Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
266
CXUS53 KIWX 011543
CLMSBN
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
1043 AM EST THU JAN 01 2026
...................................
...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2025...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1893 TO 2025
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 70 12/05/2001
12/02/1982
LOW -18 12/28/1924
HIGHEST 64 12/28 MM MM 55 12/08
LOWEST 1 12/15 MM MM 8 12/12
AVG. MAXIMUM 35.1 36.3 -1.2 38.7
AVG. MINIMUM 19.3 23.0 -3.7 27.0
MEAN 27.2 29.6 -2.4
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 14 10.2 3.8 9
DAYS MIN <= 32 26 25.2 0.8 21
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.9 -0.9 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 5.50 1965
MINIMUM 0.60 1943
TOTALS 3.22 2.40 0.82 2.81
DAILY AVG. 0.10 0.08 0.02 0.09
DAYS >= .01 15 14.8 0.2 16
DAYS >= .10 6 6.0 0.0 8
DAYS >= .50 1 1.2 -0.2 1
DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.3 0.7 1
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.90 12/28 TO 12/28
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 44.6 2000
TOTALS 10.0 13.7 -3.7 8.0
SINCE 7/1 37.1 19.0 18.1 10.9
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 3 0
DAYS >= 1.0 3 4.5 -1.5 2
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 7 12/02
12/07
24 HR TOTAL 2.7 12/07 TO 12/07
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1164 1096 68 986
SINCE 7/1 2290 2404 -114 1867
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 986 723 263 958
................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.7
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 35/300 DATE 12/29
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 46/270 DATE 12/29
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.68
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 7
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 8
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 16
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 77
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 2
LIGHT RAIN 6 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 2 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 2 SNOW 7
LIGHT SNOW 14 SLEET 0
FOG 22 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 6
HAZE 15
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
...COLDER THAN USUAL DECEMBER WITH HIGHLY VARIABLE PRECIPITATION...
THANKS TO A EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM AFTER THANKSGIVING, DECEMBER
BEGAN MUCH COLDER AND SNOWIER THAN USUAL. SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW WAS
ON THE GROUND TO BEGIN THE MONTH, WHICH KEPT TEMPERATURES MUCH
COLDER THAN NORMAL (ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT). WHAT IS NOTABLE ABOUT THE
COLD AIR THIS DECEMBER WAS HOW PROLONGED IT WAS. FOR THE FIRST HALF
OF DECEMBER, HIGHS WERE COMMONLY IN THE 20S AND 30S AND LOWS WERE IN
THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS. AVERAGE TEMPERATURES FOR 15 OF THE
FIRST 16 DAYS OF DECEMBER WERE BELOW NORMAL, WITH A FEW DAYS EVEN
HAVING A 15+ DEGREE DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL! THERE WERE 14 DAYS THIS
MONTH WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE AT OR BELOW 32 DEGREES. ONE NEW DAILY
RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE WAS SET THIS MONTH; THE LOW TEMPERATURE ON
THE MORNING ON DECEMBER 5TH OF 2 DEGREES BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD
OF 4 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1899! THE COLDEST LOW TEMPERATURE OF THE
MONTH OF 1 DEGREE OCCURRED ON DECEMBER 15TH. THE SECOND HALF OF
DECEMBER FEATURED MOSTLY NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES DUE TO A
SERIES OF WARM FRONTAL PASSAGES. THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED
THIS MONTH WAS ON DECEMBER 28TH WHEN THE HIGH REACHED 64 DEGREES!
THE 28TH WAS AN ANOMALOUSLY WARM DAY (TWO DEGREES SHY OF A RECORD
HIGH) WHEN TEMPERATURES SURGED INTO THE LOW TO MID 60S ACROSS THE
AREA AHEAD OF A STRONG COLD FRONT. DEWPOINTS ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE
28TH ALSO PEAKED AT 61 DEGREES IN SOUTH BEND, WHICH IS THE LATEST
OCCURRENCE IN THE CALENDAR YEAR OF A DEWPOINT AT OR ABOVE 60
DEGREES! ONCE THE COLD FRONT MOVED THROUGH ON THE EVENING OF THE
28TH, TEMPERATURES PLUMMETED FROM THE MID 60S TO THE MID TEENS IN 18
HOURS! THIS WAS QUITE A RARE PHENOMENON TO OCCUR IN DECEMBER; THIS
SHARP TEMPERATURE SHIFT IS MORE REMINISCENT OF EARLY FALL OR LATE
SPRING NOT DECEMEBER! OVERALL, DECEMBER WAS COLDER THAN NORMAL WITH
AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 27.2 DEGREES. THIS IS 2.4 DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 46TH COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. THIS WAS
THE COLDEST DECEMBER SINCE 2017.
SEVERAL CLIPPER SYSTEMS AND LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS IMPACTED THE
AREA, BRINGING LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW AMOUNTS THAT REALLY ADDED UP
OVER THE COURSE OF THE MONTH. TWO CLIPPER SYSTEMS AT THE VERY END OF
THE MONTH HELPED BOOST THE MONTHLY SNOW TOTAL TO SLIGHTLY BELOW
NORMAL FOR DECEMBER. THE SNOWIEST DAY THIS MONTH WAS DECEMBER 7TH
WHEN 2.7" FELL. TO GIVE SOME PERSEPECTIVE ON JUST HOW MUCH LACK OF
SNOWFALL THERE HAS BEEN IN THE PAST DECADE, THIS DAILY AMOUNT IS
MORE THAN THE TOTAL DECEMBER SNOWFALL THAT FELL IN 2018, 2021, AND
2023. OVERALL, THE MONTH FINISHED WITH 10.0 INCHES OF SNOW, WHICH IS
3.7 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS DECEMBER WAS THE 53RD LEAST SNOWY ON
RECORD. DESPITE THE MONTHLY TOTAL BEING BELOW AVERAGE, THIS WAS THE
SNOWIEST DECEMBER SINCE 15.4" FELL IN 2020.
THE OVERALL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION AMOUNT (LIQUID SNOW EQUIVALENT +
RAIN) WAS WELL ABOVE NORMAL THANKS TO HEAVY RAINFALL THAT OCCURRED
IN TWO ROUNDS ON DECEMBER 28TH. OVER HALF OF THE MONTH`S
PRECIPITATION FELL AS RAIN IN A SINGLE DAY! MORNING WIDESPREAD RAIN
SHOWERS IN SOUTH BEND GAVE WAY TO A SEVERE RISK IN THE AFTERNOON
AHEAD OF A STRONG COLD FRONT! HEAVY RAIN AND EVEN A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS BROUGHT A WHOPPING 1.90" OF RAIN IN 24 HOURS AT THE
SOUTH BEND AIRPORT! NOT ONLY WAS THIS A DAILY RECORD (PREVIOUS:
1.45" IN 2015), BUT DECEMBER 28TH ALSO SET THE HIGHEST DAILY
PRECIPITATION TOTAL FOR ALL OF 2025 IN SOUTH BEND! IT IS ALSO THE
HIGHEST SINGLE DAY TOTAL IN SOUTH BEND SINCE 4.30" OF RAIN FELL ON
JUNE 26, 2021! BEFORE THE RAINFALL ON THE 28TH, THE MONTH WAS
TRENDING WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR PRECIPITATION AS MUCH OF THE SNOW
THAT FELL IN DECEMBER WAS OF THE LIGHTER, FLUFFIER TYPE, WHICH LED
TO DRIER SNOW RATIOS. OVERALL, THANKS TO RECORD RAINFALL ON THE
28TH, THE MONTH FINISHED WITH 3.22 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH IS
0.82 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS WAS THE 45TH WETTEST DECEMBER ON
RECORD AND THE WETTEST SINCE 2021.
JOHNSON
$$