Climatological Report (Seasonal) Issued by NWS
000
CXUS53 KIWX 011524
CLSSBN
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
1124 AM EDT FRI SEP 01 2023
...................................
...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE SEASON, SUMMER 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 109 07/24/1934
LOW 35 06/11/1972
06/02/1956
06/16/1917
HIGHEST 96 08/24 81 15 99
LOWEST 44 06/08 61 -17 45
AVG. MAXIMUM 81.7 81.0 0.7 83.6
AVG. MINIMUM 60.3 60.2 0.1 61.8
MEAN 71.0 70.6 0.4
DAYS MAX >= 90 10 11.3 -1.3 15
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 32 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 19.30 2016
MINIMUM 5.62 1991
TOTALS 12.17 11.83 0.34 9.89
DAILY AVG. 0.13 0.13 0.00 0.11
DAYS >= .01 25 30.5 -5.5 30
DAYS >= .10 19 20.4 -1.4 17
DAYS >= .50 8 8.1 -0.1 9
DAYS >= 1.00 4 2.6 1.4 3
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 3.47
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL MM MM
24 HR TOTAL MM
TOTALS 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
SINCE 7/1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 0
DAYS >= TRACE 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS >= 1.0 0 0.0 0.0 0
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 0 0
24 HR TOTAL 0.0
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 37 64 -27 17
SINCE 7/1 3 14 -11 0
COOLING TOTAL 614 581 33 753
SINCE 1/1 678 637 41 870
..............................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 6.8
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 51/200 DATE 07/05
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 80/220 DATE 07/05
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.30
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 61
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 22
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 9
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 69
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 17 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 15 RAIN 18
LIGHT RAIN 35 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0
LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0
FOG 56 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 9
HAZE 37
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
FLASH-DROUGHT CONDITIONS TO THE START OF THE SUMMER EASED DURING THE
MONTH OF AUGUST IN THE WAKE OF A VERY WET JULY. HOWEVER, DRY
CONDITIONS IN THE FINAL DAYS OF AUGUST RENEWED DROUGHT CONCERNS.
WHILE MUCH OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS, AND CENTRAL PLAINS AT TIMES,
ROASTED BENEATH A STRONG RIDGE THIS SUMMER, OUR SUMMER AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE ENDED UP NEAR NORMAL. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 71.0
DEGREES WAS ONLY 0.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS SUMMER RECORDED TEN
90-DEGREE DAYS THIS SUMMER. THIS IS RIGHT NEAR THE SUMMER NORMAL OF
11 DAYS. PRECIPITATION TOTALED 12.17 INCHES WHICH IS 0.34 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL.
A MONTH-BY-MONTH SUMMARY IS BELOW.
JUNE
....CONTINUED DROUGHT STRESSES CROPS...
FLASH DROUGHT CONDITIONS DEVELOPED LAST MONTH AND DRY WEATHER
PERSISTED THROUGH JUNE WITH ONLY A COUPLE EXCEPTIONS. ACCORDING TO
THE US DROUGHT MONITOR, "ABNORMALLY DRY" CONDITIONS WERE PRESENT ON
MAY 30TH. BY LATE-JUNE, A "MODERATE DROUGHT" AND "SEVERE DROUGHT"
WERE UNDERWAY IN NORTHERN INDIANA AND SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN.
IRRIGATION BECAME MORE COMMON TO COMBAT CROP STRESS. DRY SOIL, LARGE
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION RATES, AND LOW WATER LEVELS OF CREEKS, STREAMS,
AND PONDS WERE REPORTED.
SOUTH BEND RECORDED 2.25 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION THIS MONTH, WHICH
IS 1.79 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 35TH DRIEST ON RECORD
AND WAS NEARLY AS DRY AS LAST JUNE (2.23). JUNE OF 2012, A NOTABLE
DROUGHT YEAR, RECORDED 1.53 INCHES. THE LARGEST 24 HOUR RAINFALL OF
0.79 INCHES OCCURRED ON JUNE 13TH.
PRIOR TO 0.78 AND 0.28 INCHES OF RAIN FALLING ON THE 25TH AND 26TH,
RESPECTIVELY, SOUTH BEND WAS ON PACE TO BE THE 19TH DRIEST JUNE ON
RECORD.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF 68.8 DEGREES MATCHES THE
NORMAL. WHILE THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF JUNE STARTED VERY WARM, A PERIOD
OF COOL WEATHER EMERGED FROM THE 7TH THROUGH 18TH. BENEFICIAL RAIN
OCCURRED DURING THIS TIME, AS DID COOL NORTHERLY FLOW.
NO RECORDS WERE SET THIS MONTH.
BROWN/JOHNSON
JULY
...SECOND WETTEST JULY ON RECORD...
WHILE THE SOUTHWEST US ROASTED BENEATH A PERSISTENT RIDGE OF HIGH
PRESSURE, THIS SAME PATTERN BROUGHT SOMEWHAT COOL NORTHWEST FLOW AND
FREQUENT THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA. DROUGHT CONDITIONS IMPROVED AS A
RESULT. ON JUNE 27TH, THE US DROUGHT MONITOR INDICATED ABOUT 87% OF
THE FORECAST AREA WAS EXPERIENCING MODERATE DROUGHT OR SEVERE
DROUGHT. BY JULY 25TH, THIS WAS DOWN TO ONLY 28%.
PRECIPITATION TOTALED A WHOPPING 7.81 INCHES WHICH IS THE SECOND
MOST ON RECORD (BEHIND 2006 WITH 8.66 INCHES). THIS IS 4.03 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL. FROM THE 26TH THROUGH 30TH, 4.53 INCHES OF RAIN WAS
RECORDED THANKS TO "RIDGE RUNNING" THUNDERSTORMS. ONE RECORD WAS
TIED THIS MONTH: 1.78 INCHES OF RAIN ON 28TH TIED THE RECORD FROM
1971.
THERE WERE FOUR DAYS THIS MONTH WITH A HIGH OF 90 DEGREES OR MORE,
WHICH IS TIED WITH JULY 2022 AND IS JUST BELOW THE NORMAL JULY TOTAL
OF ABOUT FIVE. SO FAR THIS SUMMER THERE HAVE BEEN EIGHT 90-DEGREE
DAYS WHICH IS JUST SHY OF THE NORMAL OF 11 DAYS. THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 72.7 DEGREES WHICH IS RIGHT NEAR
NORMAL. THIS IS THE COOLEST JULY SINCE 72.6 DEGREES IN 2018.
LASTLY, ON JULY 5TH THE ASOS RECORDED AN 80 MPH WIND GUST AS A
THUNDERSTORM COLLAPSED NEARBY. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE GREATEST WIND
GUST RECORDED AT THIS STATION THROUGH AT LEAST 1993, ACCORDING TO
MIDWESTERN REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER.
BROWN/MURPHY
...AUGUST...
UNCOMFORTABLY HOT AND HUMID FOR A FEW DAYS THIS MONTH, OTHERWISE
COOL THANKS TO RATHER PERSISTENT NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THIS PATTERN
IS GENERALLY NOT CONDUCIVE FOR RAINFALL, WHICH IS REFLECTED BY BELOW-
NORMAL PRECIPITATION.
FOLLOWING THE SECOND-WETTEST JULY ON RECORD, THE SO-CALLED FAUCET
TURNED OFF AND THE MONTH ENDED WITH ONLY 2.11 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION; 1.90 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKS AS THE 31ST
DRIEST ON RECORD. THIS WAS ONLY SLIGHTLY MORE THAN AUGUST 2022, WHEN
2.03 INCHES WAS RECORDED. THE STATE OF INDIANA HAS GENERALLY BEEN
WORKING ITS WAY OUT OF ABNORMALLY DRY OR DROUGHT CONDITIONS THIS
SUMMER. HOWEVER, ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS LOOM AGAIN AS SOUTH BEND
HAS ONLY RECORDED A TRACE OF RAIN SINCE AUGUST 18.
AN UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE THAT HAS DOMINATED THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS
SUMMER WAS NUDGED EASTWARD INTO THE GREAT LAKES FOR A FEW DAYS LATE
THIS MONTH. THIS RESULTED IN WELL-ABOVE NORMAL DAILY TEMPERATURES
FROM THE 20TH THROUGH 26TH. THE PEAK OF THE HEAT OCCURRED ON THE
23RD AND 24TH WHEN SOUTH BEND RECORDED A HEAT INDEX OF 114 AND 115,
RESPECTIVELY. ACCORDING TO THE MIDWESTERN REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER,
FROM 1973 TO 2018, SOUTH BEND SEES WELL LESS THAN 1 HOUR ON AVERAGE
ANNUALLY WITH A HEAT INDEX OF 110 IN AUGUST.
ONE RECORD WAS SET THIS MONTH. THE LOW TEMPERATURE OF 77 ON THE 24TH
WAS THE WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE RECORDED. IT BREAKS THE PREVIOUS
RECORD OF 75 SET IN 1975.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 71.5 DEGREES WHICH IS NEAR
THE NORMAL OF 70.7 DEGREES.
BROWN
$$