FORECAST CITY
Sign in
Shaded-relief map of Putnam, Michigan: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
MICHIGAN · LIVINGSTON COUNTY

Putnam

7,760 people, 920 ft above sea level in Livingston County.

920 ftElevation, city center
7,760People, 2024 estimate
34 sq miLand area
Sunny 40°
Sunny now Dew point 31° · NW 12 mph · high 45°
City of Putnam River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Putnam plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Putnam

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM EST
RIGHT NOW Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (KDTW) · 12:53 PM
Sunny
40° Sunny Feels like 33° · high of 45° near 3 PM
WindNW 12 mphno gusts
Humidity70%falling to 58% this afternoon
Pressure30.10 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 31° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 60.03 in · 8 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Livingston County
NWS Detroit/Pontiac and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 1:16 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:25 AM5:15 PM ↓
9 h 49 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 24% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
22
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: None, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
44°
35°
46°
32°
50°
32°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
14
12
9
8
8
8
8
8
7
6
3
0
0
2
3
5
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
7
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 30 to 34°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 49° / 34°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
45° 34°
0% rain — NW 14 A
SUN Nov. 15 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
47° 31°
0% rain — NW 8 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
50° 32°
0% rain — WSW 5 B
TUE Nov. 17 Sunny Sunny
54° 34°
0% rain — SSW 8 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
54° 37°
0% rain — SSW 8 A
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 45°
10% rain — SW 9 B
FRI Nov. 20 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
59° 44°
10% rain — S 5 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Putnam about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 2,330 miles back along its path. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the open Pacific. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK, SIX YEARS AGO Nov. 11, 2020

The hottest this week has been

73° on Nov. 11, 2020, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1880. Next is 71° in 1909.

71°
73°
19092020
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Ann Arbor U Of Mich record since 1880.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Putnam stands on

Putnam’s center stands about 920 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 870 ft to 1,030 ft, a difference of 160 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Sugarloaf Hill, about 1,130 ft, 11 miles southwest.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Marshall Sandstone, from the Carboniferous, 324 to 359 million years old.

The section below crosses 5 rock units mapped at the surface.

Scio to Handy, cut in half

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
900 ft1,000 ft PUTNAM920 ftDexter870 ftDexter880 ft ← S · ScioHandy · N →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Coldwater Shale

Shale. Age: Carboniferous, 324 to 359 million years old. About 9 mi of the line.

Marshall Sandstone

Sandstone. Age: Carboniferous, 324 to 359 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Michigan Formation

Shale. Age: Carboniferous, 324 to 359 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Saginaw Formation

Sandstone, shale. Age: Carboniferous, 299 to 324 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Bayport Limestone

Limestone. Age: Carboniferous, 324 to 359 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Putnam’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Putnam reaches Lake Erie by way of Honey Creek and the Huron: about 75 river miles. From there it moves on through the Great Lakes, over Niagara Falls and down the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Putnam≈ 75 mi · Lake Erie
FROM THE CENTER OF PUTNAM ≈ 75 mi to Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence Honey Creek → Huron

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Putnam; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Putnam’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1880 · Ann Arbor U Of Mich, 19 mi southeast

Putnam has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 84° in July; winter nights fall to about 16° in January. A normal year brings about 61 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

32°16°36°18°46°25°60°36°71°47°80°56°84°60°82°59°75°52°62°41°48°31°36°22° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY PUTNAM 38.3 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average84° / 60°high / low, the warmest month
January, average32° / 16°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow38.3 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year61.4 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record105°FJuly 24, 1934
Coldest on record−23°FFebruary 11, 1885
Wettest day on record4.54 inAugust 6, 1998
Snowiest day on record15.8 inDecember 1, 1974
90° days a year12very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°130and 45 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 15, to the last in spring, about April 28 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingJan. 3 to Feb. 2; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingNov. 10 to April 7; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Putnam normally reaches 49° and falls to 31°. The record high is 71°, in 1909; the record low 11°, in 2018. The most rain on this date, 1.31 in, fell in 1957.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high32°36°46°60°71°80°84°82°75°62°48°36°
Normal low16°18°25°36°47°56°60°59°52°41°31°22°
Rain and melt, in2.962.512.823.443.843.913.523.523.182.992.822.75
Snow, inches18.315.38.32.60.00.00.00.00.00.14.112.7
Record high72° (1950)73° (2024)85° (2012)88° (1899)95° (1911)103° (1934)105° (1934)104° (1918)99° (1913)91° (1897)78° (2020)67° (2001)
Record low−22° (1994)−23° (1885)−8° (2003)7° (1982)24° (1929)35° (1913)37° (1888)39° (1986)27° (1899)19° (1895)−3° (2019)−17° (2017)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1880 at Ann Arbor U Of Mich, 19 miles southeast, 110 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Putnam on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Ann Arbor MI · 18 MI 18 miles southeast Lansing MI · 35 MI 35 miles northwest Detroit MI · 45 MI 45 miles east Fort Wayne IN · 113 MI 113 miles southwest Cleveland OH · 136 MI 136 miles southeast Columbus OH · 179 MI 179 miles south
FORECASTCITY
Map of Putnam, Michigan. Explore the plate
MICHIGAN · LIVINGSTON

Putnam

7,760 people, 920 ft above sea level in Livingston County.

920 ftElevation
7,760People
34 sq miLand
Sunny 40°
SunnyDew point 31°
1

Today in Putnam

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy day 44° 1%
4p mostly cloudy day 44° 1%
7p mostly cloudy night 43° 1%
10p mostly cloudy night 41° 1%
1a partly cloudy night 37° 1%
4a partly cloudy night 35° 1%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
34
45
A
Sun0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
31
47
B
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
50
B
Tue0%
Sunny Sunny
34
54
B
Wed0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
37
54
A
Thu10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
45
58
B
Fri10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
44
59
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, SIX YEARS AGO · NOV. 11, 2020

73°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1880.

2

What Putnam stands on

Putnam’s center stands about 920 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 870 ft to 1,030 ft, a difference of 160 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Sugarloaf Hill, about 1,130 ft, 11 miles southwest.

Putnam, south to north Putnam920 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center920 ft
Within 3 miles870 to 1,030 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (160 ft of relief)
High point nearbySugarloaf Hill, 1,130 ft, 11 mi southwest
Rock at the surfaceMarshall Sandstone
Its ageCarboniferous, 324 to 359 million years old
5

Putnam’s year

Putnam has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 84° in July; winter nights fall to about 16° in January. A normal year brings about 61 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 38 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 38.3 in
July, average84° / 60° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average32° / 16° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow38.3 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year61.4 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record105°F · July 24, 1934
Coldest on record−23°F · February 11, 1885
Wettest day on record4.54 in · August 6, 1998
Snowiest day on record15.8 in · December 1, 1974
90° days a year12 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°130 · and 45 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 15, to the last in spring, about April 28 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Jan. 3 to Feb. 2; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 10 to April 7; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Putnam normally reaches 49° and falls to 31°. The record high is 71°, in 1909; the record low 11°, in 2018. The most rain on this date, 1.31 in, fell in 1957.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1880 at Ann Arbor U Of Mich, 19 miles southeast, 110 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 75 mito Lake Erie and the St. LawrenceHoney Creek → Huron

A raindrop that lands in Putnam reaches Lake Erie by way of Honey Creek and the Huron: about 75 river miles. From there it moves on through the Great Lakes, over Niagara Falls and down the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic.