Climatological Report (Seasonal)
Issued by NWS Northern Indiana
Issued by NWS Northern Indiana
773
CXUS53 KIWX 011622
CLSFWA
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
1222 PM EDT MON JUN 01 2026
...................................
...THE FORT WAYNE CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SEASON, FROM
3/1/2026 TO 5/31/2026...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1897 TO 2026
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE
NORMAL
..............................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 97 05/28/2018
LOW -10 03/01/1967
HIGHEST 86 05/18 MM MM 86
LOWEST 17 03/17 MM MM 14
AVG. MAXIMUM 65.1 60.3 4.8 62.7
AVG. MINIMUM 42.3 39.7 2.6 40.6
MEAN 53.7 50.0 3.7
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 1.1 -1.1 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 1 2.7 -1.7 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 17 27.8 -10.8 27
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.1 -0.1 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 18.50 2011
MINIMUM 5.07 1958
TOTALS 12.67 11.13 1.54 9.21
DAILY AVG. 0.14 0.12 0.02 0.10
DAYS >= .01 40 38.6 1.4 29
DAYS >= .10 25 22.1 2.9 19
DAYS >= .50 7 7.1 -0.1 6
DAYS >= 1.00 3 2.3 0.7 1
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.95 03/31 TO 04/01
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 19.5 1964
24 HR TOTAL 4.2 04/20/2021 TO 04/20/2021
TOTALS 0.5 5.4 -4.9 0.3
SINCE 7/1 35.8 33.6 2.2 14.8
SNOWDEPTH AVG. T -1
DAYS >= TRACE 6 5.7 0.3 7
DAYS >= 1.0 0 1.8 -1.8 0
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 0 MM
24 HR TOTAL 0.4 03/16 TO 03/16
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1090 1448 -358 1234
SINCE 7/1 5684 5943 -259 5489
COOLING TOTAL 72 69 3 29
SINCE 1/1 72 70 2 29
..............................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.3
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 52/270 DATE 03/13
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 70/270 DATE 03/13
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.69
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 5
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 46
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 41
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 69
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 20 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 14 RAIN 20
LIGHT RAIN 46 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 1
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 1
LIGHT SNOW 5 SLEET 2
FOG 41 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 4
HAZE 8
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
...A TOP 10 WARMEST AND TOP 25 WETTEST SPRING...
A WARM AND SOGGY FIRST HALF OF SPRING IN MARCH AND APRIL
TRANSITIONED TO A COOLER AND DRIER MAY. DESPITE COOLER THAN NORMAL
TEMPERATURES IN MAY, SPRING WAS OVERALL MUCH WARMER THAN NORMAL.
THERE WERE SEVERAL STRETCHES OF WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES
(INCLUDING OVERNIGHT LOWS) IN MARCH AND APRIL THAT HELPED TO BOOST
THE OVERALL SPRING AVERAGE TEMPERATURE. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FROM
MARCH TO MAY WAS 53.7 DEGREES WHICH WAS 3.7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL
AND RANKS AS THE 8TH WARMEST SPRING ON RECORD. RECORDS BEGAN IN 1897.
THIS SPRING WAS NOTABLY WETTER THAN LAST YEAR, WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF
PRECIPITATION PARTICULARLY IN MARCH AND APRIL. AS A SERIES OF LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEMS TRACKED THROUGH THE MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES
REGIONS, AN EARLY START TO SEVERE WEATHER SEASON WAS OBSERVED FROM
MID MARCH TO LATE APRIL. SEVERAL SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS OCCURRED IN
THIS TIMEFRAME, BRINGING LARGE HAIL, DAMAGING WINDS, AND EVEN A FEW
ISOLATED TORNADOES TO THE AREA. THIS ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN
EXACERBATED RIVER FLOODING AND ALLOWED FOR MANY AREA RIVERS TO RISE
INTO MINOR FLOOD STAGE. MAY WAS MUCH DRIER, ESPECIALLY AS AN OMEGA
BLOCK SET UP OVER THE GREAT LAKES BY THE END OF THE MONTH. THE
WETTEST DAY THIS SPRING WAS APRIL 27TH WITH A DAILY RECORD OF 1.52"
OF PRECIPITATION. OTHER DAYS THIS SPRING THAT HAD OVER AN INCH OF
PRECIPITATION IN A SINGLE DAY WERE MARCH 31ST (1.08") AND MARCH 28TH
(1.01"). IN TOTAL, 12.67" OF PRECIPITATION FELL FROM MARCH THROUGH
MAY, WHICH IS 1.54" ABOVE NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 23RD WETTEST
SPRING.
WITH A WARMER THAN NORMAL SPRING, IT SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE THAT
SNOWFALL WAS LACKING. ALL OF THE MEASURABLE SNOWFALL THIS SPRING
FELL ON MARCH 16TH (0.4") AND MARCH 18TH (0.1"). THERE WERE SEVERAL
OTHER DAYS THIS SPRING, INCLUDING MAY 1ST, WHERE A TRACE OF SNOW
OCCURRED. OVERALL, ONLY 0.5" OF SNOW FELL, WHICH WAS 4.9" BELOW
NORMAL. THIS TIES AS THE 10TH LEAST SNOWY SPRING ON RECORD.
A MONTH BY MONTH SUMMARY IS BELOW:
....TOP 5 WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD, WETTER THAN USUAL....
A BREAKDOWN OF THE LA NINA PATTERN WE EXPERIENCED OVER THE WINTER
LED TO VERY MILD AIR AND ACTIVE WEATHER DURING MARCH. IN FACT, NWS
NORTHERN INDIANA EXPERIENCED THE MOST ACTIVE MARCH FOR SEVERE
WEATHER ON RECORD (DATING BACK TO 1986) THROUGHOUT MARCH, WE ISSUED
A RECORD 18 TORNADO WARNINGS AND A RECORD 57 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNINGS. PREVIOUS RECORDS WERE 7 TORNADO WARNINGS (2023) AND 28
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS (2025). SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRED ON
MARCH 6TH, MARCH 10TH, MARCH 22ND, MARCH 26TH, AND MARCH 31ST. ALL
SEVERE WEATHER HAZARDS OCCURRED IN OUR FORECAST AREA THIS MONTH,
INCLUDING DAMAGING WINDS, LARGE HAIL, AND TORNADOES. WE ALSO HAD
HIGH WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH ON MARCH 13TH CAUSED BY A VERY
TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT THAT DEVELOPED OVER THE GREAT LAKES.
SEVERAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS MOVED THROUGH THE MIDWEST AND GREAT
LAKES IN MARCH, BRINGING SURGES OF MILD AIR AND PERIODS OF ACTIVE
WEATHER THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. IN FORT WAYNE, MARCH WAS NOTICEABLY
WARMER THAN NORMAL WITH NUMEROUS DAYS HAVING HIGHS IN THE 60S AND
70S. FORT WAYNE EVEN SAW THEIR FIRST DAY OF 2026 IN THE 80S WHEN A
HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 82 WAS REACHED ON MARCH 26TH (USUALLY THE
AVERAGE FIRST 80+ DEGREE DAY IS APRIL 24TH!). NEARLY A THIRD OF THE
MONTH WAS ANOMALOUSLY WARM; THERE WERE 11 DAYS THIS MONTH WITH DAILY
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES OVER 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL! THERE WERE NO
PROLONGED STRETCHES OF COLD AIR THIS MONTH BUT A SERIES OF STRONG
COLD FRONTS DID BRING BRIEF COOL DOWNS FOR 24-48 HOURS BEFORE MILD
AIR RETURNED. AFTER A NEAR RECORD HIGH OF 82 ON MARCH 26TH, A HIGH
OF ONLY 49 DEGREES WAS RECORDED THE FOLLOWING DAY. VERY WARM
TEMPERATURES LED TO AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE THIS MONTH OF 46.3
DEGREES, WHICH IS A WHOPPING 7.7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. MARCH 2026
RANKS AS THE 5TH WARMEST ON RECORD, AHEAD OF 2024 AND 2025, WHICH
WERE 12TH AND 8TH RESPECTIVELY. RECORDS BEGAN IN 1897. THIS IS THE
WARMEST MARCH SINCE 2012. THIS IS THE 6TH CONSECUTIVE WARMER THAN
NORMAL MARCH ON RECORD.
SEVERAL NEW TEMPERATURES RECORDS WERE SET THIS MONTH. THEY ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
- MARCH 6TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 76 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 72 IN 1983)
- MARCH 9TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 72 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 67 IN 2016)
- MARCH 10TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 75 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 73 IN 1925)
- MARCH 10TH RECORD WARM LOW: 60 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 46 IN 1898)
BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN THIS MONTH, FORT WAYNE FINALLY
SAW A MONTH WITH ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE
APRIL 2025! ALTHOUGH THERE WERE ONLY 11 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION THIS MONTH, IT REALLY ADDED UP! TWO DAYS THIS MONTH
HAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF OVER AN INCH: MARCH 26TH (1.01") AND MARCH
31ST (1.08"). THESE TWO DAYS MADE UP FOR A HUGE DEFICIT NEARLY HALF
OF THE MONTH`S RAINFALL; HAD THE MONTH ENDED ON MARCH 25TH, FORT
WAYNE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE TOP 25 DRIEST MARCHES ON RECORD! THERE
WERE SEVERAL OTHER DAYS THIS MONTH WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN
0.25-0.75 INCHES. IN TOTAL, MARCH HAD 3.95" OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH
IS 1.14" ABOVE NORMAL AND IS TIED FOR THE 29TH WETTEST ON RECORD.
UNSURPRISINGLY, SNOWFALL WAS HARD TO COME BY WITH SUCH MILD
TEMPERATURES. MEASURABLE SNOWFALL FELL ON JUST TWO DAYS THIS MONTH:
MARCH 16TH (0.4") AND MARCH 18TH (0.1"). WITH JUST A HALF OF SNOW
FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH, THIS IS 4.1" BELOW NORMAL. MARCH 2026 IS TIED
FOR THE 18TH LEAST SNOWY ON RECORD. THIS IS THE 11TH CONSECUTIVE
MARCH ON RECORD WITH BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL.
...DROUGHT-BUSTING RAIN; 14TH WETTEST AND 3RD WARMEST APRIL ON
RECORD...
A PROGRESSIVE UPPER-AIR PATTERN RESULTED IN A NUMBER OF STORMS AND
HEAVY RAIN THIS MONTH. RIGHT AWAY, THE FIRST FOUR DAYS OF APRIL
BROUGHT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND 1.90 INCHES OF RAIN. THIS RESULTED
IN IMMEDIATE RISES ON AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS SENDING THEM INTO
MINOR OR EVEN MODERATE FLOOD STAGE. AS WATER LEVELS RECEDED, AN
ADDITIONAL 1.32 INCHES OF RAIN FELL FROM THE 13TH THROUGH 18TH,
RESULTING IN RENEWED RISES ON AREA WATER WAYS. ONE MORE WALLOP OF
HEAVY RAIN OCCURRED ON THE 27TH, 1.52 INCHES, WHICH WAS A NEW RECORD
FOR THE DAY, SURPASSING 1.14 INCHES IN 1959. ONE TORNADO WAS
CONFIRMED IN THE REGION; AN EF1 TORNADO WENT THROUGH DOWNTOWN
DEFIANCE, OH ON APRIL 4TH. WITH SUCH AN ACTIVE APRIL FOR SEVERE
WEATHER, NWS NORTHERN INDIANA ISSUED 58 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS
AND 6 TORNADO WARNINGS ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA, FAR SOUTHERN
MICHIGAN, AND NORTHWEST OHIO. THIS IS MORE THAN DOUBLE THE PREVIOUS
RECORD FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS FOR OUR FORECAST AREA, WHICH
WAS 28 IN 2001.
TOTAL RAINFALL THIS MONTH WAS 5.52 INCHES. THIS RANKS AS THE 14TH
WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD AND IS THE WETTEST APRIL SINCE 7.39 INCHES
FELL IN 2024. THIS SURPLUS OF RAINFALL OFFERED A WELCOME REPRIEVE
FROM DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTHEAST INDIANA AND NORTHWEST OHIO.
MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS WERE PRESENT IN AUGUST OF 2025 ACCORDING
TO THE US DROUGHT MONITOR AND DROUGHT WORSENED TO SEVERE AND EVEN
EXTREME DROUGHT BY SEPTEMBER 2025. THE WORST DROUGHT SINCE 2012 IN
ALLEN COUNTY, IN PERSISTED THROUGH THE WINTER MONTHS UNTIL A SURPLUS
OF RAINFALL IN MARCH AND NOW INTO APRIL AS WELL HELPED TO ERASE THE
DROUGHT COMPLETELY.
WHILE THERE WERE EPISODES OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES, INCLUDING AT
LEAST ONE FROSTY MORNING (26 DEGREES ON APRIL 7), TEMPERATURES WERE
UNSEASONABLY WARM FOR THE MONTH. THE WARMEST DAYS WERE APRIL 13TH
AND 14TH WITH A HIGH OF 83 DEGREES BOTH DAYS. THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE OF 56.1 DEGREES RANKS AS THE 3RD WARMEST ON RECORD AND
IS THE WARMEST SINCE 2010. SEVERAL TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET THIS
MONTH:
-RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE OF 62 DEGREES ON THE 13TH (PREVIOUS
RECORD WAS 58, 1955)
-TIED RECORD HIGH OF 83 ON THE 14TH (1941)
-RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE OF 65 DEGREES ON THE 14TH (PREVIOUS
RECORD WAS 59, 1941)
-RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE OF 64 DEGREES ON THE 15TH (PREVIOUS
RECORD WAS 61 SET IN 2002)
NO SNOW WAS RECORDED THIS MONTH, WHICH IS 0.8 INCHES BELOW NORMAL.
THIS WAS THE 4TH CONSECUTIVE APRIL WITHOUT MEASURABLE SNOW. THIS WAS
THE 10TH TIME ON RECORD THAT NO SNOW (NOT EVEN A TRACE) WAS RECORDED
IN FORT WAYNE IN APRIL.
...A COOLER AND DRIER THAN NORMAL MAY...
ON THE HEELS OF A VERY WARM AND WET APRIL, MAY BEGAN ON A CHILLY
NOTE WITH 13 OF THE FIRST 15 DAYS RECORDING BELOW-NORMAL DAILY
TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES. INSTANCES OF LOWS IN THE 30S RESULTED IN
PATCHY FROST, VERY NEAR WHEN WE TYPICALLY EXPERIENCE OUR FINAL
SPRING FROST. THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH FEATURED FOUR CONSECUTIVE
DAYS WITH HIGHS IN THE 80S (16TH THROUGH 19TH) FOLLOWED BY A STRONG
COLD FRONT THAT SENT DAILY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BACK BELOW NORMAL.
THE MONTH ENDED WITH AN OMEGA BLOCK OVER THE MIDWEST BRINGING WARM
AND DRY CONDITIONS. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 58.8
DEGREES, WHICH WAS 2.5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE
46TH COOLEST MAY ON RECORD. THIS WAS THE COOLEST MAY SINCE 2020.
RAIN DURING MAY WAS GENERALLY LIGHT, WITH THE HIGHEST SINGLE DAY
TOTAL BEING 0.56" ON MAY 12TH. WITH A LACK OF WIDESPREAD, HEAVY
RAINFALL, THIS ALLOWED AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS TO FALL OUT OF ACTION
OR MINOR FLOOD STAGE. DRIER CONDITIONS BEGAN TO DEVELOP BY THE END
OF THE MONTH WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED OMEGA BLOCK LEADING TO NO
PRECIPITATION BEING MEASURED AT FORT WAYNE FROM MAY 25TH THROUGH THE
31ST. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 3.20 INCHES AT FORT WAYNE FOR THE MONTH,
WHICH IS 1.38 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 49TH DRIEST ON
RECORD. DESPITE MAY OFTEN BEING THE WETTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR, THIS
WAS THE 5TH CONSECUTIVE DRIER THAN NORMAL MAY.
A TRACE OF SNOW WAS RECORDED ON THE 1ST AT FORT WAYNE. THE LAST TIME
A TRACE OF SNOW FELL IN MAY WAS IN 2023. MEASURABLE SNOW IN MAY
IS VERY RARE; THE LAST MEASURABLE MAY SNOWFALL WAS 0.3" IN 1945.
BROWN/JOHNSON
$$