Climatological Report (Seasonal)
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CXUS53 KIWX 011411
CLSSBN

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
911 AM EST MON MAR 01 2021

...................................

...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR WINTER 2020-2021...

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1893 TO 2021

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           58   02/28         MM      MM       63
LOWEST            -4   02/17         MM      MM        3
AVG. MAXIMUM    34.2               33.8     0.4     39.1
AVG. MINIMUM    21.1               20.1     1.0     25.2
MEAN            27.6               27.0     0.6
DAYS MAX >= 90     0                0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MAX <= 32    36               39.1    -3.1       19
DAYS MIN <= 32    81               77.6     3.4       79
DAYS MIN <= 0      2                5.3    -3.3        0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM       13.35   1950
 MINIMUM        2.77   1945
TOTALS          5.77               6.85   -1.08     8.67
DAILY AVG.      0.07               0.08   -0.01     0.10
DAYS >= .01       43               43.3    -0.3       38
DAYS >= .10       14               18.4    -4.4       21
DAYS >= .50        2                3.0    -1.0        5
DAYS >= 1.00       1                0.8     0.2        1
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL   1.24

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL         136.3   1978
 24 HR TOTAL    11.8   12/25
TOTALS          50.4               52.9    -2.5     31.4
SINCE 7/1       51.7               58.1    -6.4     38.4
SNOWDEPTH AVG.     4                                   1
DAYS >= TRACE     53               33.3    19.7       45
DAYS >= 1.0       15               16.0    -1.0       13
GREATEST
 SNOW DEPTH       16   02/16                           4
 24 HR TOTAL    11.8   12/25 TO 12/25

DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL   3319               3420    -101     2959
 SINCE 7/1      4395               4691    -296       MM
COOLING TOTAL      0                  0       0        0
 SINCE 1/1         0                  0       0        0
..............................................................

WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED              9.1
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    33/250    DATE  12/24
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    46/260    DATE  02/05

SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER           0.68
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR           19
NUMBER OF DAYS PC             25
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY         46

AVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     73

WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM              1     MIXED PRECIP               0
HEAVY RAIN                2     RAIN                       3
LIGHT RAIN               17     FREEZING RAIN              1
LT FREEZING RAIN          3     HAIL                       0
HEAVY SNOW                2     SNOW                      10
LIGHT SNOW               47     SLEET                      0
FOG                      57     FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE      9
HAZE                     44

-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

&&

A MILD DECEMBER AND JANUARY GAVE WAY TO A COLD FEBRUARY WHICH
ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 27.6 DEGREES, WHICH
IS 0.6 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS TIES WINTER 1989-1990 AS THE 52ND
WARMEST. THIS IS COMPARABLE TO WINTER 2018-2019 WHICH OBSERVED 27.0
DEGREES AS AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE.

REGARDING SNOW, AFTER A SLOW START, SNOW PILED UP NICELY WITH A
TOTAL OF 50.4 INCHES WHICH IS ONLY 2.5 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS
CRUSHES THE TOTAL FROM LAST WINTER; ONLY 31.4 INCHES. THIS WINTER`S
TOTAL RANKS AS THE 41ST SNOWIEST WINTER. THIS IS THE SNOWIEST WINTER
SINCE 58.5 INCHES IN 2014-2015. HOWEVER, NOTE THAT 50.2 INCHES WERE
OBSERVED IN WINTER 2015-2016.

PRECIPITATION TOTALED 5.77 INCHES WHICH IS 1.08 INCHES BELOW
NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 46TH DRIEST WINTER. THIS IS THE DRIEST
WINTER SINCE 2014-2015; 5.37 INCHES.

A MONTH BY MONTH SUMMARY IS BELOW.

DECEMBER 2020
...CHRISTMAS DAY SNOW RECORD NOT ENOUGH, AS SLOW START TO
WINTER CONTINUES...

DECEMBER 2020 WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR ITS MILD AND MAINLY DRY
CONDITIONS. ROUGHLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE DAYS FEATURED AN AVERAGE DAILY
TEMPERATURE DEPARTURE OF AT LEAST +1 DEGREE. THERE WERE TWO
STRETCHES OF DAYS WHERE THIS WARMTH WAS MOST NOTABLE. THE FIRST
STRETCH WAS FROM THE 9TH THROUGH 12TH WHEN HIGHS REACHED THE 50S
HELPING TO PROPEL THE DAY`S TEMPERATURE DEPARTURE FROM +8 (ON 12/9)
TO +15 (ON 12/12) DEGREES. THE SECOND STRETCH OCCURRED FROM THE 19TH
THROUGH 23RD. HERE, DEPARTURES RANGED FROM +10 (ON 12/19) TO +18 (ON
12/23) DEGREES. THROUGH THE 23RD, SOUTH BEND WAS TIED WITH 1956 AND
1920 FOR THE 17TH WARMEST START TO WINTER WITH AN AVERAGE DAILY
TEMPERATURE OF 35.0 DEGREES. THIS WAS THE WARMEST START SINCE 2015;
40.8 DEGREES.

BY THE END OF THE MONTH, THE AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE WAS 32.5
DEGREES WHICH IS 3.7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 32ND
WARMEST ON RECORD.

PRECIPITATION WAS LARGELY ABSENT FOR THE FIRST ONE-THIRD OF THE
MONTH. IN FACT, THROUGH 12/10, IT WAS THE DRIEST START TO WINTER ON
RECORD. SECOND PLACE GOES TO 1988 WITH 0.05". IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE
11TH THAT MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION (0.01" OR GREATER) WAS OBSERVED.
MUCH OF THE MONTH`S PRECIPITATION OCCURRED ON THE 12TH (1.24") AND
DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH. ALL TOLD, PRECIPITATION TOTALED
2.37 INCHES WHICH IS ONLY 0.24 INCH BELOW NORMAL.

LIKE PRECIPITATION, SNOWFALL WAS LARGELY ABSENT THIS MONTH. AT ITS
PEAK, THE SNOWFALL DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL WAS -11.4" FOR THE MONTH ON
THE 23RD. AT THAT POINT, ONLY 0.8" HAD BEEN OBSERVED. AT THE TIME,
THIS WAS TIED WITH 2018 AS THE LEAST SNOWIEST START TO WINTER. THE
FOLLOWING TWO DAYS BROUGHT A WALLOP OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW. A TOTAL OF
12.8" WAS OBSERVED FROM THE 24TH TO 25TH. THE 11.8" THAT FELL ON THE
25TH WAS A RECORD (PREVIOUS: 6.0" IN 1915). THIS WAS THE ONLY RECORD
SET IN DECEMBER 2020. TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH WAS 15.4 INCHES
WHICH IS 1.9 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 54TH SNOWIEST
DECEMBER ON RECORD.

JANUARY 2021
...MILD WITH A SNOW DEFICIT...

MUCH OF THE MONTH MILD WITH A NOTABLE DRY SPELL FROM THE 4TH THROUGH
13TH. MOST OF THE MONTH`S PRECIPITATION FELL AT THE START OF THE
MONTH, BUT THE LATTER PART BECAME MORE ACTIVE.

IT WAS NOT UNTIL JANUARY 23RD THAT SOUTH BEND RECORDED A DAILY
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE DEPARTURE BELOW NORMAL. OUR AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
THROUGH THE 22ND WAS 30.1 DEGREES, WHICH TIES FOR THE 18TH WARMEST
ON RECORD. I SHOULD NOTE THAT THIS SAME STRETCH OF DAYS IN 2020
RECORDED AN AVERAGE OF 31.5 DEGREES. THE OVERALL WARMTH WE
EXPERIENCED THIS MONTH WAS NOT ONLY A RESULT WARM HIGH TEMPERATURES,
THOUGH FOUR DAYS OBSERVED A HIGH OF AT LEAST 40 DEGREES. INSTEAD,
MILD LOW TEMPERATURES REALLY TIPPED THE SCALES. THE (CLIMATE) NORMAL
LOW TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY IS TYPICALLY 17.6 DEGREES. INSTEAD,
SOUTH BEND OBSERVED 23.8 DEGREES.

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH WAS 28.8 DEGREES WHICH
IS 4.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 33RD WARMEST ON
RECORD.

A RAIN-CHANGING-TO-SNOW EVENT BEGAN THE MONTH WITH 0.96" OF
PRECIPITATION AND 1.9" OF SNOW. THERE WERE A COUPLE OTHER INSTANCES
OF SNOW AND PRECIPITATION MID-MONTH. SNOW WAS EXPERIENCED IN SMALL
DOSES, WITH THE GREATEST SINGLE-DAY TOTAL OF 3.6 INCHES ON THE 31ST.

SNOWFALL FOR THIS MONTH TOTALED 14.6 INCHES WHICH IS 6.0 INCHES
BELOW NORMAL. THE RANKS AS THE 63RD LEAST SNOWIEST JANUARY. TO DATE,
SNOWFALL FOR THE ENTIRE WINTER IS 30.0 INCHES WHICH IS 7.9 INCHES
BELOW NORMAL.

PRECIPITATION FOR THIS MONTH TOTALED 2.33 INCHES WHICH IS ONLY 0.04
INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE RANKS AS THE 56TH WETTEST JANUARY.

THERE WERE NO RECORDS SET THIS MONTH.

FEBRUARY 2021
...SNOW AND COLD ARRIVE...

FOLLOWING A MILD JANUARY AND THE MONTH`S SIX-INCH SNOWFALL DEFICIT,
FEBRUARY OFFERED A CORRECTION SO TO SPEAK.

TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW NORMAL FROM THE 2ND THROUGH 21ST. THE
GREATEST AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL WAS ON THE
17TH, WHEN THE DAY WAS 20 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THIS WAS ALSO THE
DATE OF THE MONTH`S LOWEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE; -4 DEGREES. THE
STRETCH OF DAYS FROM THE 1ST THROUGH 21ST RANKED AS THE 13TH COLDEST
ON RECORD, WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 16.4 DEGREES. THE VERY END
OF THE MONTH OFFERED RELIEF FROM THE COLD AS HIGH TEMPERATURES OF AT
LEAST 40 DEGREES WERE OBSERVED FROM THE 23RD THROUGH 28TH. THE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 21.6 DEGREES WHICH IS 6.2
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 22ND COLDEST FEBRUARY.

THE MONTH`S SNOWFALL PILED UP IN A PERIOD FROM THE 4TH TO 21ST. THE
GREATEST SINGLE-DAY TOTAL FOR THE MONTH WAS 6.5 INCHES ON THE 15TH.
THIS WAS THE GREATEST SINGLE-DAY FEBRUARY SNOWFALL SINCE 10.3 INCHES
IN 2018. AN ADDITIONAL 1.4 INCHES OF SNOW FELL FROM THIS SAME STORM
SYSTEM ON THE FOLLOWING DAY, RESULTING IN A TWO-DAY TOTAL OF 7.9
INCHES. THE TOTAL SNOW FOR THE MONTH WAS 20.4 INCHES WHICH IS 5.4
INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 21ST SNOWIEST ON RECORD. THIS
IS THE SNOWIEST FEBRUARY SINCE 2018 WHEN 29.6 INCHES WERE OBSERVED.

THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH (7AM) WAS 16 INCHES ON THE 16TH. THIS TIES
FOR THE 20TH GREATEST MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH ON RECORD. THIS IS THE
GREATEST SNOW DEPTH SINCE JANUARY 8TH, 2011, WHICH HAD A MAXIMUM OF
23 INCHES. I SHOULD NOTE THAT 2018 (FEB 2ND) HAD A MAXIMUM SNOW
DEPTH OF 15 INCHES.

BROWN

$$


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