Lake Michigan Water Temperature Today: South Haven & St. Joseph

Name: Monthly average Lake Michigan water temperature off Southwest Michigan
Creator: Sunset Coast Michigan
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Live readings from the two NOAA weather buoys off Southwest Michigan's coast, the current air temperature, and what the lake is usually like each month.

Lake Michigan water temperature today

No recent reading from the buoy off South Haven or Stevensville. See NOAA's live buoy pages: 45026 · 45168.

Buoy 45168 is about 3 miles off South Haven. Buoy 45026 is about 5½ miles off Stevensville and is the closest buoy to St. Joseph, about 11 miles to its southwest.

Air temperature now

Air temperature 36°F now

Southwest Michigan Regional Airport, Benton Harbor, 3:40 am EST · National Weather Service

Lake Michigan water temperature by month

The lake off Southwest Michigan is warmest in August, averaging about 73°F off Stevensville and 72°F off South Haven. In April, when the buoys go back in, it averages about 45°F.

Average surface water temperature by month, NOAA buoys 45026 (2011–2025) and 45168 (2014–2025)
Month	Off Stevensville (buoy 45026)	Off South Haven (buoy 45168)
January	Buoy out of the water	Buoy out of the water
February	Buoy out of the water	Buoy out of the water
March	Buoy out of the water	Buoy out of the water
April	44.5°F 41–47°F	44.3°F 40–46°F
May	53.0°F 51–58°F	51.2°F 47–57°F
June	64.5°F 61–68°F	63.1°F 60–66°F
July	71.6°F 68–76°F	70.5°F 65–75°F
August	72.8°F 69–76°F	71.7°F 69–75°F
September	68.5°F 66–70°F	67.5°F 64–70°F
October	60.9°F 58–65°F	59.8°F 54–66°F
November Now	Buoy usually out by mid-month	Buoy usually out by mid-month
December	Buoy out of the water	Buoy out of the water

Small numbers show the coolest and warmest year for that month. How we got these: daily averages of NOAA's quality-controlled buoy readings, then each month's average for every year with at least 10 days of readings, then the average across years (a month needs at least 3 years). The buoys are operated by LimnoTech and their data published by NOAA's National Data Buoy Center (stations 45026 and 45168). Download the table (CSV), free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Sunset Coast Michigan.

Can I swim today?

We don't make swim calls. Before you go in, check the National Weather Service for beach hazards and rip-current risk (the Northern Indiana office covers Berrien County; the Grand Rapids office covers Van Buren County), and Michigan's BeachGuard for closures and water-quality advisories. Know how to escape a rip current.