Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Northern Indiana
Issued by NWS Northern Indiana
394
CXUS53 KIWX 010940
CLMFWA
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
540 AM EDT WED APR 01 2026
...................................
...THE FORT WAYNE CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2026...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1897 TO 2026
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 87 03/21/2012
LOW -10 03/01/1967
HIGHEST 82 03/26 MM MM 78 03/14
LOWEST 17 03/17 MM MM 14 03/02
AVG. MAXIMUM 58.2 47.8 10.4 55.9
AVG. MINIMUM 34.4 29.4 5.0 32.6
MEAN 46.3 38.6 7.7
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 1 2.7 -1.7 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 13 20.5 -7.5 20
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.1 -0.1 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 7.10 1913
MINIMUM 0.48 2001
TOTALS 3.95 2.81 1.14 2.30
DAILY AVG. 0.13 0.09 0.04 0.07
DAYS >= .01 11 11.7 -0.7 10
DAYS >= .10 8 6.3 1.7 7
DAYS >= .50 3 1.9 1.1 0
DAYS >= 1.00 2 0.4 1.6 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.26 03/26 TO 03/27
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 19.5 1964
TOTALS 0.5 4.6 -4.1 0.3
SINCE 7/1 35.8 32.8 3.0 14.8
SNOWDEPTH AVG. T T
DAYS >= 1.0 0 1.5 -1.5 0
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH T 03/17 T
24 HR TOTAL 0.4 03/16 TO 03/16
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 575 819 -244 635
SINCE 7/1 5169 5315 -146 4810
COOLING TOTAL 4 1 3 0
SINCE 1/1 4 1 3 0
................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 12.6
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 52/270 DATE 03/13
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 70/270 DATE 03/13
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.75
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 2
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 12
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 17
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 68
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 6 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 5 RAIN 5
LIGHT RAIN 11 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 5 SLEET 1
FOG 13 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 2
HAZE 3
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
....TOP 5 WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD, WETTER THAN USUAL....
A BREAKDOWN OF THE LA NINA PATTERN WE EXPERIENCED OVER THE WINTER
LED TO VERY MILD AIR AND ACTIVE WEATHER DURING MARCH. IN FACT, NWS
NORTHERN INDIANA EXPERIENCED THE MOST ACTIVE MARCH FOR SEVERE
WEATHER ON RECORD (DATING BACK TO 1986) THROUGHOUT MARCH, WE ISSUED
A RECORD 18 TORNADO WARNINGS AND A RECORD 57 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNINGS. PREVIOUS RECORDS WERE 7 TORNADO WARNINGS (2023) AND 28
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS (2025). SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRED ON
MARCH 6TH, MARCH 10TH, MARCH 22ND, MARCH 26TH, AND MARCH 31ST. ALL
SEVERE WEATHER HAZARDS OCCURRED IN OUR FORECAST AREA THIS MONTH,
INCLUDING DAMAGING WINDS, LARGE HAIL, AND TORNADOES. WE ALSO HAD
HIGH WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH ON MARCH 13TH CAUSED BY A VERY
TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT THAT DEVELOPED OVER THE GREAT LAKES.
SEVERAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS MOVED THROUGH THE MIDWEST AND GREAT
LAKES IN MARCH, BRINGING SURGES OF MILD AIR AND PERIODS OF ACTIVE
WEATHER THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. IN FORT WAYNE, MARCH WAS NOTICEABLY
WARMER THAN NORMAL WITH NUMEROUS DAYS HAVING HIGHS IN THE 60S AND
70S. FORT WAYNE EVEN SAW THEIR FIRST DAY OF 2026 IN THE 80S WHEN A
HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 82 WAS REACHED ON MARCH 26TH (USUALLY THE
AVERAGE FIRST 80+ DEGREE DAY IS APRIL 24TH!). NEARLY A THIRD OF THE
MONTH WAS ANOMALOUSLY WARM; THERE WERE 11 DAYS THIS MONTH WITH DAILY
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES OVER 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL! THERE WERE NO
PROLONGED STRETCHES OF COLD AIR THIS MONTH BUT A SERIES OF STRONG
COLD FRONTS DID BRING BRIEF COOL DOWNS FOR 24-48 HOURS BEFORE MILD
AIR RETURNED. AFTER A NEAR RECORD HIGH OF 82 ON MARCH 26TH, A HIGH
OF ONLY 49 DEGREES WAS RECORDED THE FOLLOWING DAY. VERY WARM
TEMPERATURES LED TO AN AVERAGE TEMPEATURE THIS MONTH OF 46.3
DEGREES, WHICH IS A WHOPPING 7.7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. MARCH 2026
RANKS AS THE 5TH WARMEST ON RECORD, AHEAD OF 2024 AND 2025, WHICH
WERE 12TH AND 8TH RESPECTIVELY. RECORDS BEGAN IN 1897. THIS IS THE
WARMEST MARCH SINCE 2012. THIS IS THE 6TH CONSECUTIVE WARMER THAN
NORMAL MARCH ON RECORD.
SEVERAL NEW TEMPERATURES RECORDS WERE SET THIS MONTH. THEY ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
- MARCH 6TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 76 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 72 IN 1983)
- MARCH 9TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 72 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 67 IN 2016)
- MARCH 10TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 75 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 73 IN 1925)
- MARCH 10TH RECORD WARM LOW: 60 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 46 IN 1898)
BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN THIS MONTH, FORT WAYNE FINALLY
SAW A MONTH WITH ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE
APRIL 2025! ALTHOUGH THERE WERE ONLY 11 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION THIS MONTH, IT REALLY ADDED UP! TWO DAYS THIS MONTH
HAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF OVER AN INCH: MARCH 26TH (1.01") AND MARCH
31ST (1.08"). THESE TWO DAYS MADE UP FOR A HUGE DEFICIT NEARLY HALF
OF THE MONTH`S RAINFALL; HAD THE MONTH ENDED ON MARCH 25TH, FORT
WAYNE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE TOP 25 DRIEST MARCHES ON RECORD! THERE
WERE SEVERAL OTHER DAYS THIS MONTH WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN
0.25-0.75 INCHES. IN TOTAL, MARCH HAD 3.95" OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH
IS 1.14" ABOVE NORMAL AND IS TIED FOR THE 29TH WETTEST ON RECORD.
UNSUPRISINGLY, SNOWFALL WAS HARD TO COME BY WITH SUCH MILD
TEMPERATURES. MEASURABLE SNOWFALL FELL ON JUST TWO DAYS THIS MONTH:
MARCH 16TH (0.4") AND MARCH 18TH (0.1"). WITH JUST A HALF OF SNOW
FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH, THIS IS 4.1" BELOW NORMAL. MARCH 2026 IS TIED
FOR THE 18TH LEAST SNOWY ON RECORD. THIS IS THE 11TH CONSECUTIVE
MARCH ON RECORD WITH BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL.
JOHNSON
$$