	35	65
11	36	64
12	36	64
13	36	64
14	36	64
15	37	63
16	37	63
17	37	63
18	37	63
19	37	63
20	38	62
21	39	61
22	38	62
23	38	62
24	38	62
25	38	62
26	38	62
27	37	63
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	37	63

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Traverse City gets around 2.1 in of rain and snow over 8.7 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 29% and peaks near 32% on the wettest days, and about 6 days bring snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	31	31	31	31	31	30	30	30	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27	28	29	30	31	32	32
Snow chance (%)	28	28	28	27	27	26	26	25	25	24	24	23	22	22	21	20	20	19	18	18	17	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	31	28
2	31	28
3	31	28
4	31	27
5	31	27
6	30	26
7	30	26
8	30	25
9	29	25
10	29	24
11	29	24
12	29	23
13	28	22
14	28	22
15	28	21
16	27	20
17	27	20
18	26	19
19	26	18
20	26	18
21	26	17
22	26	16
23	26	16
24	27	15
25	27	15
26	28	15
27	29	15
28	30	15
29	31	15
30	32	15
31	32	15

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in March

Winds average 8 mph in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 8 mph on the calmest days to 9 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	9	light breeze
2	9	light breeze
3	9	light breeze
4	9	light breeze
5	9	light breeze
6	9	light breeze
7	9	light breeze
8	9	light breeze
9	9	light breeze
10	9	light breeze
11	8	light breeze
12	8	light breeze
13	8	light breeze
14	8	light breeze
15	8	light breeze
16	8	light breeze
17	8	light breeze
18	8	light breeze
19	8	light breeze
20	8	light breeze
21	8	light breeze
22	8	light breeze
23	8	light breeze
24	8	light breeze
25	8	light breeze
26	8	light breeze
27	8	light breeze
28	8	light breeze
29	8	light breeze
30	8	light breeze
31	8	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 48 min at the start of March to 12 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 96 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:31 AM to 6:35 AM, and sunset from 6:21 PM to 7:00 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	10.8	10.9	10.9	11.0	11.0	11.1	11.1	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.4	12.4
Sunrise (AM)	7:31	7:29	7:27	7:26	7:24	7:22	7:20	7:19	7:17	7:15	7:13	7:11	7:09	7:07	7:06	7:04	7:02	7:00	6:58	6:56	6:54	6:52	6:50	6:48	6:47	6:45	6:43	6:41	6:39	6:37	6:35
Sunset (PM)	6:21	6:22	6:23	6:25	6:26	6:27	6:29	6:30	6:31	6:33	6:34	6:35	6:37	6:38	6:39	6:41	6:42	6:43	6:44	6:46	6:47	6:48	6:50	6:51	6:52	6:53	6:55	6:56	6:57	6:59	7:00

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.8	7:31	6:21
2	10.9	7:29	6:22
3	10.9	7:27	6:23
4	11.0	7:26	6:25
5	11.0	7:24	6:26
6	11.1	7:22	6:27
7	11.1	7:20	6:29
8	11.2	7:19	6:30
9	11.2	7:17	6:31
10	11.3	7:15	6:33
11	11.3	7:13	6:34
12	11.4	7:11	6:35
13	11.5	7:09	6:37
14	11.5	7:07	6:38
15	11.6	7:06	6:39
16	11.6	7:04	6:41
17	11.7	7:02	6:42
18	11.7	7:00	6:43
19	11.8	6:58	6:44
20	11.8	6:56	6:46
21	11.9	6:54	6:47
22	11.9	6:52	6:48
23	12.0	6:50	6:50
24	12.0	6:48	6:51
25	12.1	6:47	6:52
26	12.1	6:45	6:53
27	12.2	6:43	6:55
28	12.3	6:41	6:56
29	12.3	6:39	6:57
30	12.4	6:37	6:59
31	12.4	6:35	7:00

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.14 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.13 kWh/m² to a high of 6.49 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 4.14 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.4	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.4	Moderate
2	3.5	Moderate
3	3.5	Moderate
4	3.6	Moderate
5	3.6	Moderate
6	3.7	Moderate
7	3.7	Moderate
8	3.8	Moderate
9	3.8	Moderate
10	3.9	Moderate
11	3.9	Moderate
12	4.0	Moderate
13	4.0	Bright
14	4.1	Bright
15	4.1	Bright
16	4.2	Bright
17	4.2	Bright
18	4.3	Bright
19	4.3	Bright
20	4.3	Bright
21	4.4	Bright
22	4.4	Bright
23	4.4	Bright
24	4.4	Bright
25	4.5	Bright
26	4.5	Bright
27	4.5	Bright
28	4.5	Bright
29	4.5	Bright
30	4.6	Bright
31	4.6	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Traverse City?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.1

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Traverse City.

What to pack for Traverse City in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Traverse City sees daytime highs around 38°F and nights near 23°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Traverse City in March

The nearest coast averages about 35°F in March — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 68°F and coldest in March near 35°F.

The water stays below 68°F all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°F)	38	36	35	37	40	50	64	68	65	56	48	42
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Refreshing	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°F)	Comfort
Jan	38	Bracing
Feb	36	Bracing
Mar	35	Bracing
Apr	37	Bracing
May	40	Bracing
Jun	50	Bracing
Jul	64	Cool
Aug	68	Refreshing
Sep	65	Cool
Oct	56	Bracing
Nov	48	Bracing
Dec	42	Bracing

UV index in Traverse City in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Traverse City peaks around June 18 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	2	4	5	7	9	8	7	5	3	2	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	2	Low
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	5	Moderate
May	7	Very high
Jun	9	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	7	High
Sep	5	Moderate
Oct	3	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Traverse City?

Traverse City sits at 44.8°N, 85.6°W, 597 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Mackinac Island, 89 mi away.

Topography around Traverse City

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Traverse City.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Traverse City has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 404 ft around an average of 627 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 679 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,224 ft.

The land around Traverse City is covered by water (33%), trees (32%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 2 miles, trees (48%), water (25%) and grassland (22%) within 10 miles, and trees (49%) and water (37%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

404 ft

water 33%

10 miles

679 ft

trees 48%

50 miles

1,224 ft

trees 49%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← February Traverse City year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Mackinac Island 89 mi · Mount Pleasant 91 mi · Midland 104 mi · Muskegon 110 mi · Manitowoc 111 mi · Norton Shores 115 mi · Bellevue 115 mi · Bay City 118 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs: Type A / B; 120 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 100% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $90,027; 2025
Happiness: 6.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 98%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 5.8; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 12.7; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Traverse City (44.7631°, -85.6206°, elevation 597 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	32	18
2	32	18
3	32	18
4	33	19
5	33	19
6	33	19
7	34	19
8	34	20
9	35	20
10	35	20
11	36	21
12	36	21
13	37	22
14	37	22
15	37	22
16	38	23
17	38	23
18	38	24
19	39	24
20	39	24
21	40	25
22	40	25
23	40	26
24	41	26
25	41	26
26	42	27
27	42	27
28	42	28
29	43	28
30	43	28
31	44	29

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	29	71
2	29	71
3	29	71
4	30	70
5	32	68
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	34	66
9	35	65
10	35	65
11	36	64
12	36	64
13	36	64
14	36	64
15	37	63
16	37	63
17	37	63
18	37	63
19	37	63
20	38	62
21	39	61
22	38	62
23	38	62
24	38	62
25	38	62
26	38	62
27	37	63
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	37	63

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	31	28
2	31	28
3	31	28
4	31	27
5	31	27
6	30	26
7	30	26
8	30	25
9	29	25
10	29	24
11	29	24
12	29	23
13	28	22
14	28	22
15	28	21
16	27	20
17	27	20
18	26	19
19	26	18
20	26	18
21	26	17
22	26	16
23	26	16
24	27	15
25	27	15
26	28	15
27	29	15
28	30	15
29	31	15
30	32	15
31	32	15

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	32	18
2	32	18
3	32	18
4	33	19
5	33	19
6	33	19
7	34	19
8	34	20
9	35	20
10	35	20
11	36	21
12	36	21
13	37	22
14	37	22
15	37	22
16	38	23
17	38	23
18	38	24
19	39	24
20	39	24
21	40	25
22	40	25
23	40	26
24	41	26
25	41	26
26	42	27
27	42	27
28	42	28
29	43	28
30	43	28
31	44	29

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	29	71
2	29	71
3	29	71
4	30	70
5	32	68
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	34	66
9	35	65
10	35	65
11	36	64
12	36	64
13	36	64
14	36	64
15	37	63
16	37	63
17	37	63
18	37	63
19	37	63
20	38	62
21	39	61
22	38	62
23	38	62
24	38	62
25	38	62
26	38	62
27	37	63
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	37	63

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	31	28
2	31	28
3	31	28
4	31	27
5	31	27
6	30	26
7	30	26
8	30	25
9	29	25
10	29	24
11	29	24
12	29	23
13	28	22
14	28	22
15	28	21
16	27	20
17	27	20
18	26	19
19	26	18
20	26	18
21	26	17
22	26	16
23	26	16
24	27	15
25	27	15
26	28	15
27	29	15
28	30	15
29	31	15
30	32	15
31	32	15

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	32	18
2	32	18
3	32	18
4	33	19
5	33	19
6	33	19
7	34	19
8	34	20
9	35	20
10	35	20
11	36	21
12	36	21
13	37	22
14	37	22
15	37	22
16	38	23
17	38	23
18	38	24
19	39	24
20	39	24
21	40	25
22	40	25
23	40	26
24	41	26
25	41	26
26	42	27
27	42	27
28	42	28
29	43	28
30	43	28
31	44	29

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	29	71
2	29	71
3	29	71
4	30	70
5	32	68
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	34	66
9	35	65
10	35	65
11	36	64
12	36	64
13	36	64
14	36	64
15	37	63
16	37	63
17	37	63
18	37	63
19	37	63
20	38	62
21	39	61
22	38	62
23	38	62
24	38	62
25	38	62
26	38	62
27	37	63
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	37	63
31	37	63

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	31	28
2	31	28
3	31	28
4	31	27
5	31	27
6	30	26
7	30	26
8	30	25
9	29	25
10	29	24
11	29	24
12	29	23
13	28	22
14	28	22
15	28	21
16	27	20
17	27	20
18	26	19
19	26	18
20	26	18
21	26	17
22	26	16
23	26	16
24	27	15
25	27	15
26	28	15
27	29	15
28	30	15
29	31	15
30	32	15
31	32	15

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100