Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
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301 CXUS53 KIWX 010724 CLSSBN CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 324 AM EDT TUE JUN 01 2021 ................................... ...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SPRING SEASON... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1893 TO 2021 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 05/24 MM MM 90 05/25 LOWEST 15 03/02 MM MM 17 AVG. MAXIMUM 61.9 58.5 3.4 58.4 AVG. MINIMUM 39.3 37.5 1.8 38.3 MEAN 50.6 48.0 2.6 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.7 -0.7 1 DAYS MAX <= 32 0 3.6 -3.6 0 DAYS MIN <= 32 28 30.6 -2.6 35 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.1 -0.1 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 19.83 1976 MINIMUM 4.24 1971 TOTALS 7.57 10.04 -2.47 10.99 DAILY AVG. 0.08 0.11 -0.03 0.12 DAYS >= .01 31 39.2 -8.2 49 DAYS >= .10 18 21.4 -3.4 23 DAYS >= .50 5 6.8 -1.8 7 DAYS >= 1.00 2 1.7 0.3 2 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.10 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 34.6 1960 24 HR TOTAL MM TOTALS 0.7 7.8 -7.1 6.7 SINCE 7/1 52.4 64.5 -12.1 45.7 SNOWDEPTH AVG. T 0 DAYS >= TRACE 5 6.6 -1.6 14 DAYS >= 1.0 0 2.3 -2.3 3 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 0 2 24 HR TOTAL 0.5 04/01 TO 04/01 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 1397 1624 -227 1561 SINCE 7/1 5792 6358 -566 MM COOLING TOTAL 94 55 39 61 SINCE 1/1 94 56 38 61 .............................................................. WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.2 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 39/260 DATE 05/27 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 58/290 DATE 05/27 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.37 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 49 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 34 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 9 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 60 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 2 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 6 RAIN 9 LIGHT RAIN 34 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 2 LIGHT SNOW 6 SLEET 0 FOG 31 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 1 HAZE 13 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && SPRING 2021 THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 50.6 DEGREES IS 2.6 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 48.0 DEGREES. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 7.57 INCHES WHICH IS 2.47 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 30TH DRIEST SPRING ON RECORD. THIS IS THE DRIEST SPRING SINCE 6.03 INCHES IN 2012. SNOW TOTALED ONLY 0.7 INCHES WHICH IS 7.1 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS TIES 2004 AS THE 2ND LEAST SNOWIEST SPRING ON RECORD. THIS IS OUR LEAST SNOWIEST SPRING SINCE A TRACE OF SNOW FELL IN THE SPRING OF 2010. ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR, "ABNORMALLY DRY" TO "MODERATE DROUGHT" CONDITIONS CONTINUED TO IMPACT AT LEAST A PORTION OF OUR AREA THROUGH THE SPRING. THE AREAS EFFECTED MOVED FROM SOUTH TO NORTH THROUGH THE SPRING. A NOTABLE DEGRADATION OF DROUGHT OCCURRED OVER MUCH OF MICHIGAN BY THE END OF THE SEASON. A MONTH BY MONTH SUMMARY IS BELOW. MARCH ...WARM WITH A DRY START, BUT A WET FINISH... MARCH WILL BE KNOWN AS A WARM MONTH. THIS IS MAINLY BECAUSE THE AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 54.9 DEGREES AND RANKED AS THE 7TH WARMEST. SOUTH BEND HAD AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 43.1 DEGREES FOR MARCH, WHICH RANKED AS THE 14TH WARMEST MARCH. WITH HOW WARM MARCH WAS FOR SOUTH BEND, THERE WAS ONLY A TRACE OF SNOW FOR THE MONTH. A TRACE OF SNOW WAS REPORTED ON THE 1ST AND 31ST OF THE MONTH. THIS RANKED AS TIED FOR THE LEAST SNOWIEST MARCH. SOUTH BEND HAD A VERY DRY START TO MARCH WITH MARCH 1 TO MARCH 24 RECEIVING ONLY 0.36 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION. THIS RANKED AS THE SECOND DRIEST STRETCH BEHIND ONLY 1981. FURTHERMORE, 14 STRAIGHT DAYS OF PRECIPITATION TOTALING LESS THAN 0.02 INCHES OCCURRED FROM MARCH 1ST TO MARCH 14TH. THIS RANKED AS THE 7TH LONGEST STRETCH OF "DRY" WEATHER IN MARCH. AFTER THE DRY START, A PERIOD OF ACTIVE WEATHER MOVED IN FOR THE LATTER PART OF THE MONTH WITH MARCH 24TH TO MARCH 31ST RECEIVING 2.00 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION. THIS RANKED AS THE 13TH WETTEST STRETCH FOR THIS PERIOD. OVERALL, SOUTH BEND RECEIVED 2.36 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH, RANKING AS THE 52ND DRIEST MARCH. APRIL ...DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUE WITH ROLLER COASTER TEMPERATURES... FROM A TEMPERATURE POINT OF VIEW, APRIL FEATURED TWO LARGE EPISODES OF TEMPERATURE SWINGS. AFTER A CRISP START ON THE 1ST AND 2ND, TEMPERATURES WARMED DRAMATICALLY THEREAFTER. THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 1 TO APRIL 13TH RANKS AS THE 8TH WARMEST ON RECORD, WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 53.3 DEGREES. WITHIN THIS STRETCH, ON THE 6TH, SOUTH BEND PICKED UP ITS FIRST 80-DEGREE DAY OF THE YEAR. THIS IS ABOUT 20- DAYS SOONER THAN AVERAGE AND IS THE EARLIEST 80-DEGREE DAY SINCE MARCH 14, 2012. THIS TIES 1921 AND 1988 AS THE 11TH EARLIEST 80- DEGREE DAY ON RECORD (14TH EARLIEST IF DUPLICATES ARE CONSIDER TO EACH HAVE THEIR OWN RANK). FOLLOWING THAT WARM SPELL, A STRETCH OF DAYS WITH BELOW-NORMAL TEMPERATURES WAS OBSERVED FROM THE 14TH TO 25TH. THIS PERIOD RANKED AS THE 10TH COLDEST ON RECORD. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 40 DEGREES ON THE 20TH NARROWLY MISSED THE RECORD OF 38 SET IN 1947. SOON AFTER, HIGH TEMPERATURES SOARED INTO THE 80S ONCE MORE. THE HIGH OF 85 DEGREES ON THE 27TH BEAT THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 84 IN 1986. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 49.8 DEGREES WHICH IS NEAR THE NORMAL OF 49.0. DROUGHT CONDITIONS REMAINED LARGELY THE SAME IN THE GREATER SOUTH BEND AREA THROUGH THE MONTH. THERE WAS A PERIOD OF SOME IMPROVEMENT MID-MONTH THANKS TO THE COOL CONDITIONS AND ABOUT ONE INCH OF RAIN FROM THE 8TH THROUGH 12TH. HOWEVER, CONDITIONS DETERIORATED BY THE END OF THE MONTH WITH A CONTINUED LACK OF PRECIPITATION. ALL TOLD, PRECIPITATION TOTALED 2.24 INCHES AND IS 0.99 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 32ND DRIEST ON RECORD. SINCE JANUARY 1ST, PRECIPITATION IS 1.88 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. LASTLY, IT WOULD NOT BE APRIL IN THE MIDWEST WITHOUT SOME SNOW! SNOW OCCURRED ON THREE DAYS THIS MONTH TOTALING 0.7 INCHES. THIS IS 0.7 INCHES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 1.4 INCHES. APRIL OF 2020 RECORED 3.7 INCHES! MAY ......FROSTY NIGHTS AND CONTINUED DROUGHT... THE MONTH BEGAN WITH FOLKS BREAKING OUT THEIR SUMMER ATTIRE AS A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 79 AND 82 WERE OBSERVED ON THE 1ST AND 2ND, RESPECTIVELY. TEMPERATURES QUICKLY TUMBLED THEREAFTER. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE DEPARTURE FROM THE 5TH THROUGH 15TH RANGED FROM 4 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. A NUMBER OF FROST ADVISORIES WERE ISSUED DURING THIS STRETCH. PATIENCE PAID OFF AS SUMMER-LIKE TEMPERATURES RETURNED FROM THE 16TH TO 27TH WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE DEPARTURE AS GREAT AS 16 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL (20TH, 22ND, 25TH). THE MONTH ENDED WITH PATCHY FROST IN OUTLYING AREAS ON THE 29TH AND 30TH WITH A LOW OF 38 REPORTED AT THE AIRPORT. SUCH A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE THIS LATE IN THE SPRING IS UNFORTUNATE, BUT IT OCCURS MORE OFTEN THAN YOU MAY THINK. LET ME EXPLAIN: BY SEARCHING THE CLIMATE DATA BY FIRST AND LAST DATE FOR A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF LESS THAN 40 DEGREES, I FOUND THAT THE MEAN LAST DATE IS 5/21. THE LATEST THIS HAS OCCURRED IS 6/22(!) IN 1992. SORTING THIS LIST BY YEAR, 5/21/2019 SAW A LOW OF 39 DEGREES AS DID 5/29/2008. HOWEVER, OUR LOW OF 38 ON 5/30/2021 IS THE LATEST IT HAS BEEN THIS COLD SINCE 2003 WHEN A LOW OF 37 WAS REPORTED ON JUNE 2ND. THOSE TEMPERATURE SWINGS NEARLY CANCELED EACH OTHER OUT IN THE END, AS THE MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 58.9 DEGREES IS ONLY 0.2 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. PRECIPITATION CONTINUED TO BE ELUSIVE FOR SOME. ONLY 2.97 INCHES WAS OBSERVED WHICH IS 1.23 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. MOST OF THE MONTH`S RAIN FELL ON MOTHER`S DAY: 1.10 INCHES. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY 15 DAYS WITHOUT MEASURABLE RAINFALL. DURING THAT TIME, DROUGHT CONDITIONS WORSENED. TO EASE THE BURDEN, HOWEVER, WAS 1.42 INCHES FROM THE 25TH THROUGH 28TH. EVEN WITH THIS LATE-MONTH RAIN, MAY 2020 TIES 1898 AS THE 50TH DRIEST MAY ON RECORD. THIS IS THE DRIEST MAY SINCE 2.49" IN 2016. SOUTH BEND IS CURRENTLY 4.04 INCHES BELOW-NORMAL FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR. BROWN/ROLLER/MARSILI $$