Michigan ยท season guide
Sledding season in Traverse City
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Houghton Lake Roscommon Co Airport weather station, about 53 miles from the middle of our Traverse City hill list show November as the first month that averages an inch of snow or more (7.5 inches). The normals are monthly averages, so they can't give a first-snow date. Some years come early, some late.
Caveat: the nearest NOAA station with snow normals is about 53 miles from these hills, so local snowfall can differ a lot from these numbers.
October snow is part of the record here: the normal for that month is 0.5 inches.
January is the snowiest month on average, at 16.4 inches.
Across a normal year the station records about 65.9 inches of snow. That puts Traverse City at 21 of 98 metros on this site, ranked from snowiest down.
Once it arrives, it tends to stay: about 104 days a year have at least an inch of snow on the ground.
For comparison, Green Bay, the nearest metro on our list, averages 55.6 inches, less than here.
2 of the 4 hills we list here come from a city, county or park district page.
Month by month
| Month | Average snowfall | Days with 1 inch or more of new snow | Days with 1 inch or more on the ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | 0.5 inches | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| November | 7.5 inches | 2.7 | 6.7 |
| December | 15.1 inches | 4.7 | 19.4 |
| January | 16.4 inches | 5.4 | 28.8 |
| February | 13.6 inches | 4.8 | 27.4 |
| March | 8.3 inches | 2.9 | 18.5 |
| April | 4.4 inches | 1.5 | 3.5 |
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, station USW00094814. "Not stated by source" means NOAA publishes no value for that station.
Lit hills
None of the sources we used for Traverse City mention lights on a sledding hill. Plan on daylight, and see our national lit hills list if you're travelling.
Local rules
We didn't find a city-wide sledding rule for Traverse City in the sources we checked. Individual parks may post their own signs, and those win.
Short answers
When does it usually start snowing in Traverse City?
In NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Houghton Lake Roscommon Co Airport station, November is the first month averaging an inch of snow or more. The normals are monthly averages, not a date.
How much snow does Traverse City get in a year?
About 65.9 inches a year at the Houghton Lake Roscommon Co Airport station, per NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals.
Are there lit sledding hills in Traverse City?
None of the sources we used mention lights. Plan on daylight.
Updated