Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
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000 CXUS53 KIWX 011656 CLSSBN CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 1155 AM EST WED MAR 01 2023 ................................... ...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SEASON, FROM 12/1/2022 TO 2/28/2023... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1893 TO 2023 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE NORMAL .............................................................. TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 74 02/25/2000 LOW -22 01/20/1943 01/25/1897 HIGHEST 60 01/03 MM MM 64 LOWEST -8 12/23 MM MM -1 AVG. MAXIMUM 39.5 34.1 5.4 36.7 AVG. MINIMUM 26.2 19.7 6.5 20.0 MEAN 32.9 26.9 6.0 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 19 38.7 -19.7 37 DAYS MIN <= 32 63 77.5 -14.5 83 DAYS MIN <= 0 2 5.6 -3.6 1 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 13.35 1950 MINIMUM 2.77 1945 TOTALS 8.01 7.37 0.64 7.95 DAILY AVG. 0.09 0.08 0.01 0.09 DAYS >= .01 36 44.1 -8.1 39 DAYS >= .10 16 18.8 -2.8 18 DAYS >= .50 4 3.5 0.5 5 DAYS >= 1.00 3 1.0 2.0 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.36 02/27 TO 02/27 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 136.3 1978 24 HR TOTAL 11.8 12/25/2020 TO 12/25/2020 TOTALS 17.7 51.4 -33.7 46.9 SINCE 7/1 47.9 56.7 -8.8 48.7 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 1 2 DAYS >= TRACE 32 31.8 0.2 48 DAYS >= 1.0 6 16.3 -10.3 14 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 5 01/26 11 01/27 24 HR TOTAL 6.4 12/22 TO 12/23 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 2875 3425 -550 3274 SINCE 7/1 4006 4734 -728 4288 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 .............................................................. WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.5 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 35/210 DATE 12/02 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 50/210 DATE 12/02 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.70 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 17 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 24 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 49 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 74 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 1 HEAVY RAIN 5 RAIN 10 LIGHT RAIN 27 FREEZING RAIN 1 LT FREEZING RAIN 4 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 7 LIGHT SNOW 30 SLEET 0 FOG 54 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 8 HAZE 32 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && WINTER 2022-2023 OVERALL, WINTER 2022-2023 CAN BE DESCRIBED AS MILD AND WET. TEMPERATURE-WISE, MUCH OF DECEMBER FEATURED TEMPERATURES THAT WERE NEAR NORMAL TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. THE EXCEPTION WOULD BE THE ARCTIC AIR OUTBREAK IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS, WHERE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES WERE 15 TO 25 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND OVERNIGHT LOWS DROPPED NEAR TO BELOW ZERO. WIND CHILLS WERE AS LOW AS -34 BELOW ZERO ON DECEMBER 23RD AND 24TH. JANUARY AND FEBRUARY BOTH FEATURED TEMPERATURES THAT WERE WELL ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE MONTH. MANY DAYS IN JANUARY SAW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THAT WERE 10 TO 20 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THERE WERE ONLY TWO DAYS IN JANUARY THAT WERE COOLER THAN NORMAL: JANUARY 30TH AND 31ST. IN FEBRUARY, TEMPERATURES FLUCTUATED MORE THAN IN JANUARY BUT OVERALL, REMAINED WARM. THIS WINTER AVERAGED 32.9 DEGREES AND RANKS AS THE 5TH WARMEST WHEN COMPARED TO THE PERIOD OF RECORD. PRECIPITATION-WISE, DECEMBER WAS DRIER THAN NORMAL WITH ONLY 2 DAYS OF PRECIPITATION TOTALS HIGHER THAN 0.25 INCH. A CLOSER TO NORMAL JANUARY ENSUED, BUT ONLY 1 DAY OF PRECIPITATION HAD A TOTAL HIGHER THAN 0.5 INCH. FEBRUARY ENDED WETTER THAN NORMAL WITH A RECORD NUMBER OF 3 DAYS OF PRECIPITATION TOTALS HIGHER THAN 1.0 INCH. OVERALL, THIS WINTER TOTALED 8.01 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION. THIS WAS THE 37TH WETTEST WINTER WHEN COMPARED TO THE PERIOD OF RECORD. SNOWFALL-WISE, SNOW WAS NOTABLY LACKING DURING ALL THREE MONTHS, WITH A TOTAL DEFICIT OF 33.7 INCHES FROM DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY. THE LACK OF COLD AIR MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR PRECIPITATION TO FALL AS SNOW. THERE WERE ONLY 6 DAYS THIS WINTER WITH SNOW TOTALS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 1 INCH, WHEREAS THE AVERAGE IS USUALLY 14 DAYS. THE SNOWIEST DAY OF THE ENTIRE WINTER WAS DECEMBER 23RD WITH 4.2 INCHES. THE MOST NOTABLE SNOW CAME IN JANUARY, AS THERE WAS ENOUGH COLD AIR AND PRECIPITATION TO PRODUCE 6.4 INCHES OF SNOW FROM JANUARY 25TH TO 27TH. THIS WINTER TOTALED 17.7 INCHES OF SNOW AND WAS THE 15TH LEAST SNOWIEST WHEN COMPARED TO THE PERIOD OF RECORD. A MONTH BY MONTH SUMMARY IS BELOW. DECEMBER 2022 ...WINTER STORM BRINGS WIND, SNOW, AND ARCTIC AIR... A WELL-ADVERTISED BLAST OF ARCTIC AIR CHILLED THE REGION, AND MUCH OF THE UNITED STATES, IN THE DAYS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS. WHILE NO DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE BROKEN AT SOUTH BEND, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2017 THAT DECEMBER RECORDED A TEMPERATURE BELOW ZERO. THE ARCTIC FRONT FEATURED 35-45 MPH WIND GUSTS AND SNOW. THE COLDEST WIND CHILL AT SOUTH BEND DURING THIS EVENT WAS -34 ON THE MORNING OF THE 23RD. THE PEAK WIND GUST WAS 39 MPH THAT SAME MORNING. WIND CHILLS ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THIS MAGNITUDE WERE LAST RECORDED IN JANUARY 2019. SOUTH BEND RECORDED A WIND CHILL AS LOW AS -48 ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 30, 2019. PRIOR TO THIS COLD AIR MASS, DECEMBER WAS MILD. THROUGH THE 16TH, THE TEMPERATURE DEPARTURE WAS 4.3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL (21ST WARMEST ON RECORD FOR THAT PERIOD). BETWEEN THIS MILD START AND THIS ARCTIC BLAST, THE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH ENDED ONLY 0.9 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 29.6 DEGREES. SOUTH BEND RECORDED 8.9 INCHES OF SNOW THIS MONTH, 6.4 INCHES WHICH FELL FROM THE AFORMENTIONED STORM SYSTEM. THIS IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SNOW THAN DECEMBER 2021 (1.5 INCHES), BUT RANKS AS THE 44TH LEAST AMOUNT OF DECEMBER SNOW ON RECORD. THIS IS 4.8 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH TOTALED 1.52 INCHES. THIS IS 0.88 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 27TH DRIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. JANUARY 2023 FIFTH WARMEST ON RECORD FOLLOWING THE ARCTIC BLAST THAT OCCURRED NEAR CHRISTMAS, ONE MIGHT HAVE ASSUMED THAT WE WERE IN STORE FOR A BRUTAL WINTER PERIOD AHEAD. THAT WAS FAR FROM THE TRUTH. JANUARY ENDED WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 33.9 DEGREES WHICH IS 9.8 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 5TH WARMEST ON RECORD. HOW DID WE GET HERE? ANOMALOUS RIDGING ALOFT EVENTUALLY ALLOWED ARCTIC AIR TO RETREAT BY DECEMBER 28TH (HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 45). UNSEASONABLE WARMTH VARIED AT TIMES BUT LASTED THROUGH NEARLY ALL OF JANUARY. SOME FAST FACTS: --THE MAXIMUM HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 60 ON THE 3RD (TIED THE RECORD SET IN 2004). THIS WAS THE FIRST 60-DEGREE TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY SINCE 2017. --THERE WERE FOUR DAYS WITH A HIGH OF 50 OR WARMER; THE MOST SINCE 2018 WHEN THERE WERE FIVE. --ON JANUARY 11, SOUTH BEND ECLIPSED JANUARY 1998 AS THE WARMEST START TO THE MONTH ON RECORD WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE (JAN 1-11) OF 39.0 DEGREES. --THE AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE OF 36.1 DEGREES FROM JANUARY 1-26 RANKS AS THE WARMEST ON RECORD. HIGH TEMPERATURES WERE ONLY A PART OF THE STORY, HOWEVER. THROUGH THE 29TH, THE AVERAGE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 30 DEGREES TIES AS THE WARMEST ON RECORD (2006). BY THE END OF THE MONTH, THE OBSERVED MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS 28.7 DEGREES. THIS IS THE SECOND WARMEST ON RECORD BEHIND 2006 (30.0 DEGREES). THE NORMAL AVERAGE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH IS 17 DEGREES. DUE TO THE WARMTH, IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE THAT SNOWFALL WAS 14.1 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. ONLY 7.5 INCHES WERE OBSERVED. THIS IS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF JANUARY SNOW SINCE 3.4 INCHES IN 2006 AND RANKS AS THE 31ST LEAST AMOUNT OF SNOW ON RECORD. ON THE OTHER HAND, PRECIPITATION WAS NEAR NORMAL, TOTALING 2.41 INCHES. FEBRUARY 2023 TOP-TEN WARMEST, WETTEST, AND LEAST AMOUNT OF SNOW. ASIDE FROM TWO OF THE FIRST THREE DAYS OF FEBRUARY LEANING BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE-TEMPERATURE WISE, ONLY TWO OTHER DAYS DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY LEANED BELOW NORMAL (THE 17TH AND THE 24TH). THIS ALLOWED THE MONTH TO FINISH OUT AS THE 10TH WARMEST ON RECORD. THIS IS THE WARMEST SINCE 37.3 DEGREES IN 2017 (WARMEST ON RECORD). THIS IS THANKS TO THE PREVAILING PATTERN INCLUDING AN EAST COAST RIDGE AND TRACES OF A WEST COAST TROUGH ALLOWING WARM AIR TO STREAM INTO THE AREA FROM THE PLAINS AND GULF STATES. MOST DAYS WITH OBSERVED PRECIPITATION WERE NEAR 0.03" OR LESS. OFTEN TIMES THIS LEADS TO BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH. HOWEVER, THE 9TH, 22ND, AND 27TH, ALL SAW PRECIPITATION EXCEEDING 1 INCH. THREE 1-INCH RAIN EVENTS IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY IS A NEW RECORD FOR THE MONTH. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS TWO 1-INCH PRECIPITATION EVENTS (2018, 2017, 2001, 1976, 1954). AS A RESULT, FEBRUARY FINISHED AS THE 7TH WETTEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD. THE CONNECTION TO THE GULF AIR MASS AS WELL AS A LOOSE CONNECTION TO PACIFIC AIR HELPED PROMOTE THESE HEAVY RAIN EVENTS. IN LIGHT OF THE ANOMALOUS WARMTH, SNOW WAS HARD TO COME BY WITH ONLY 1.3 INCHES OBSERVED (1" OF WHICH OCCURRED ON THE 25TH). THIS IS THE 6TH LEAST AMOUNT OF SNOW ON RECORD. THIS IS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF SNOW SINCE 2014 WHEN 0.4 INCHES WAS OBSERVED. BROWN/ROLLER/JOHNSON $$