2014-15 Indiana Winter/Spring Stats

[Hoosier]

IND still going with -3˚ for LAF overnight. 

 

 

 

lol, you gotta be kidding me.  It's one thing to double post in the storm threads...

[Hoosier]

IND going with -2F for IND.  If they go below zero, it would be the first occurrence in March since 1984.

[Chicago WX]

Well, IND is going with -3F for LAF tonight.

 

[Hoosier]

List of below zero March temperatures for Indianapolis.  It's a pretty exclusive list as it's only happened 10 times since 1871 and none of these occurred at the old site downtown.  Will 2015 be added to the list?

 

 

3/3/1943:  -5F

3/7/1943:  -1F

3/8/1943:  -6F

3/12/1948: -5F

3/1/1960:  -4F

3/6/1960:  -6F

3/2/1963:  -2F

3/5/1978:  -1F

3/2/1980:  -7F

3/9/1984:  -1F

[Chicago WX]

I'll go with IND fail. 2˚ will be the min.

 

Of course, BMG will probably be -14˚ or something.

[Hoosier]

I'll go with IND fail. 2˚ will be the min.

 

Of course, BMG will probably be -14˚ or something.

 

 

IND is no LAF when it comes to radiating.  I'll say they do it, but I'd be lying if I said I had high confidence.

 

I'm really interested to see what those areas farther south do with the new snowcover.

[Chicago WX]

There was no need to fret after all...LAF got down to -6˚ this morning.

 

IND though failed, with 2˚ being the min temp.

 

Other min temps this morning as of 7:00am:

Frankfort -13˚

Crawfordsville -8˚

Monticello -6˚

Terre Haute -6˚

La Porte -5˚

Huntington -4˚

Peru/Grissom -4˚

Zionsville -4˚

Fort Wayne -3˚

Shelbyville -2˚

Valparaiso -2˚

Bloomington -1˚

Goshen -1˚

South Bend -1˚

Evansville 0˚

Huntingburg 0˚

[IWXwx]

There was no need to fret after all...LAF got down to -6˚ this morning.

 

IND though failed, with 2˚ being the min temp.

 

Other min temps this morning as of 7:00am:

Frankfort -13˚

Crawfordsville -8˚

Monticello -6˚

Terre Haute -6˚

La Porte -5˚

Huntington -4˚

Peru/Grissom -4˚

Zionsville -4˚

Fort Wayne -3˚

Shelbyville -2˚

Valparaiso -2˚

Bloomington -1˚

Goshen -1˚

South Bend -1˚

Evansville 0˚

Huntingburg 0˚

 

No surprise there. It seems that their weenies are always frozen. 

[Chicago WX]

No surprise there. It seems that their weenies are always frozen. 

 

lol yeah...Hot Dogs. But, highest snow totals/biggest cold in central Indiana.

[Chicago WX]

For Evansville, today was only the 5th time in their recorded history that the min temp was 0˚ or colder in March.

 

The other 4 times:

-3˚ on March 4, 1978

-6˚ on March 5, 1978

0˚ on March 5, 1960

-9˚ on March 6, 1960

 

18th time in recorded history that Fort Wayne had a below zero min temp in March. It is also the first time ever that back-to-back Marches had below zero temps (March 2014 had 3). 

 

And for South Bend, this is the 14th March sub-zero temp in history. And like FWA, first time it's happened in consecutive Marches.

[Chicago WX]

Since the much talked about hot March 2012, the last two...and the beginning of this one...have gone the opposite direction at LAF.

 

March 2013, March 2014, March 1-6, 2015 (68 total days):

 

8 days above normal

3 days at normal

57 days below normal (34 days -10˚ or colder)

 

33.7" of March snow as well since 2012...including three 6"+ storms (includes one 10"+ storm). 

[Hoosier]

There was no need to fret after all...LAF got down to -6˚ this morning.

 

IND though failed, with 2˚ being the min temp.

 

Other min temps this morning as of 7:00am:

Frankfort -13˚

Crawfordsville -8˚

Monticello -6˚

Terre Haute -6˚

La Porte -5˚

Huntington -4˚

Peru/Grissom -4˚

Zionsville -4˚

Fort Wayne -3˚

Shelbyville -2˚

Valparaiso -2˚

Bloomington -1˚

Goshen -1˚

South Bend -1˚

Evansville 0˚

Huntingburg 0˚

 

 

Good call on IND not going below.  Surprising that areas farther south didn't really tank considering the calm/nearly calm conditions overnight, but looks like some clouds were around per obs so maybe that's why.

[Hoosier]

-6 is actually the coldest March temp on record for LAF, though the usual caveats apply about a shorter period of record and some missing data (cough 1960 cough).

[Chicago WX]

WL COOP March coldest minimum temperatures on record (1901-present).

 

-12˚ March 1 , 1960

-9˚ March 6, 1960

-7˚ March 6, 2015

-6˚ March 12, 1960

-5˚ March 3 , 2014

-4˚ March 6, 1978

-4˚ March 5, 1960

-3˚ March 9, 1984

-3˚ March 8, 1960

-3˚ March 8, 1943

-2˚ March 2, 1963

-2˚ March 2, 1925

[Chicago WX]

February 1 - March 6, 2015 is the second coldest such period on record for Indianapolis.

 

Top 10 lowest mean average temperatures for Feb 1 - Mar 6:

1) 18.3˚ in 1978

2) 20.8˚ in 2015

3) 21.8˚ in 2007

4) 22.3˚ in 1980

5) 22.4˚ in 1912

6) 22.6˚ in 2014

6) 22.6˚ in 1979

6) 22.6˚ in 1963

6) 22.6˚ in 1875

10) 22.9˚ in 1914

 

It is also the 5th snowiest on record.

 

Top 10 highest snowfall totals for Feb 1 - Mar 6:

1) 24.3" in 2003

2) 21.0" in 1910

3) 20.7" in 1914

4) 20.0" in 1993

5) 19.7" in 2015

6) 19.1" in 2007

7) 18.9" in 2014

8) 18.2" in 1979

9) 18.0" in 1965

10) 17.5" in 2010

[IWXwx]

February 1 - March 6, 2015 is the second coldest such period on record for Indianapolis.

 

Top 10 lowest mean average temperatures for Feb 1 - Mar 6:

1) 18.3˚ in 1978

2) 20.8˚ in 2015

3) 21.8˚ in 2007

4) 22.3˚ in 1980

5) 22.4˚ in 1912

6) 22.6˚ in 2014

6) 22.6˚ in 1979

6) 22.6˚ in 1963

6) 22.6˚ in 1875

10) 22.9˚ in 1914

 

It is also the 5th snowiest on record.

 

Top 10 highest snowfall totals for Feb 1 - Mar 6:

1) 24.3" in 2003

2) 21.0" in 1910

3) 20.7" in 1914

4) 20.0" in 1993

5) 19.7" in 2015

6) 19.1" in 2007

7) 18.9" in 2014

8) 18.2" in 1979

9) 18.0" in 1965

10) 17.5" in 2010

 

The temperature mean is impressive considering there were several days in early February that were above normal, including the mini torch on the 7th and 8th (55° and 57° highs).

[Chicago WX]

Indeed.

 

Here's a comparison between Feb 1 - Mar 6, 1978 and 2015. Daily max, min, and avg temperatures with 1981-10 departures for both.

 

 

 

Departure days comparison:

 

 

[Chicago WX]

IND should hit 60˚ this week, which will be the first one of the year. This is over a month late versus climatology.

 

Latest first 60˚ dates of the year for Indianapolis:

March 31: 1885

March 29: 1872

March 20: 1941, 1978

March 19: 1926

March 17: 1912, 1940, 1969

March 16: 1905

March 15: 1881, 1942, 1980

March 14: 1886

March 13: 1875, 1979

March 12: 1963, 1971, 1982

March 11: 1920

March 10: 1902

 

Longterm median first 60˚ day: February 4

Downtown median first 60˚ day: February 7

Airport median first 60˚ day: February 2

 

[Chicago WX]

Meteorological Spring 6"+ snowstorms for the Lafayette/West Lafayette area (since 1892).

 

March 1-2, 1898: 6.3"

March 11-12, 1906: 8.2"

March 19-20, 1906: 8.5"

March 10, 1907: 7.3"

March 25, 1913: 6.0"

April 4-5, 1920: 6.9"

March 10-11, 1924: 7.0"

March 20, 1924: 9.6"

April 18, 1926: 6.5"

March 6-7, 1931: 7.3"

March 1-2, 1947: 7.9"

March 10-11, 1964: 7.7"

March 19-20, 1996: 6.0"

March 9, 1999: 7.0"

March 25-26, 2002: 8.0"

March 5-6, 2013: 6.3"

March 24-25, 2013: 11.1"

Feb 28-Mar 1, 2015: 8.0"

 

The March 19-20, 1906 and March 10, 1907 storms most likely both featured higher totals, when considering the WL COOP precipitation totals and comparing to other central Indiana reports. Thus, I believe the March 19-20, 1906 storm probably to be the largest one on record for the LAF area...with March 24-25, 2013 being #2. 

 

Counted the last one considering 75% of the snow fell on March 1.

 

All of these totals are via local observers. They are snow-measure challenged throughout time, so who knows the true totals of some of these storms. 

[Chicago WX]

This was my last winter living in the LAF, as I'll be moving back to northern IL in June. So with that in mind, here's my list of all 6"+ snowstorms in recorded history for this area. Italics/asterisks indicate total was probably higher than shown/recorded. Though you know, no idea if most of these storms were accurately measured...outside of mine of course.

 

I got to experience 13 of them since moving back here in 2004 (7 in the past two years, which is amazing). And 16 if we count when I went to Purdue in the mid 1990's. It was a hell of a run. 

 

[Hoosier]

Meteorological Spring 6"+ snowstorms for the Lafayette/West Lafayette area (since 1892).

 

March 1-2, 1898: 6.3"

March 11-12, 1906: 8.2"

March 19-20, 1906: 8.5"

March 10, 1907: 7.3"

March 25, 1913: 6.0"

April 4-5, 1920: 6.9"

March 10-11, 1924: 7.0"

March 20, 1924: 9.6"

March 6-7, 1931: 7.3"

March 1-2, 1947: 7.9"

March 10-11, 1964: 7.7"

March 19-20, 1996: 6.0"

March 9, 1999: 7.0"

March 25-26, 2002: 8.0"

March 5-6, 2013: 6.3"

March 24-25, 2013: 11.1"

Feb 28-Mar 1, 2015: 8.0"

 

The March 19-20, 1906 and March 10, 1907 storms most likely both featured higher totals, when considering the WL COOP precipitation totals and comparing to other central Indiana reports. Thus, I believe the March 19-20, 1906 storm probably to be the largest one on record for the LAF area...with March 24-25, 2013 being #2. 

 

Counted the last one considering 75% of the snow fell on March 1.

 

All of these totals are via local observers. They are snow-measure challenged throughout time, so who knows the true totals of some of these storms. 

 

Where's the April 18, 1926 storm?  That one produced 6.5" at the WL COOP.

[Chicago WX]

Where's the April 18, 1926 storm?  That one produced 6.5" at the WL COOP.

 

Ah, I missed that one.

[Hoosier]

Ah, I missed that one.

 

 

Based on the maps, that thing looks like it was a clipper.  Not the kind of thing you first think of to dump that much snow in mid-April.

[Chicago WX]

March 2015 mean average temperatures/departures through the 10th.

 

Bloomington (BMG): 30.7˚ -8.2˚

Evansville (EVV): 34.0˚ -8.5˚

Fort Wayne (FWA): 25.5˚ -8.8˚

Goshen (GSH): 24.8˚ -8.5˚

Indianapolis (IND): 29.5˚ -8.8˚

Indianapolis Eagle Creek (EYE): 28.8˚ -9.5˚

Lafayette (LAF): 26.2˚ -10.4˚

Muncie (MIE): 28.3˚ -7.2˚

North Webster (IWX): 26.2˚ -7.8˚

Shelbyville (GEZ): 30.0˚ -7.4˚

South Bend (SBN): 26.7˚ -6.8˚

Terre Haute (HUF): 27.4˚ -11.3˚

 

March 2015 total snowfall/departures through the 10th.

 

Evansville (EVV): 8.5" +8.0"

Fort Wayne (FWA): 3.6" +1.8"

Indianapolis (IND): 5.9" +4.6"

North Webster (IWX): 2.5" NA

South Bend (SBN): 1.4" -1.9"

[Chicago WX]

IND missed tying the record low min temp for today by one degree. 17˚ was the actual temp...the record is 16˚ set back in 1934.

 

Other sub-20˚ min temps across the state this morning, as of 8:00am:

 

South Bend 12˚

Goshen 13˚

Valparaiso 13˚

La Porte 14˚

Crawfordsville 15˚

Lafayette 15˚

Monticello 15˚

Fort Wayne 16˚

Huntington 16˚

Bloomington 17˚

Frankfort 17˚

Peru/Grissom 17˚

Kokomo 18˚

Muncie 18˚

Zionsville 18˚

Indianapolis Eagle Creek 19˚

Shelbyville 19˚

 

A few normal min temps for March 28: BMG 36˚....FWA 33˚....GSH 33˚....IND 37˚....LAF 35˚....SBN 32˚

[Hoosier]

IND missed tying the record low min temp for today by one degree. 17˚ was the actual temp...the record is 16˚ set back in 1934.

 

 

 

There's that year again. 

[Chicago WX]

There's that year again. 

 

I figured you'd enjoy that.

 

Though you won't like what I'm going to post later about this summer.

[Hoosier]

I figured you'd enjoy that.

 

Though you won't like what I'm going to post later about this summer.

 

Let me guess, something about colder than average winters and the following summers or something about Nino summers?

[Chicago WX]

You know me with the statistics, so take this very much FWIW.

 

I just thought it'd be "fun" to roll forward temperatures for April, May, June, July, and August...coming off a January-February-March that was 2˚ or colder versus the Indianapolis longterm airport mean. So, these are only months/years since that year (1943).

 

JFM 2015 is estimated, but it doesn't matter because it's safely inside of the criteria. At this point, I have it as T5 for the coldest such period at the airport.

 

 

Overall, not much sign of a hot summer. Only 2 of the 21 had a JJA departure of +1˚ or greater...3 others were +0.1 to +0.9. July was the coolest on average of the three summer months (74.0˚ vs the mean of 75.3˚). August 1947 was the hottest of all the months, relative to average...July 2014 the coolest, which of course was the coolest such month on record for Indianapolis.

 

On this list...only 1958, 1963, 1965, 1969, and 1982 were Nino summers (per CPC). All 5 were cooler than normal. 1958 and 1969 were Nino summers preceded by Nino winters.

 

With regard to the now talked about PDO, here are the JFM's that had a positive number for all three months: 1958 (0.25, 0.62, 0.25), 1970 (0.61, 0.43, 1.33), 1977 (1.65, 1.11, 0.72), 1978 (0.34, 1.45, 1.34), 1982 (0.34, 0.20, 0.19), 1984 (1.50, 1.21, 1.77), 1985 (1.27, 0.94, 0.57), 1994 (1.21, 0.59, 0.80), 1996 (0.59, 0.75, 1.01), 2003 (2.09, 1.75, 1.51), and 2014 (0.30, 0.38, 0.97). Prediction for this year be damned, but going forward through August, only 1958, 1977, 1985, 2003, and 2014 had the +PDO regime continue unabated.  

 

Lastly...do note though that April and May both averaged a bit above normal...with a few real torchy Mays in there.  

[Chicago WX]

90˚+ days at IND for the above years...May through August.