Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
774
CXUS53 KIWX 011622
CLSSBN
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
1222 PM EDT MON JUN 01 2026
...................................
...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SEASON, FROM
3/1/2026 TO 5/31/2026...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1893 TO 2026
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE
NORMAL
..............................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 97 05/27/2012
LOW -13 03/08/1943
HIGHEST 85 05/17 MM MM 89
LOWEST 16 03/17 MM MM 16
AVG. MAXIMUM 63.2 58.5 4.7 61.7
AVG. MINIMUM 40.7 37.5 3.2 39.0
MEAN 52.0 48.0 4.0
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.7 -0.7 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 1 3.6 -2.6 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 21 30.6 -9.6 27
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.1 -0.1 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 19.83 1976
MINIMUM 4.24 1971
TOTALS 13.46 10.04 3.42 9.80
DAILY AVG. 0.15 0.11 0.04 0.11
DAYS >= .01 38 39.2 -1.2 31
DAYS >= .10 28 21.4 6.6 20
DAYS >= .50 12 6.8 5.2 8
DAYS >= 1.00 4 1.7 2.3 2
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.55
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 34.6 1960
24 HR TOTAL 3.4 03/03/2023 TO 03/03/2023
TOTALS 3.7 7.8 -4.1 0.4
SINCE 7/1 94.8 64.5 30.3 38.1
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 -1
DAYS >= TRACE 6 6.6 -0.6 10
DAYS >= 1.0 2 2.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 1 03/17 MM
24 HR TOTAL 2.1 03/16 TO 03/16
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1236 1624 -388 1361
SINCE 7/1 5849 6358 -509 5583
COOLING TOTAL 59 55 4 35
SINCE 1/1 59 56 3 35
..............................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.4
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 55/140 DATE 04/27
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 70/140 DATE 04/27
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.43
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 42
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 32
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 18
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 68
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 19 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 18 RAIN 23
LIGHT RAIN 44 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 5 SLEET 0
FOG 52 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 6
HAZE 14
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
...A TOP 10 WARMEST AND WETTEST SPRING...
A WARM AND SOGGY FIRST HALF OF SPRING IN MARCH AND APRIL
TRANSITIONED TO A COOLER AND DRIER MAY. DESPITE COOLER THAN NORMAL
TEMPERATURES IN MAY, SPRING WAS OVERALL MUCH WARMER THAN NORMAL.
THERE WERE SEVERAL STRETCHES OF WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES
(INCLUDING OVERNIGHT LOWS) IN MARCH AND APRIL THAT HELPED TO BOOST
THE OVERALL SPRING AVERAGE TEMPERATURE. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FROM
MARCH TO MAY WAS 52.0 DEGREES WHICH WAS 4.0 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL
AND RANKS AS THE 8TH WARMEST SPRING ON RECORD. RECORDS BEGAN IN 1893.
THIS SPRING WAS NOTABLY WETTER THAN LAST YEAR, WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF
PRECIPITATION PARTICULARLY IN MARCH AND APRIL. AS A SERIES OF LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEMS TRACKED THROUGH THE MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES
REGIONS, AN EARLY START TO SEVERE WEATHER SEASON WAS OBSERVED FROM
MID MARCH TO LATE APRIL. SEVERAL SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS OCCURRED IN
THIS TIMEFRAME, BRINGING LARGE HAIL, DAMAGING WINDS, AND EVEN A FEW
ISOLATED TORNADOES TO THE AREA. THIS ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN
EXACERBATED RIVER FLOODING AND ALLOWED FOR MANY AREA RIVERS TO RISE
INTO MINOR FLOOD STAGE. MAY WAS MUCH DRIER, ESPECIALLY AS AN OMEGA
BLOCK SET UP OVER THE GREAT LAKES BY THE END OF THE MONTH. THE
WETTEST DAY THIS SPRING WAS MARCH 6TH WITH 1.19" OF PRECIPITATION.
OTHER DAYS THIS SPRING THAT HAD OVER AN INCH OF PRECIPITATION IN A
SINGLE DAY WERE MARCH 15TH (1.09"), APRIL 4TH (1.02"), AND APRIL
27TH (1.13"). IN TOTAL, 13.46" OF PRECIPITATION FELL FROM MARCH
THROUGH MAY, WHICH IS 3.42" ABOVE NORMAL. THIS RANKS IN THE TOP 10
WETTEST SPRINGS ON RECORD. (NOTE THAT THERE ARE 6 DAYS OF MISSING
DATA: MARCH 17, APRIL 17, APRIL 22, APRIL 29, MAY 16, AND MAY 22)
WITH A WARMER THAN NORMAL SPRING, IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE THAT
SNOWFALL WAS LACKING. ALL OF THE MEASURABLE SNOWFALL THIS SPRING
FELL IN MARCH. OVERALL, 3.7" OF SNOW FELL, WHICH WAS 4.1" BELOW
NORMAL (NOTE THAT THERE IS ONE DAY OF MISSING DATA ON MARCH 22).
THIS TIES FOR THE 23RD LEAST SNOWY SPRING ON RECORD.
A MONTH BY MONTH SUMMARY IS BELOW:
....TOP 10 WETTEST AND WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD....
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 SOUTH BEND, MARCH WAS NOTICEABLY
WARMER THAN NORMAL WITH NUMEROUS DAYS HAVING HIGHS IN THE 60S AND
70S. MARCH WAS SO MILD, IN FACT, THAT THERE WERE 4 DAYS THIS MONTH
WITH DAILY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES OVER 20 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 77 ON MARCH 26TH, A
HIGH OF ONLY 39 DEGREES WAS RECORDED THE FOLLOWING DAY. VERY WARM
TEMPERATURES LED TO AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH OF 44.1
DEGREES, WHICH IS 7.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. MARCH 2026 TIES WITH
2024 FOR THE 7TH WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD. RECORDS BEGAN IN 1893.
THIS IS THE WARMEST MARCH SINCE 2012.
SEVERAL NEW TEMPERATURES RECORDS WERE SET THIS MONTH. THEY ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
- MARCH 6TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 77 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 71 IN 1973)
- MARCH 9TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 73 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 70 IN 2000)
- TIED MARCH 10TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 69 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 69 IN
2021)
- MARCH 10TH RECORD WARM LOW: 56 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 53 IN 2021)
- TIED MARCH 30TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 77 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 77 IN
1943)
BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN THIS MONTH, SOUTH BEND SAW
ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION THIS MONTH! THERE 14 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION THIS MONTH, BUT IT REALLY ADDED UP FAST! TWO DAYS THIS
MONTH HAD OVER AN INCH OF RAIN: A RECORD RAINFALL OF 1.19 " ON MARCH
6TH (OLD RECORD; 1.06" IN 1908)) AND 1.09" INCHES FELL ON MARCH
15TH. MARCH 10TH FELL JUST SHY WITH 0.99". OVER HALF OF THE MONTH`S
PRECIPITATION FELL IN JUST THOSE 3 DAYS! THERE WERE ALSO SEVERAL
OTHER DAYS THIS MONTH WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN 0.25-0.75
INCHES. IN TOTAL, MARCH HAD 5.32" OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH IS 2.97"
ABOVE NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 7TH WETTEST ON RECORD. THIS IS THE
WETTEST MARCH SINCE 2023.
UNSURPRISINGLY, SNOWFALL WAS HARD TO COME BY WITH SUCH MILD
TEMPERATURES. MEASURABLE SNOWFALL FELL ON JUST FOUR DAYS THIS MONTH;
THE SNOWIEST DAY WAS MARCH 16TH WITH 2.1". WITH A TOTAL OF 3.7" FOR
THE ENTIRE MONTH, THIS IS 4.1" BELOW NORMAL. MARCH 2026 RANKS AS THE
46TH LEAST SNOWY ON RECORD. THIS IS THE 3RD CONSECUTIVE MARCH ON
RECORD WITH BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL.
...7TH WARMEST AND 5TH WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD...
A PROGRESSIVE UPPER-AIR PATTERN RESULTED IN A NUMBER OF STORMS AND
HEAVY RAIN THIS MONTH. RIGHT AWAY, THE FIRST FOUR DAYS OF APRIL
BROUGHT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND 1.97 INCHES OF RAIN. THIS RESULTED
IN IMMEDIATE RISES ON AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS SENDING THEM INTO
MINOR OR EVEN MODERATE FLOOD STAGE. AS WATER LEVELS RECEDED, AN
ADDITIONAL 1.70 INCHES OF RAIN FELL FROM THE 13TH THROUGH 16TH,
RESULTING IN RENEWED RISES ON AREA WATER WAYS. ONE MORE WALLOP OF
HEAVY RAIN OCCURRED ON THE 27TH (1.13). WHAT WAS MORE IMPRESSIVE
THAT DAY WAS THE WAKE LOW THAT MOVED THROUGH, PRODUCING A 70MPH WIND
GUST AT SOUTH BEND! A 6 MB PRESSURE DROP WAS RECORDED IN ONE HOUR
AND A NUMBER OF TREES WERE DOWNED IN THE GREATER SOUTH BEND AREA,
WITH DAMAGE NOTED AS FAR EAST AS CENTREVILLE, MI. ONE TORNADO WAS
CONFIRMED ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF SOUTH BEND (GERMAN TOWNSHIP) ON
APRIL 18TH. WITH SUCH AN ACTIVE APRIL FOR SEVERE WEATHER, NWS
NORTHERN INDIANA ISSUED 58 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS AND 6
TORNADO WARNINGS ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA, FAR SOUTHERN MICHIGAN, AND
NORTHWEST OHIO. THIS IS MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PREVIOUS RECORD FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS FOR OUR FORECAST AREA, WHICH WAS 28 IN
2001.
TOTAL RAINFALL THIS MONTH WAS 6.44 INCHES. THIS RANKS AS THE 5TH
WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD AND IS THE WETTEST SINCE 7.24 INCHES IN
2011. THE WETTEST DAY THIS MONTH WAS APRIL 27TH WITH 1.13".
WHILE THERE WERE EPISODES OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES, INCLUDING AT
LEAST ONE FROSTY MORNING (23 DEGREES ON APRIL 7TH), TEMPERATURES
WERE UNSEASONABLY WARM FOR THE MONTH. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF
53.8 DEGREES RANKS AS THE 7TH WARMEST ON RECORD AND IS THE WARMEST
APRIL SINCE 2010. ONE TEMPERATURE RECORD WAS TIED THIS MONTH: WARM
LOW TEMPERATURE OF 59 ON THE 14TH TIED THE RECORD SET IN 1959.
LASTLY, THERE WERE 5 DAYS THIS MONTH WITH A HIGH OF AT LEAST 80
DEGREES. THIS TIES AS THE 3RD MOST ON RECORD, MATCHING 2023 FOR
NUMBER OF 80-DEGREE DAYS. THE WARMEST DAY THIS MONTH WAS APRIL 14TH
WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 82 DEGREES.
NO SNOW WAS RECORDED THIS MONTH, WHICH IS 1 INCH BELOW NORMAL. THIS
WAS THE 4TH CONSECUTIVE APRIL WITHOUT MEASURABLE SNOW. THIS WAS THE
6TH TIME ON RECORD THAT NO SNOW (NOT EVEN A TRACE) WAS RECORDED IN
SOUTH BEND IN APRIL.
...A COOLER AND DRIER THAN NORMAL MAY...
ON THE HEELS OF A VERY WARM AND WET APRIL, MAY BEGAN ON A CHILLY
NOTE WITH 13 OF THE FIRST 15 DAYS RECORDING BELOW-NORMAL DAILY
TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES. INSTANCES OF LOWS NEAR OR BELOW FREEZING
RESULTED IN PATCHY FROST, VERY NEAR WHEN WE TYPICALLY EXPERIENCE OUR
FINAL SPRING FROST. A NEW RECORD LOW OF 28 DEGREES WAS SET IN SOUTH
BEND ON MAY 2ND, BREAKING THE PREVIOUS DAILY RECORD OF 29 DEGREES
SET IN 1907. THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH FEATURED FOUR CONSECUTIVE
DAYS WITH HIGHS IN THE 80S (16TH THROUGH 19TH) FOLLOWED BY A STRONG
COLD FRONT THAT SENT DAILY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BACK BELOW NORMAL.
THE MONTH ENDED WITH AN OMEGA BLOCK OVER THE MIDWEST BRINGING WARM
AND DRY CONDITIONS. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 58.0
DEGREES, WHICH WAS 1.1 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND TIES FOR THE 50TH
COOLEST MAY ON RECORD. THIS WAS THE COOLEST MAY SINCE 2019.
RAIN DURING MAY WAS GENERALLY LIGHT, WITH THE HIGHEST SINGLE DAY
TOTAL BEING 0.31" ON MAY 23RD. WITH A LACK OF WIDESPREAD, HEAVY
RAINFALL, THIS ALLOWED AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS TO FALL OUT OF ACTION
OR MINOR FLOOD STAGE. DRIER CONDITIONS BEGAN TO DEVELOP BY THE END
OF THE MONTH WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED OMEGA BLOCK LEADING TO NO
PRECIPITATION BEING MEASURED AT SOUTH BEND FROM MAY 25TH THROUGH THE
31ST. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 1.70 INCHES FOR THE MONTH AT SOUTH BEND
(NOTE: MISSING DATA ON THE 16TH AND 22ND). 1.70 INCHES IS 2.50
INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND RANKS WITHIN THE TOP 20 DRIEST ON RECORD.
NO SNOW WAS RECORDED AT SOUTH BEND THIS MONTH, BUT OTHER OBSERVERS
IN THE AREA DID RECORD A TRACE OF SNOW ON THE 1ST.
BROWN/JOHNSON
$$