...ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION WITH RECORD LOW
SNOWFALL...
THE YEAR OF 2006 WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE LEAST SNOWY CALENDAR
YEARS ON RECORD ACROSS THE REGION ENCOMPASSING NORTHERN INDIANA...
SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN...AND NORTHWEST OHIO. SOUTH BEND HAD ITS
LOWEST CALENDAR YEAR SNOWFALL TOTAL EVER SINCE OFFICIAL RECORDS
BEGAN IN 1939. THE TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 18.9 INCHES WAS AN ASTOUNDING
57.6 INCHES BELOW NORMAL...SHATTERING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 24.9
INCHES IN 1948. THE ALMOST COMPLETE LACK OF COLD AIR FROM JANUARY
THROUGH MARCH...AND AGAIN IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER ALL BUT
ELIMINATED LAKE EFFECT SNOW...WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ABOUT HALF OF
THE SNOWFALL IN A TYPICAL YEAR AT SOUTH BEND. IN FORT WAYNE THE
SNOWFALL TOTAL WAS EVEN LOWER...WITH ONLY 13.8 INCHES FOR THE YEAR
WHICH IS 21.3 INCHES BELOW NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 7TH LEAST SNOWY
SINCE OFFICIAL RECORDS BEGAN IN 1911.
TOTAL PRECIPITATION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR 2006...WITH
MOST AREAS COMING IN BETWEEN 4 AND 6 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE. IN SOUTH
BEND 45.00 INCHES FELL FOR THE YEAR...WHICH IS 5.30 INCHES ABOVE
NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 8TH WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD. IN FORT WAYNE
42.16 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FELL FOR THE YEAR. THIS WAS A WELCOME
CHANGE AFTER A LONG TERM DROUGHT IN 2005...AND THE CONSISTENTLY
ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL HAS HELPED TO RECHARGE GROUND WATER. THE
DISTRIBUTION OF PRECIPITATION WAS QUITE EVEN THROUGH THE YEAR...AND
RESULTED IN VERY FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR AGRICULTURE WITH EXCELLENT
CROP YIELDS REPORTED.
TEMPERATURES AVERAGED ABOVE NORMAL FOR 2006...HOWEVER IT WAS A
ROLLER COASTER RIDE IN TERMS OF MONTHLY DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL. FOR
THE YEAR...TEMPERATURES WERE BETWEEN 1.5 AND 2.0 DEGREES ABOVE
NORMAL...WITH SOUTH BEND RECORDING ITS 8TH WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD.
THE YEAR BEGAN IN JANUARY WITH UNPRECEDENTED WARMTH...WITH
TEMPERATURES AN AMAZING 12 TO 14 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. IT WAS THE
WARMEST JANUARY ON RECORD FOR BOTH FORT WAYNE AND SOUTH BEND. THIS
FOLLOWED A VERY COLD AND RELATIVELY SNOWY DECEMBER 2005...MAKING THE
WARMTH EVEN MORE DRAMATIC. THE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES CONTINUED
FROM FEBRUARY INTO APRIL...BUT NOT AS SIGNIFICANTLY SO AS IN
JANUARY. TEMPERATURES THEN SWUNG TO BELOW NORMAL FOR MAY AND JUNE
BEFORE RETURNING TO NEAR NORMAL FOR JULY AND AUGUST. AS FALL
BEGAN...SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER WERE MUCH COOLER THAN AVERAGE WITH
BOTH MONTHS RANKING IN THE TOP TEN COOLEST ON RECORD FOR FORT WAYNE
AND SOUTH BEND. A DRAMATIC CHANGE AGAIN OCCURRED TO END THE YEAR
WITH DECEMBER RANKING AMONG THE TOP TEN WARMEST ON RECORD DESPITE
ABOUT A WEEK OF COLD WEATHER AT THE START OF THE MONTH.
THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF TEMPERATURE...PRECIPITATION...AND
SNOWFALL DATA FOR SOUTH BEND AND FORT WAYNE FOR EACH MONTH...SEASON
AND YEARLY TOTALS. OFFICIAL RECORDS FOR THE BASIS OF RANKINGS BEGAN
AT SOUTH BEND IN 1939...AND IN 1911 AT FORT WAYNE. THE AVERAGES AND
DEPARTURES FROM AVERAGE ARE BASED ON THE STANDARD 30 YEAR CLIMATE
NORMALS CALCULATED FROM 1971-2000.
...SOUTH BEND...
...TEMPERATURES...
MONTH/SEASON AVERAGE TEMP NORMAL DEPARTURE RANK
DECEMBER 2005 24.0 28.7 -4.7 12TH COOLEST
JANUARY 35.8 23.4 +12.4 1ST WARMEST
FEBRUARY 28.8 27.3 +1.5
WINTER 29.5 26.5 +3.0
MARCH 37.6 37.5 +0.1
APRIL 52.2 48.3 +3.9 8TH WARMEST
MAY 57.6 59.6 -2.0
SPRING 49.1 48.5 +0.6
JUNE 67.7 69.0 -1.3 17TH COOLEST
JULY 74.6 73.0 +1.6 14TH WARMEST
AUGUST 71.3 71.0 +0.3
SUMMER 71.2 71.0 +0.2
SEPTEMBER 61.4 63.4 -2.0 9TH COOLEST
OCTOBER 48.8 52.1 -3.3 5TH COOLEST
NOVEMBER 42.7 40.1 +2.6 14TH WARMEST
FALL 51.0 51.9 -0.9 10TH COOLEST
DECEMBER 35.6 28.7 +6.9 4TH WARMEST
2006 YEAR 51.2 49.5 +1.7 8TH WARMEST
...PRECIPITATION...
MONTH/SEASON PRECIPITATION NORMAL DEPARTURE RANK
DECEMBER 2005 1.79 3.09 -1.30 15TH DRIEST
JANUARY 2.87 2.27 +0.60 18TH WETTEST
FEBRUARY 0.95 1.98 -1.03
WINTER 5.61 7.34 -1.73
MARCH 3.08 2.89 +0.19 19TH WETTEST
APRIL 2.41 3.62 -1.21 16TH DRIEST
MAY 5.45 3.50 +1.95 12TH WETTEST
SPRING 10.94 10.01 +0.93
JUNE 2.00 4.19 -2.19 13TH DRIEST
JULY 8.66 3.73 +4.93 1ST WETTEST
AUGUST 4.66 3.98 +0.68 18TH WETTEST
SUMMER 15.32 11.90 +3.42 6TH WETTEST
SEPTEMBER 3.53 3.79 -0.26
OCTOBER 4.51 3.27 +1.24 14TH WETTEST
NOVEMBER 3.33 3.39 -0.06
FALL 11.37 10.45 +0.92
DECEMBER 3.55 3.09 +0.46 19TH WETTEST
2006 YEAR 45.00 39.70 +5.30 8TH WETTEST
...SNOWFALL...
MONTH/SEASON
DECEMBER 2005 19.1 19.2 -0.1
JANUARY 3.4 23.2 -19.8 8TH LEAST
FEBRUARY 5.9 15.5 -9.6
WINTER 28.4 57.9 -29.5 8TH LEAST
MARCH 3.6 8.7 -5.1 15TH LEAST
APRIL 0.0 1.7 -1.7
SPRING 3.6 10.4 -6.8 10TH LEAST
OCTOBER 1.8 0.5 +1.3 7TH MOST
NOVEMBER 0.2 7.7 -7.5 3RD LEAST
FALL 2.0 8.2 -6.2 9TH LEAST
DECEMBER 4.0 19.2 -15.2 4TH LEAST
2006 YEAR 18.9 76.5 -57.6 1ST LEAST
...FORT WAYNE...
...TEMPERATURES...
MONTH/SEASON AVERAGE TEMP NORMAL DEPARTURE RANK
DECEMBER 2005 24.0 29.0 -5.0 17TH COOLEST
JANUARY 36.9 23.6 +13.3 1ST WARMEST
FEBRUARY 29.8 27.3 +2.5
WINTER 30.2 26.6 +3.6
MARCH 38.6 38.1 +0.5
APRIL 53.1 49.0 +4.1 9TH WARMEST
MAY 59.0 60.4 -1.4
SPRING 50.2 49.2 +1.0
JUNE 68.8 69.7 -0.9
JULY 75.1 73.4 +1.7 19TH WARMEST
AUGUST 71.5 71.1 +0.4
SUMMER 71.8 71.4 +0.4
SEPTEMBER 61.0 64.1 -3.1 8TH COOLEST
OCTOBER 49.2 52.4 -3.2 9TH COOLEST
NOVEMBER 42.8 40.6 +2.2 18TH WARMEST
FALL 51.0 52.4 -1.4
DECEMBER 36.2 29.0 +7.2 6TH WARMEST
2006 YEAR 51.8 49.9 +1.9
...PRECIPITATION...
MONTH/SEASON PRECIPITATION NORMAL DEPARTURE RANK
DECEMBER 2005 2.16 2.77 -0.61
JANUARY 3.01 2.05 +0.96 20TH WETTEST
FEBRUARY 1.64 1.94 -0.30
WINTER 6.81 6.76 +0.05
MARCH 1.98 2.86 -0.88
APRIL 4.26 3.54 +0.72
MAY 5.04 3.75 +1.29 17TH WETTEST
SPRING 11.28 10.15 +1.13
JUNE 3.36 4.04 -0.68
JULY 5.41 3.58 +1.83 16TH WETTEST
AUGUST 3.17 3.60 -0.43
SUMMER 11.94 11.22 +0.72
SEPTEMBER 2.82 2.81 +0.01
OCTOBER 4.35 2.63 +1.72 14TH WETTEST
NOVEMBER 2.39 2.98 -0.59
FALL 9.56 8.42 +1.14
DECEMBER 4.73 2.77 +1.96 6TH WETTEST
2006 YEAR 42.16 36.55 +5.61
...SNOWFALL...
DECEMBER 2005 15.8 8.3 +7.5 8TH MOST
JANUARY 2.0 9.9 -7.9 10TH LEAST
FEBRUARY 4.8 7.6 -2.8
WINTER 22.6 25.8 -3.2
MARCH 2.2 4.7 -2.5 15TH LEAST
APRIL T 1.1 -1.1
SPRING 2.2 5.8 -3.6
OCTOBER T 0.5 -0.5
NOVEMBER T 3.0 -3.0 2ND LEAST
FALL T 3.5 -3.5 2ND LEAST
DECEMBER 4.8 8.3 -3.5
2006 YEAR 13.8 35.1 -21.3 7TH LEAST
...MAJOR WEATHER EVENTS IN 2006...
THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENTS WHICH
AFFECTED NORTHERN INDIANA...SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN...AND NORTHWEST
OHIO IN 2006.
...JANUARY 2ND SEVERE WEATHER...
WHILE NOT WIDESPREAD...VERY RARE MID WINTER SEVERE WEATHER AFFECTED
PORTIONS OF NORTHERN INDIANA WITH SEVERAL REPORTS OF UP TO PENNY
SIZED HAIL AS A CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH THE REGION.
...FEBRUARY 16TH SEVERE WEATHER...
ANOTHER RARE WINTER SEVERE WEATHER EVENT WITH REPORTS OF UP TO
NICKEL SIZED HAIL AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE IN NORTHERN
INDIANA AND SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN.
...MARCH 13TH SEVERE WEATHER...
AN EARLY SPRING LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS SWEPT THROUGH MUCH OF THE
REGION WITH SCATTERED REPORTS OF WIND DAMAGE AND HAIL UP TO ONE INCH
IN DIAMETER.
...MARCH 31ST SEVERE WEATHER...
A BROKEN LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH MUCH OF
NORTHEAST INDIANA AND NORTHWEST OHIO DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING HOURS. HAIL UP TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND DAMAGING
WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH WERE REPORTED. AN F2 TORNADO WAS CONFIRMED IN
VAN WERT NEAR OHIO CITY WHERE SEVERAL BARNS WERE DESTROYED WITH
DAMAGE TO HOMES AND VEHICLES.
...APRIL 14TH SEVERE WEATHER...
WIDESPREAD SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL AND
NORTHERN INDIANA MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE WABASH RIVER. PENNY
TO GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL WAS COMMON...WITH ONE REPORT OF SOFTBALL
SIZED HAIL IN FULTON COUNTY NEAR ROCHESTER.
...MAY 25TH SEVERE WEATHER...
WIDESPREAD SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHERN INDIANA AND NORTHWEST OHIO.
THERE WERE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF PENNY TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL AND WIND
DAMAGE.
...MAY 31ST SEVERE WEATHER...
A SMALL CLUSTER OF WEAK THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED ACROSS PORTIONS OF
WHITE AND CASS COUNTIES IN INDIANA AND PRODUCED SEVERAL WEAK
TORNADOES. THESE TORNADOES FORMED UNDER VERY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES
THAN THEIR MORE INTENSE COUSINS...AND ONLY PRODUCED VERY MINOR WIND
DAMAGE.
...JUNE 21ST AND 22ND SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAKS...
THE MOST WIDESPREAD AND DAMAGING SEVERE WEATHER OF THE YEAR STRUCK
THE REGION. THERE WERE SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER
THE TWO DAY STRETCH WITH EACH PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE
HAIL. THE MOST NOTABLE EVENT WAS A SQUALL LINE THAT PRODUCED HIGH
END WIND DAMAGE ACROSS NORTHEAST INDIANA INTO PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST
OHIO WITH WIND GUSTS ESTIMATED AT 80 TO 90 MPH FROM AREAS SOUTH OF
FORT WAYNE TO LIMA OHIO. THIS LINE OF STORMS ALSO SPAWNED FOUR WEAK
TORNADOES IN NORTHWEST OHIO. THE INTENSE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS WERE
RESPONSIBLE FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF DAMAGE AT THE LIMA OHIO
AIRPORT.
...JULY 11TH AND 12TH FLOODING IN ELKHART AND LAGRANGE COUNTIES...
SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS DROPPED TORRENTIAL RAINS
ACROSS ELKHART AND LAGRANGE COUNTIES IN INDIANA. 3 TO 6 INCHES OF
RAIN WAS COMMON IN THIS AREA FOR THE TWO DAYS...WITH ONE REPORT OF
OVER 9 INCHES IN LAGRANGE COUNTY JUST EAST OF OLIVER LAKE. SEVERE
FLASH FLOODING RESULTED WITH NUMEROUS ROAD CLOSURES AND FLOODED
BUILDINGS.
...AUGUST 23RD NORTHWEST INDIANA SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM...
AN INTENSE SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM...PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE
IN RECENT MEMORY IN THIS AREA...DEVELOPED OVER LAKE MICHIGAN AND
CAME ONSHORE AT MICHIGAN CITY INDIANA. THE STORM PRODUCED A MEASURED
WIND GUST TO 106 MPH AT THE MICHIGAN CITY COAST GUARD STATION.
WIDESPREAD SEVERE WIND DAMAGE OCCURRED IN MUCH OF LAPORTE AND PORTER
COUNTIES IN INDIANA. THIS STORM ALSO PRODUCED UP TO TENNIS BALL
SIZED HAIL. PREPARATIONS WERE UNDERWAY FOR THE OPENING OF THE ANNUAL
MICHIGAN CITY IN-WATER BOAT SHOW...THE LARGEST ON THE GREAT LAKES...
THE FOLLOWING DAY. SEVERAL BOATS...TENTS...AND DISPLAYS WERE DAMAGED
IN THE STORM AND MANY 100 YEAR OLD TREES IN WASHINGTON PARK WERE
TOPPLED.
...DECEMBER 6TH AND 7TH LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENT...
THE ONLY WINTER WEATHER EVENT TO SPEAK OF IN 2006 OCCURRED IN EARLY
DECEMBER AS ARCTIC AIR CROSSED LAKE MICHIGAN AND SET THE STAGE FOR A
PERIOD OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW. ACCUMULATIONS WERE GENERALLY IN THE 1 TO
4 INCH RANGE ACROSS MUCH OF NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA INTO
SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS OF UP TO 6 INCHES. AN
ISOLATED BAND OF HEAVIER SNOW DUMPED UP TO A FOOT ON PORTIONS OF
CASS COUNTY MICHIGAN AROUND MARCELLUS. JUST NORTH OF THE REGION OVER
20 INCHES OF SNOW FELL NEAR HOLLAND MICHIGAN WHERE AN INTENSE BAND
OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW DEVELOPED AND REMAINED NEARLY STATIONARY.
$$
HITCHCOCK
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