Indianapolis, IN

Weather Forecast Office

Cold Spell of Late December 2017-Early January 2018

The last week of December 2017 and the first week of January 2018 saw arctic air flow into central Indiana, providing some of the coldest temperatures in about 4 years.

The upper level atmosphere flow allowed air straight from the arctic to flow into the area. Temperatures plunged to well below zero, with even colder wind chills.

Below are some data and facts about the cold spell...

Daily High/Low Temperatures for each day:

City

Dec 26

Dec 27

Dec 28

Dec 29

Dec 30

Dec 31

Jan 1

Jan 2

Jan 3

Jan 4

Jan 5

Jan 6

Indianapolis

19 / 2

11 / -3

18 / 4

19 / 15

17 / 0

11 / -1

4 / -10

11 / -12

20 / 3

13 / -3

11 / -8

16 / -7

Lafayette

10 / -5

5 / -11

16 / -8

16 / 10

14 / -7

6 / -8

-4 / -17

4 / -19

18 / -1

6 / -10

6 / -15

10 / -17

Muncie

13 / 0

10 / -4

17 / -2

18 / 14

15 / -2

10 / 0

0 / -10

8 / -10

19 / 5

14 / 1

9 / -3

14 / -5

Terre Haute

20 / 2

11 / -3

20 / 3

20 / 15

20 / 3

9 / -1

2 / -9

13 / -9

22 / 5

10 / -3

12 / -2

17 / -9

Bloomington

22 / 5

13 / -2

21 / 4

22 / 17

21 / 3

12 / -1

7 / -6

15 / -9

22 / 5

15 / -1

16 / 0

21 / -9

Graph of Indianapolis Temperatures during the period Dec 26 - Jan 6. Click to enlarge.

At Indianapolis: The high temperature of 11 on December 31 tied the record for the coolest maximum temperature for the date. The low temperature of -12 on January 2 tied the record low temperature for the date, which was originally set in 1887. The average temperature of 3.2 degrees for the period Jan 1 to Jan 6 is the coldest for the first 6 days of any year since records began in 1871.

Below is the departure from normal for average temperatures for Dec 26 to Jan 6. Click to enlarge.