Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Northern Indiana
Issued by NWS Northern Indiana
265
CXUS53 KIWX 011543
CLMFWA
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
1043 AM EST THU JAN 01 2026
...................................
...THE FORT WAYNE CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2025...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1897 TO 2025
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 71 12/02/1982
LOW -18 12/22/1989
HIGHEST 64 12/28 MM MM 56 12/08
12/16
12/28
LOWEST -3 12/05 MM MM 9 12/12
AVG. MAXIMUM 35.9 37.5 -1.6 39.9
AVG. MINIMUM 18.5 24.2 -5.7 27.2
MEAN 27.2 30.9 -3.7
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 13 9.9 3.1 8
DAYS MIN <= 32 26 24.9 1.1 19
DAYS MIN <= 0 1 1.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 7.56 1990
MINIMUM 0.34 1943
TOTALS 1.46 2.47 -1.01 3.82
DAILY AVG. 0.05 0.08 -0.03 0.12
DAYS >= .01 12 12.4 -0.4 14
DAYS >= .10 5 5.7 -0.7 8
DAYS >= .50 1 1.6 -0.6 3
DAYS >= 1.00 0 0.3 -0.3 0
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.55 12/28 TO 12/28
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 23.0 1914
TOTALS 6.4 7.6 -1.2 2.3
SINCE 7/1 15.7 9.6 6.1 3.0
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 2 -1
DAYS >= 1.0 3 2.1 0.9 1
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 7 12/02 T
24 HR TOTAL 1.6 12/01 TO 12/01
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1164 1059 105 966
SINCE 7/1 2263 2257 6 1828
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 1002 849 153 1023
................................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.5
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 44/260 DATE 12/29
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 60/260 DATE 12/29
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.81
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 1
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 9
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 21
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 80
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 1
LIGHT RAIN 9 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 3 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 2
LIGHT SNOW 14 SLEET 0
FOG 22 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 4
HAZE 4
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
...A VERY COLD AND DRY DECEMBER...
THANKS TO A EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM AFTER THANKSGIVING, DECEMBER
BEGAN MUCH COLDER AND SNOWIER THAN USUAL. 5 INCHES OF SNOW WAS ON
THE GROUND ON DECEMBER 1ST, WHICH WAS THE MOST SNOW ON THE GROUND TO
START THE MONTH SINCE THE SNOW DEPTH WAS 7 INCHES ON DECEMBER 1ST,
1950! IN ADDITION, THE SNOW ON THE GROUND KEPT TEMPERATURES MUCH
COLDER THAN NORMAL (ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT) FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD OF
TIME. FOR THE FIRST HALF OF DECEMBER, HIGHS WERE COMMONLY IN THE 20S
AND 30S AND LOWS WERE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS. AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES FOR 15 OF THE FIRST 16 DAYS OF DECEMBER WERE BELOW
NORMAL, WITH A FEW DAYS EVEN HAVING A 20+ DEGREE DEPARTURE FROM
NORMAL! THERE WERE 13 DAYS THIS MONTH WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE AT OR
BELOW 32 DEGREES. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH WAS WHEN A
LOW OF -3 DEGREES OCCURRED ON DECEMBER 5TH, WHICH WAS ALSO A DAILY
RECORD LOW. THE LAST TIME A LOW BELOW ZERO OCCURRED IN DECEMBER WAS
ON DECEMBER 24, 2023. A PATTERN CHANGE OCCURRED MID-MONTH. THE
SECOND HALF OF DECEMBER FEATURED MOSTLY NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES DUE TO A SERIES OF WARM FRONTAL PASSAGES. THE WARMEST
TEMPERATURE OBSERVED THIS MONTH WAS ON DECEMBER 28TH WHEN THE HIGH
TEMPERATURE REACHED 64 DEGREES! THE 28TH WAS AN ANOMALOUSLY WARM DAY
(ONE DEGREE SHY OF A RECORD HIGH) WHEN TEMPERATURES SURGED INTO THE
LOW TO MID 60S ACROSS THE AREA AHEAD OF A STRONG COLD FRONT.
DEWPOINTS ON THE 28TH ALSO REACHED THE 60 DEGREE MARK IN FORT WAYNE,
WHICH IS THE LATEST OCCURRENCE OF A 60+ DEGREE DEWPOINT THIS LATE IN
THE CALENDAR YEAR! ONCE THE COLD FRONT MOVED THROUGH DURING THE
EVENING OF THE 28TH, TEMPERATURES PLUMMETED FROM THE MID 60S TO THE
MID TEENS IN 18 HOURS! THIS WAS QUITE A RARE PHENOMENON TO OCCUR IN
DECEMBER; THIS SHARP TEMPERATURE SHIFT IS MORE REMINISCENT OF EARLY
FALL OR LATE SPRING NOT DECEMEBER! OVERALL, DECEMBER WAS COLDER THAN
NORMAL WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 27.2 DEGREES. THIS IS 3.7
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 40TH COLDEST ON RECORD. THIS
WAS THE COLDEST DECEMBER SINCE 2017.
4 NEW TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET AT FORT WAYNE THIS DECEMBER,
INCLUDING 3 NEW RECORD LOWS AND 1 NEW RECORD HIGH. THE RECORDS ARE
AS FOLLOWS:
- DECEMBER 1ST RECORD LOW OF 7 DEGRES (PREVIOUS RECORD: 8 DEGREES
(1979))
- DECEMBER 4TH RECORD LOW OF 2 DEGREES (PREVIOUS RECORD: 4 DEGREES
(1935))
- DECEMBER 5TH RECORD LOW OF -3 DEGREES (PREVIOUS RECORD: -2 DEGREES
(1964))
- DECEMBER 18TH RECORD HIGH OF 55 DEGREES (PREVIOUS RECORD: 54
(1957))
SEVERAL CLIPPER SYSTEMS AND LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS IMPACTED THE
AREA, BRINGING LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW AMOUNTS THAT REALLY ADDED UP
OVER THE COURSE OF THE MONTH. THIS IS SOMEWHAT ABNORMAL BECAUSE
DECEMBER HAS OFTEN TRENDED WARMER AND RAINY IN THE PAST DECADE.
SEVERAL CLIPPER SYSTEMS AT THE VERY END OF THE MONTH HELPED BOOST
THE MONTHLY SNOW TOTAL TO NEAR NORMAL THIS DECEMBER. THE SNOWIEST
DAY THIS MONTH WAS DECEMBER 1ST WHEN 1.6" FELL. TO GIVE SOME
PERSEPECTIVE ON JUST HOW MUCH LACK OF SNOWFALL THERE HAS BEEN IN THE
PAST DECADE, THIS DAILY AMOUNT IS MORE THAN THE TOTAL DECEMBER
SNOWFALL THAT FELL IN 2015, 2018, 2021, AND 2023. OVERALL, THE MONTH
FINISHED WITH 6.4 INCHES OF SNOW, WHICH IS 1.2 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.
DESPITE THE MONTHLY TOTAL BEING BELOW NORMAL, THIS WAS THE 55TH
SNOWIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. THIS WAS THE SNOWIEST DECEMBER SINCE
11.4" FELL IN 2017.
ALTHOUGH SNOWFALL WAS NEAR NORMAL, THE OVERALL PRECIPITATION AMOUNT
(LIQUID SNOW EQUIVALENT + RAIN) WAS STILL BELOW NORMAL. IN ADDITION
TO THE SNOW, THERE WERE A FEW OCCURENCES OF RAIN THIS MONTH ON THE
18TH (0.27") AND 28TH. THE AFOREMENTIONED WARM DECEMBER 28TH ALSO
BROUGHT ABOUT A SEVERE RISK TO THE AREA! ALTHOUGH THUNDERSTORMS DID
NOT OCCUR IN FORT WAYNE, 0.55" OF RAIN WAS MEASURED AT THE AIRPORT.
THIS WAS THE WETTEST DAY OF THE MONTH AND THE ONLY DAY TO HAVE OVER
A HALF INCH OF PRECIPITATION. EVEN WITH THE RAINFALL THAT OCCURRED,
PRECIPITATION WAS STILL BELOW NORMAL OVERALL FOR THE MONTH. MUCH OF
THE SNOW THAT FELL IN DECEMBER WAS OF THE LIGHTER, FLUFFIER TYPE,
WHICH LED TO DRIER SNOW RATIOS. OVERALL, THE MONTH FINISHED WITH
1.46 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH IS 1.01" BELOW BELOW NORMAL.
THIS IS THE 7TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH THIS YEAR IN FORT WAYNE WITH BELOW
AVERAGE PRECIPITATION. THIS DECEMBER RANKS AS THE 28TH DRIEST AND
WAS THE DRIEST DECEMBER SINCE 2020.
JOHNSON
$$