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Indiana: The Race For NOT The Hottest Summer(s) On Record


Chicago WX

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Before the first heat wave in late June, I told Hoosier that I thought this Summer would go down as the hottest on record for the state of Indiana (statewide average, which is 77.5º in 1936 by the way). From my research for Indiana, heat waves this early in the season (and warm temps overall) tend to have repeat performances the rest of the way. The course this Summer takes is TBD of course...but I'm feeling "lucky".

So it got me thinking about the four longterm stations in Indiana, and their respective hottest Summers on record. I created a spreadsheet to track the progress about a week and a half ago. That being said, I thought I'd start a thread here so everyone that may be interested, which probably isn't many :lol: , can keep track. The only fly in the ointment is that Indy's hottest Summer on record is 1874, beating 1936 by 0.1º, and I have no access to the dailies for 1874. I'm going to cheat and use 1936 as the comparison for Indianapolis...so keep that in mind. I will update the full month averages for 1874 versus 2012 when they become available (through the end of June, 2012 is getting it taken to). Data I'm using for this exercise was/is found via NCDC and the local NWS websites. I hope to update this as often as I can.

Hottest Summers On Record

Evansville: 81.2º in 1936

Fort Wayne: 76.4º in 1983

South Bend: 76.3º in 1983

Indianapolis: 78.6º in 1874 (78.5 in 1936)

Below for each site: average max temperature/average min temperature/average temperature (June 1 - July 4 for both years).

Evansville

2012: 91.5º/63.2º/77.3º

1936: 88.6º/65.6º/77.1º

Fort Wayne

2012: 87.4º/59.1º/73.2º

1983: 83.7º/61.9º/72.8º

South Bend

2012: 85.3º/60.5º/72.9º

1983: 82.3º/63.0º/72.7º

Indianapolis

2012: 87.8º/63.9º/75.9º

1936: 84.7º/60.8º/72.7º

June 2012: 86.5º/62.7º/74.6º

June 1874: 86.5º/71.9º/79.2º

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Number of 90º+ days and 100º+ days at each site, June 1 through July 4 for each year.

Evansville

2012: 19/6

1936: 19/3

Fort Wayne

2012: 16/2

1983: 8/0

South Bend

2012: 13/2

1983: 7/0

Indianapolis

2012: 16/3

1936: 9/0

June 2012: 12/2

June 1874: N/A

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I guess I could've thrown this in the other thread but I'll put it here since it's more of a seasonal post. With tomorrow looking like a lock to be the 5th 100 degree day at LAF this year, I went back and looked at other years that had at least 5 100 degree days before July 10. Had to use West Lafayette COOP records for the early years as Tim is well aware, so it's not perfect but anyhow, 2012 joins an elite list of years with 1911, 1931, 1934, 1936 and 1988 being the only other years with this many 100 degree days by July 10. 4 out of those 5 years went on to produce additional 100 degree days. The exception was 1911 which produced a 99 degree day later that summer.

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I guess I could've thrown this in the other thread but I'll put it here since it's more of a seasonal post. With tomorrow looking like a lock to be the 5th 100 degree day at LAF this year, I went back and looked at other years that had at least 5 100 degree days before July 10. Had to use West Lafayette COOP records for the early years as Tim is well aware, so it's not perfect but anyhow, 2012 joins an elite list of years with 1911, 1931, 1934, 1936 and 1988 being the only other years with this many 100 degree days by July 10. 4 out of those 5 years went on to produce additional 100 degree days. The exception was 1911 which produced a 99 degree day later that summer.

Just so we have the numbers, 100º+ days from July 10 onward for each year. COOP for 1911, 1931, 1934, 1936, and LAF for 1988. As an aside, the WL COOP only had one 100º temp in the summer of 1988 (103º on 6/25).

1911: 0

1931: 2

1934: 10

1936: 12

1988: 1

In 1934, we still had this left, July 20-26...

108º, 109º, 107º, 110º, 109º, 110º, 100º

In 1936, we were in the midst of the hottest stretch. Max temps from July 5-17...

104º, 103º, 108º, 109º, 103º, 107º, 108º, 110º, 110º, 111º, 105º, 101º, 103º

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Just so we have the numbers, 100º+ days from July 10 onward for each year. COOP for 1911, 1931, 1934, 1936, and LAF for 1988. As an aside, the WL COOP only had one 100º temp in the summer of 1988 (103º on 6/25).

1911: 0

1931: 2

1934: 10

1936: 12

1988: 1

In 1934, we still had this left, July 20-26...

108º, 109º, 107º, 110º, 109º, 110º, 100º

In 1936, we were in the midst of the hottest stretch. Max temps from July 5-17...

104º, 103º, 108º, 109º, 103º, 107º, 108º, 110º, 110º, 111º, 105º, 101º, 103º

Taking a look at the number of 90 degree days after July 10 for those years:

1911: 17

1931: 37

1934: 28

1936: 46

1988: 28

2012: ???

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Something I put together awhile back. Summer of 1936 statistics for selected sites in Indiana.

Temperatures, precipitation, and departures as per the NCDC files from where I got the numbers.

Note: number of 90º+ days does include 100º+ days, or is the total of every day of 90º+...whichever way you want to say it.

June 1936


July 1936




August 1936


June-July-August 1936

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Years with the most 100º+ days for Indianapolis, since 1897.

12 in 1936

10 in 1934

6 in 2012 (through July 8)

5 in 1988

4 in 1954

3 in 1901, 1930, and 1953

2 in 1911, 1916, 1939, and 2011

1 in 1913, 1914, 1918, 1940, 1941, 1952, and 1980

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June 2012 (71.4) was the 43rd 49th warmest on record for Indiana. Ho hum. But here's the list of the top 10 warmest Junes below...

76.8 in 1934

76.6 in 1933

75.9 in 1952

75.5 in 1921

75.1 in 1953

75.0 in 1943 and 1944

74.6 in 1919

74.4 in 1954

74.3 in 1971

74.2 in 1914 and 2010

July 2012 no doubt, will be top 10 material. That list of the top 10 warmest for Indiana below...

80.9 in 1936

80.6 in 1911

80.1 in 1934

79.7 in 1921

78.9 in 1955

78.8 in 2011

78.6 in 1916

78.0 in 1949 and 1983

77.9 in 1931

77.7 in 1999

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Years with the most 100º+ days for Indianapolis, since 1897.

12 in 1936

10 in 1934

6 in 2012 (through July 8)

5 in 1988

4 in 1954

3 in 1901, 1930, and 1953

2 in 1911, 1916, 1939, and 2012

1 in 1913, 1914, 1918, 1940, 1941, 1952, and 1980

I appreciate you posting these. Although I like to witness weather extremes, I'm hoping they don't catch '34 and '36. By the way, I noticed that you have 2012 listed as 2 100° days. Is that 2011?

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I appreciate you posting these. Although I like to witness weather extremes, I'm hoping they don't catch '34 and '36. By the way, I noticed that you have 2012 listed as 2 100° days. Is that 2011?

Thanks. Me either. And yep, good catch...my fingers type too fast for my brain sometimes. ;)

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Guess I'll put this here, considering it's part of the theme of this thread...record breaking things for Indiana this Summer. It had originally looked like storms and/or cloud debris may break IND's 90º streak, but it now looks like it may march on as precip chances have taken a turn for the worse. Point and click for IND is 90 and 88 for today and tomorrow. If they get past the next two days with 90's, this record may be put so far out of reach...well, it could get silly.

16 consecutive days and counting of days with 90º+ at IND. Longest such streaks for Indianapolis below.

23 days: July 17-August 8, 2011

19 days: August 8-26, 1936

18 days: July 13-30, 1901

16 days: June 27-July 12, 2012

15 days: July 3-17, 1936

14 days: July 31-August 13, 2007

14 days: July 11-24, 1983

14 days: July 7-20, 1980

14 days: June 23-July 6, 1966

13 days: August 18-30, 1983

13 days: July 19-31, 1940

Of course not to forget Fort Wayne, as they've already broken their old consecutive days of 90º+ streak. It stands at 16 currently, and counting...

16 days: June 27-July 12, 2012

14 days: July 11-24, 1983

12 days: July 19-30, 1940

12 days: July 7-18, 1936

11 days: July 20-30, 1959

11 days: June 29-July 9, 1897

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Another record for Indianapolis that seems like it will be broken, years with the most days of 90º+.

58 days in 1983

55 days in 1936

50 days in 1954

49 days in 1988

46 days in 1934

Number of days of 90º+ for each year above, including this year, through July 12.

2012: 27 days

1983: 9 days

1936: 18 days

1954: 25 days

1988: 26 days

1934: 25 days

Obviously 1983 was off to a slow start compared to the other years listed above, but it went crazy thereafter. 2012 is leading all five of the years through July 12. I'll make a completely uneducated and possibly irrational guess, and say 2012 will finish somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 days.

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90º+ day streaks that are ongoing in Indiana through today. Bloomington, Indianapolis Eagle Creek, and Shelbyville all had theirs end today.

Fort Wayne: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

Indianapolis: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

Terre Haute: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

Also of note, every day this month has had a max temp of 90º+ at IND. The record for the most in July for Indianapolis is 25 set in 1901. Another record that has a good chance at being broken.

Most 90º+ days in July (since 1897)

25 days in 1901

22 days in 1983

21 days in 1916, 1921

20 days in 1919, 2011

19 days in 1934, 1936, 1966

18 days in 1914

17 days in 1913, 1954, 1980

16 days in 1988, 1999

15 days in 1930, 1933, 1940, 1952, 2002

14 days in 1931, 1944, 1977,

13 days in 1935, 1941, 1942, 1949, 1955, 2012 (thru 7/13)

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This being a look back at history, but back on July 14, 1936...the highest temperature ever recorded in the state of Indiana happened: 116º in Collegeville.

I don't know this as a fact, but this may be the hottest day (max temps) for the state of Indiana in recorded history.

Other maximum temperatures on July 14, 1936 across Indiana.

Collegeville: 116º

Salamonia: 112º

Seymour: 112º

Veedersburg: 112º

Wheatfield: 112º

Whitestown: 112º

Bluffton: 111º

Jeffersonville: 111º

Lafayette: 111º

Vincennes: 111º

Bedford: 110º

Bloomington: 110º

Columbus: 110º

Huntington: 110º

Kokomo: 110º

Princeton: 110º

Terre Haute: 110º

Washington: 110º

Greenfield: 109º

Rockville: 109º

Frankfort: 108º

Huntingburg: 108º

Marion: 108º

Shelbyville: 108º

South Bend: 108º

Evansville: 106º

Fort Wayne: 106º

Indianapolis: 106º

Angola: 106º

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This being a look back at history, but back on July 14, 1936...the highest temperature ever recorded in the state of Indiana happened: 116º in Collegeville.

You know, I got curious and looked up where this so called "Collegeville" was located. I've heard you and Ryan talk about it several times in the past so I figured it would be helpful to refresh myself on the geography of Indiana. Who knew it was in my own back yard (well, county anyways). I didn't know that area was called "Collegeville". I've always just designated it as another area of Rensselaer. Learn something new every day I suppose.

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You know, I got curious and looked up where this so called "Collegeville" was located. I've heard you and Ryan talk about it several times in the past so I figured it would be helpful to refresh myself on the geography of Indiana. Who knew it was in my own back yard (well, county anyways). I didn't know that area was called "Collegeville". I've always just designated it as another area of Rensselaer. Learn something new every day I suppose.

I had no idea either. Interesting that the highest temp ever recorded in the state was so far north in Indiana.

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And that's it for HUF and IND, as they both fail to hit 90º today. FWA, who hit 92º today, going to have to carry the torch for now.

Fort Wayne: June 27-July 14 (18 days)

Indianapolis: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

Terre Haute: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

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And that's it for HUF and IND, as they both fail to hit 90º today. FWA, who hit 92º today, going to have to carry the torch for now.

Fort Wayne: June 27-July 14 (18 days)

Indianapolis: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

Terre Haute: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

Such a crappy ending, I mean if we had only hit 80 or 85 I would be ok with it. But when it ends with a high of 89F, so close but so far away.. :lol:

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Updated: averages through July 14.

Hottest Summers On Record

Evansville: 81.2º in 1936

Fort Wayne: 76.4º in 1983

South Bend: 76.3º in 1983

Indianapolis: 78.6º in 1874 (78.5 in 1936)

Below for each site: average max temperature/average min temperature/average temperature (June 1 - July 14 for both years).

Evansville

2012: 92.7º/65.1º/78.9º

1936: 91.9º/68.7º/80.3º

Fort Wayne

2012: 88.9º/61.0º/75.0º

1983: 84.2º/61.5º/72.8º

South Bend

2012: 87.2º/62.3º/74.7º

1983: 82.8º/62.9º/72.8º

Indianapolis

2012: 89.8º/66.1º/77.9º

1936: 88.7º/64.7º/76.7º

June 2012: 86.5º/62.7º/74.6º

June 1874: 86.5º/71.9º/79.2º

Total number of 90º+ and 100º+ days for each Summer (June 1 - July 14 for both years).

Evansville

2012: 26/10

1936: 29/11

Fort Wayne

2012: 26/5

1983: 13/0

South Bend

2012: 19/4

1983: 10/0

Indianapolis

2012: 25/6

1936: 19/8

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And that's it for HUF and IND, as they both fail to hit 90º today. FWA, who hit 92º today, going to have to carry the torch for now.

Fort Wayne: June 27-July 14 (18 days)

Indianapolis: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

Terre Haute: June 27-July 13 (17 days)

The streak continues for Fort Wayne. Already hit 90.

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One more warmth record to track for IND - 17 straight days (including today) of the temperature not dropping below 70. The record is 20 days set 6/26 - 7/15 1921.

EDIT: That's not including today. With a low of 72 so far, after today the streak will be 18 days.

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Just finished my research on 90º/100º days for Evansville. Since 1897, the highest yearly amount of 90º+ days is 84 set back in 1936. The highest number of 100º+ days is 23, also set in 1936.

Highest number of 90º+ days

84 days in 1936

78 days in 1953, 1954, and 1983

77 days in 2010

74 days in 1935

70 days in 1921 and 1980

Highest number of 100º+ days

23 days in 1936

17 days in 1930

10 days in 2012

9 days in 1952 and 1988

8 days in 1954 and 1983

6 days in 1913, 1918, 1925, and 2007

2012 through today

90º+ days: 35

100º+ days: 10

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