690
CXUS53 KIWX 011357
CLSSBN
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
957 AM EDT SUN JUN 01 2025
...............................
...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SEASON, FROM
3/1/2025 TO 5/31/2025...
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
NORMAL
..........................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 97 05/27/2012
LOW -13 03/08/1943
HIGHEST 89 05/15 MM MM 88
LOWEST 16 03/01 MM MM 21
AVG. MAXIMUM 61.7 58.5 3.2 64.3
AVG. MINIMUM 39.0 37.5 1.5 42.7
MEAN 50.3 48.0 2.3
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.7 -0.7 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 3.6 -3.6 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 27 30.6 -3.6 19
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.1 -0.1 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 19.83 1976
MINIMUM 4.24 1971
TOTALS 9.80 10.04 -0.24 12.10
DAILY AVG. 0.11 0.11 0.00 0.13
DAYS >= .01 31 39.2 -8.2 44
DAYS >= .10 20 21.4 -1.4 24
DAYS >= .50 8 6.8 1.2 8
DAYS >= 1.00 2 1.7 0.3 2
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.41
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 34.6 1960
24 HR TOTAL 3.4 03/03/2023 TO 03/03/2023
TOTALS 0.4 7.8 -7.4 0.4
SINCE 7/1 38.1 64.5 -26.4 MM
SNOWDEPTH AVG. T -1
DAYS >= TRACE 10 6.6 3.4 7
DAYS >= 1.0 0 2.3 -2.3 0
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH MM MM
24 HR TOTAL 0.4 03/05 TO 03/05
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1361 1624 -263 1092
SINCE 7/1 5583 6358 -775 MM
COOLING TOTAL 35 55 -20 61
SINCE 1/1 35 56 -21 MM
..........................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.3
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 45/200 DATE 03/30
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 61/180 DATE 03/30
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.44
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 41
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 28
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 21
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 63
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 13 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 12 RAIN 17
LIGHT RAIN 38 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 9 SLEET 0
FOG 37 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 2
HAZE 22
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
...SPRING 2025: WARM WITH NEAR NORMAL PRECIPITATION AND A LACK OF
SNOWFALL...
DESPITE A COOLER THAN NORMAL MAY, SPRING OVERALL WAS MUCH WARMER
THAN NORMAL. THERE WERE SEVERAL STRETCHES OF WARMER THAN NORMAL
TEMPERATURES (INCLUDING OVERNIGHT LOWS) IN MARCH AND APRIL THAT
HELPED BOOST THE OVERALL SPRING AVERAGE TEMPERATURE. THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE FROM MARCH TO MAY WAS 50.3 DEGREES, WHICH IS 2.3 DEGREES
ABOVE NORMAL. THIS TIES AS THE 23RD WARMEST SPRING ON RECORD.
RECORDS BEGAN IN 1893.
THIS SPRING WAS NOTABLY DRIER THAN LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS A TOP 25
WETTEST SPRING ON RECORD AND HAD AN ABUNDANCE OF PRECIPITATION. AT
THE START OF MARCH, MUCH OF THE AREA WAS EXPERIENCING D1 DROUGHT
CONDITIONS (MODERATE DROUGHT). DROUGHT GRADUALLY IMPROVED THROUGHOUT
MARCH AS A SERIES OF LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS TRACKED THROUGH THE GREAT
LAKES REGION. PERIODS OF DRY CONDITIONS IN APRIL AND MAY LED TO D1
CONDITIONS BEING REINTRODUCED ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHWEST AND NORTH-
CENTRAL INDIANA. BY THE END OF MAY, ABOUT 21% OF INDIANA WAS
EXPERIENCING D1 DROUGHT CONDITIONS. ONLY TWO DAYS THIS SPRING HAD
RAINFALL TOTALS OF OVER 1"; MARCH 4TH HAD 1.25" AND APRIL 2ND SAW
1.41" (AND WAS THE WETTEST DAY THIS SPRING). IN TOTAL, 9.80" OF
PRECIPITATION FELL FROM MARCH TO MAY, WHICH IS ONLY 0.24" BELOW
NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE DRIEST SPRING SINCE 2021.
WITH A WARMER THAN NORMAL SPRING, IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE THAT
SNOWFALL WAS NOTABLY LACKING. ONLY ONE DAY THIS SPIRNG HAD
MEASURABLE SNOWFALL; 0.4" OF SNOW FELL ON MARCH 5TH. WITH JUST 0.4"
OF SNOW YTOTAL THIS SPRING, THIS IS WELL BELOW THE NORMAL OF 7.8".
THIS IS THE SAME AMOUNT THAT FELL DURING SPRING 2024 AND TIES AS THE
4TH LEAST SNOWY SPRING ON RECORD.
A MONTH BY MONTH SUMMARY IS BELOW.
MARCH
..TOP 15 WARMEST AND WETTEST MARCH ON RECORD
MARCH 2025 WAS VERY MILD AND WET, WITH A NOTABLE AMOUNT OF RAIN BUT
A LACK OF SNOW. THE MONTH WAS NOTICEABLY WARMER THAN NORMAL, WITH
SEVERAL DAYS WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S TO MID 70S DURING THE
MIDDLE AND END OF THE MONTH. MANY THESE WARMER DAYS ALSO BROUGHT
ABOUT PERIODS OF ACTIVE WEATHER. THE MIDDLE TO END OF THE MONTH WAS
ESPECIALLY ACTIVE, WITH SEVERAL AREAS OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING THROUGH
THE MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES REGIONS. THESE AREAS OF LOW PRESSURE
BROUGHT PERIODS OF STORMS TO THE AREA, WITH SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRING
ON MARCH 19TH AND MARCH 30TH. STRAIGHTLINE WIND DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED
WITH BOTH SEVERE WEATHER EVENT AND A FEW ISOLATED TORNADOES OCCURRED
TOO.
MILD TEMPERATURES LED TO MARCH 2025 RANKING AS THE 14TH WARMEST ON
RECORD (RECORDS BEGAN IN 1893). THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 43.2
DEGREES, WHICH IS 6.5 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
OF 36.7 DEGREES. THE WARMEST HIGH TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH WAS 78
DEGREES, WHICH OCCURRED ON MARCH 14TH AND MARCH 28TH.
WITH ALL OF THE ACTIVE WEATHER TOWARDS THE LATTER HALF OF THE MONTH,
PRECIPITATION WAS NOT HARD TO COME BY IN SOUTH BEND. AN ASTOUNDING
5.16" OF PRECIPITATION FELL THIS MONTH, WHICH IS 2.81" ABOVE NORMAL
AND RANKS AS THE 7TH WETTEST MARCH ON RECORD! THE HIGHEST DAILY
PRECIPITATION TOTAL OCCURRED ON MARCH 4TH WHEN 1.25" FELL. THIS SET
A NEW DAILY RECORD RAINFALL FOR MARCH 4TH, AS THE 1.25" MEASURED
BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 1.18" SET IN 1976. THERE WERE ALSO
SEVERAL DAYS THIS MONTH WITH RAIN TOTALS AT OR OVER A HALF INCH THAT
HELPED CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL TOTAL. SOUTH BEND HAS ONLY HAD A
MONTHLY PRECIPITATION TOTAL OF 5" OR MORE IN MARCH 8 TIMES IN THE
CITY'S 132-YEAR HISTORY OF RECORDS.
WITH SUCH MILD TEMPERATURES THIS MONTH, IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT
SNOWFALL WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LACKING. IN FACT, ONLY ONE DAY HAS
MEASURABLE SNOW IN THE ENTIRE MONTH. 0.4" FELL ON MARCH 4TH, WHICH
IS THE ENTIRE MONTHLY TOTAL. THIS IS 6.4" BELOW NORMAL FOR THE MONTH
AND TIES WITH 2024 FOR THE 11TH LEAST SNOWY MARCH ON RECORD. WHILE
THERE CAN BE SNOWSTORMS IN MARCH, THEY HAVE BEEN HARD TO COME BY IN
THE PAST DECADE. WITH THE LARGE TEMPERATURE SWINGS THAT TYPICALLY
OCCUR IN THE TRANSITION FROM WINTER TO SPRING, IT IS ALSO NOT
UNUSUAL TO HAVE A LACK OF SNOW IN MARCH. THE LAST TIME MARCH
SNOWFALL WAS ABOVE NORMAL IN SOUTH BEND WAS IN 2023; IN THE PAST 25
YEARS, ONLY 9 YEARS HAVE HAS MARCH SNOWFALL ABOVE AVERAGE.
APRIL
..SOMEWHAT MILD WITH BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ON THE SECOND SPAWNED EIGHT TORNADOES ACROSS
INDIANA, SOUTHERN MICHIGAN AND NORTHWEST OHIO. THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH WERE COMMON, DOWNING TREES AND POWERLINES
AS WELL. THIS WAS ALSO WHEN 1.41 INCHES OF RAIN WAS RECORDED AT
SOUTH BEND; A NEW RECORD SURPASSING THE PREVIOUS TOTAL OF 1.07
INCHES IN 1975. A PROGRESSIVE WEATHER PATTERN BROUGHT FREQUENT RAIN
(AND EVEN SNOW) CHANCES EARLY ON IN APRIL ALONG WITH LARGE
TEMPERATURE SWINGS AS IS TYPICAL FOR SPRING IN THE MIDWEST.
TEMPERATURES TENDED TO BE BELOW NORMAL IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE
MONTH FOLLOWED BY A NOTABLE WARM UP IN THE FINAL TEN DAYS. THREE
DAYS THIS MONTH RECORDED A TEMPERATURE OF 80 OR WARMER; A COMMON
OCCURRENCE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 49.7 DEGREES WHICH IS 1.6
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 45TH WARMEST ON RECORD.
PRECIPITATION TOTALED 2.56 INCHES WHICH IS 0.93 INCHES BELOW NORMAL
AND RANKS AS THE 47TH DRIEST ON RECORD. A TRACE OF SNOW WAS RECORDED
WHICH IS 1 INCH BELOW NORMAL.
MAY
..NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES WITH A LACK OF RAINFALL
THE MOST NOTABLE FEATURE THIS MONTH WAS THE WIDESPREAD STRONG 40 TO
70 MPH WINDS THAT MOVED THROUGH ON THE 16TH. A 55 MPH GUST WAS
RECORDED AT THE SOUTH BEND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. ADDITIONALLY, A
PLUME OF DUST FROM CROP FIELDS WAS KICKED UP AND IT REDUCED
VISIBILITY AT KSBN TO 1/4 MI AT 8:20 PM ET AS IT WENT NORTHWARD.
REDUCED VISIBILITY WAS MOST COMMON IN AREAS WEST OF US-31. 70 DEGREE
DEW POINTS ON THE 15TH WERE REPLACED BY A DRIER AREA OF 40 AND 50
DEGREE DEW POINTS ON THE 16TH AND THIS DRIER AIRMASS HELPED FACTOR
INTO THE STRONG WIND GUSTS OBSERVED AS A PLAINS-LIKE INVERTED-V
PROFILE SETUP OCCURRED. ONLY 0.04 INCH AND 0.02 INCH OF RAINFALL
WERE OBSERVED ON THE 15TH AND 16TH RESPECTIVELY.
AS FOR TEMPERATURE, THIS MONTH FINISHED JUST SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL.
TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH AVERAGED NORMAL
TO ABOVE NORMAL, WHEREAS THE LATTER HALF OF THE MONTH (THE 18TH
THROUGH 31ST) WAS MUCH COOLER AND THIS REALLY HELPED TO AVERAGE
THINGS OUT. OVERALL, THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 58.1 DEGREES, WHICH
IS 1.0 DEGREE BELOW NORMAL. THIS MONTH RANKED AS THE 52ND COOLEST
MAY ON RECORD. RECORDS BEGAN IN 1893.
PRECIPITATION-WISE, THIS MONTH FINISHED WELL BELOW NORMAL. ONLY 2
DAYS THIS MONTH HAD RAIN TOTALS AT OR GREATER THAN A HALF INCH; THE
WETTEST DAY THIS MONTH WAS MAY 20TH WITH A TOTAL OF 0.53" OF
PRECIPITATION. IN TOTAL, 2.08" OF PRECIPITATION FELL THIS MONTH,
WHICH IS 2.12" BELOW NORMAL. THIS TIES FOR THE 28TH DRIEST MAY ON
RECORD.
BROWN/JOHNSON/ROLLER
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