Climatological Report (Seasonal)
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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


$$


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