A Look Back at the 2013-2014 Winter Season
You may be sick of the snow and the cold but at least meteorological winter has ended! We take a look at some interesting numbers and statistics at how this winter stacks up against the record books in temperatures and snowfall. Just a reminder that the meteorological winter season runs from December 1st through February 28th. Detailed climate summaries are available here: Fort Wayne & South Bend.
000
CXUS53 KIWX 020010
CLSFWA
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
710 PM EST SAT MAR 1 2014
...................................
...THE FORT WAYNE CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM
12/1/2013 TO 2/28/2014...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1897 TO 2014
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE
NORMAL
.............................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 73 02/25/2000
LOW -24 01/12/1918
HIGHEST 59 12/05 MM MM 64
12/04
LOWEST -16 02/11 MM MM 2
01/28
AVG. MAXIMUM 29.2 34.9 -5.7 37.6
AVG. MINIMUM 12.2 19.9 -7.7 23.5
MEAN 20.7 27.4 -6.7
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 60 35.2 24.8 29
DAYS MIN <= 32 83 77.4 5.6 74
DAYS MIN <= 0 19 6.5 12.5 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 17.85 1950
MINIMUM 1.58 1920
TOTALS 8.94 7.07 1.87 7.49
DAILY AVG. 0.10 0.08 0.02 0.08
DAYS >= .01 43 35.7 7.3 37
DAYS >= .10 21 17.0 4.0 17
DAYS >= .50 5 4.1 0.9 5
DAYS >= 1.00 3 0.8 2.2 1
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.59 MM
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 61.1 1982
24 HR TOTAL MM
TOTALS 59.4 26.3 33.1 19.8
SINCE 7/1 60.4 28.4 32.0 20.4
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 3 3 0 1
DAYS >= TRACE 63 24.6 38.4 40
DAYS >= 1.0 19 7.8 11.2 9
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 12 01/06 4
24 HR TOTAL 9.5 MM
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 3952 3381 571 3070
SINCE 7/1 MM 4598 MM MM
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0
..............................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.0
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 39/280 DATE 01/27
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 48/270 DATE 01/26
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.70
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 9
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 31
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 50
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 76
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 5
HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 5
LIGHT RAIN 15 FREEZING RAIN 2
LT FREEZING RAIN 10 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 5 SNOW 16
LIGHT SNOW 62 SLEET 6
FOG 59 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 10
HAZE 38
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
IT WAS ONE OF THE COLDEST AND SNOWIEST WINTER SEASONS ON RECORD AND
CERTAINLY ONE OF THE MOST EXTREME WINTER SEASONS IN SEVERAL DECADES.
...A COLD DECEMBER WITH NEAR NORMAL PRECIPITATION...
DECEMBER ACTUALLY BEGAN THE WINTER SEASON RELATIVELY MILD AT FORT
WAYNE WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 40S AND 50S FOR THE FIRST 5
DAYS. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH WAS 59 ON BOTH THE 4TH
AND 5TH. THIS WOULD ACTUALLY TURN OUT TO BE THE WARMEST DAYS OF THE
ENTIRE WINTER SEASON. THIS WARMTH WAS SHORT LIVED AS THE FIRST OF
NUMEROUS ARCTIC COLD FRONTS BEGAN TO ESTABLISH THE VERY COLD AIR
WHICH WOULD BECOME ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE REGION FOR THE DURATION OF
THE WINTER.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER WAS 27.4 DEGREES...1.7 DEGREES
BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 37TH COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD.
THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH WAS -4 DEGREES ON THE 12TH.
PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH WAS 2.86 INCHES...0.09 INCHES ABOVE
NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 36TH WETTEST DECEMBER ON RECORD. SNOWFALL
FOR DECEMBER WAS 9.9 INCHES WHICH WAS 1.4 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THE
GREATEST AMOUNT OF SNOWFALL OCCURRED ON DECEMBER 14 WHEN 4.6 INCHES
FELL.
...EXTREMELY COLD WITH RECORD SNOW IN JANUARY AT FORT WAYNE...
THE COLDER THAN NORMAL WINTER BECAME BITTERLY COLD AND HARSH IN
JANUARY WITH RECORD COLD TEMPERATURES...NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT
TIMES...DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS AND A LOT OF SNOW.
THE HARSH WINTER CONTINUED INTO JANUARY WITH VERY COLD TEMPERATURES...
DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS AND A LOT OF SNOW. JANUARY BEGAN COLD WITH THE
2ND AND 3RD HAVING AVERAGE TEMPERATURES ABOUT 20 DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL AND LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE SINGLE DIGITS TO 10 BELOW ZERO.
THIS WAS JUST A TEASE OF WHAT WAS ABOUT TO COME A FEW DAYS LATER.
ONE OF THE COLDEST OUTBREAKS IN RECENT MEMORY ARRIVED ON THE 6TH IN
THE WAKE OF ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE SNOWFALLS. A STRONG
STORM SYSTEM MOVED THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY AND DROPPED BETWEEN 10
AND 18 INCHES OF SNOW ON MANY LOCATIONS ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA AND
NORTHWEST OHIO. THIS STORM WAS ACCOMPANIED BY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH
WHICH CREATED BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND WHITEOUT CONDITIONS IN
SOME AREAS. AS THE TEMPERATURE FELL BELOW ZERO ON THE 6TH...WIND
CHILLS PLUMMETED TO AROUND 40 BELOW ZERO. LOW TEMPERATURES DROPPED
BELOW ZERO FOR 2 CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS BETWEEN THE 6TH AND 7TH. A BRIEF
WARMUP OCCURRED BETWEEN THE 10TH AND 14TH AS TEMPERATURES WARMED
INTO THE 40S. MORE SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES FOLLOWED THROUGH THE 20TH
BEFORE YET ANOTHER PLUNGE OF VERY COLD ARCTIC AIR MADE ITS WAY BACK
TO THE REGION. THIS SYSTEM WAS ACCOMPANIED BY SNOW AND VERY STRONG
WINDS AS WELL. LOW TEMPERATURES DROPPED BELOW ZERO FROM THE 21ST
THROUGH THE 24TH THEN FELL TO 16 BELOW ZERO ON THE 28TH. WIND CHILLS
ONCE AGAIN DROPPED TO NEAR 35 BELOW ZERO DURING THIS COLD PERIOD.
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS 17.0 DEGREES...7.9 DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 10TH COLDEST JANUARY ON RECORD. THERE
WERE 10 DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES DROPPING BELOW ZERO. THE COLDEST DAY
OF THE MONTH WAS JANUARY 28TH WITH A HIGH OF 3 AND A LOW OF 16 BELOW
FOR AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 6 BELOW ZERO...31 DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL.
PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH WAS 2.59 INCHES...0.33 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL. THIS ONLY RANKS AS THE 31ST WETTEST JANUARY ON RECORD.
THE GREATEST 24 HOUR PRECIPITATION WAS 0.84 ON THE 5TH. HOWEVER...IT
WAS A VERY SNOWY MONTH. A RECORD TOTAL OF 30.3 INCHES OF SNOW WAS
RECORDED...19.3 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS NOT ONLY RANKED AS THE
SNOWIEST JANUARY ON RECORD...BUT ALSO THE SNOWIEST OF ANY MONTH ON
RECORD. THE GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL TOTAL WAS ON THE 5TH WHEN 9.5
INCHES OF SNOW FELL. THE GREATEST SNOW DEPTH OF THE MONTH WAS 12 ON
THE MORNING OF THE 6TH. THE VERY COLD AIR IS THE REASON THAT
SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WERE SO HIGH DESPITE ONLY 2.59 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION BEING MEASURED.
...FEBRUARY GETS EVEN COLDER WITH MORE SNOW TO END THE WINTER
SEASON...
FEBRUARY CONTINUED A STREAK OF MONTHS WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES
IN THE FORT WAYNE AREA ALONG WITH NEAR RECORD SNOWFALL. THIS WAS THE
FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES...AND IT WAS
ALSO THE COLDEST MONTH OF THE WINTER SEASON. IT WAS ALSO ANOTHER
VERY SNOWY MONTH WITH NEARLY 20 INCHES FALLING AT THE AIRPORT.
THE OVERALL WINTER WEATHER PATTERN THAT KEPT THE CENTRAL UNITED
STATES VERY COLD CONTINUED INTO FEBRUARY. THERE WAS A BRIEF
BREAKDOWN DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH AND THIS ALLOWED
TEMPERATURES TO BRIEFLY WARM ABOVE NORMAL. HOWEVER...THIS REPRIEVE
FROM THE DEEP FREEZE WAS SHORT LIVED AS VERY COLD AIR RETURNED FOR
THE END OF THE MONTH.
THERE WERE ONLY 6 DAYS IN FEBRUARY WITH A DAILY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
ABOVE NORMAL. MORE THAN HALF OF THE DAYS IN FEBRUARY...16...SAW AN
AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE TEN DEGREES OR MORE BELOW NORMAL. FEBRUARY
11TH WAS THE COLDEST DAY OF THE MONTH WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
THAT WAS 29 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE IN
FEBRUARY ALSO OCCURRED ON THIS MORNING WITH 16 BELOW ZERO RECORDED.
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS JUST 17.6 DEGREES...10.7 DEGREES
BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 5TH COLDEST FEBRUARY SINCE 1912.
FEBRUARY 1978 WAS THE COLDEST FEBRUARY WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
OF 11.8 DEGREES. THERE WERE 8 DAYS WITH A LOW TEMPERATURE BELOW
ZERO. FEBRUARY 1978 HOLDS THE RECORD OF 18 DAYS WITH A LOW
TEMPERATURE OF ZERO OR COLDER.
PRECIPITATION FOR FEBRUARY WAS 3.49 INCHES...1.45 INCHES ABOVE
NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 13TH WETTEST FEBRUARY SINCE 1912.
MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION FELL ON 10 DAYS WITH THE GREATEST 24 HOUR
PRECIPITATION BEING 1.14 INCHES ON THE FIRST.
SNOWFALL FOR FEBRUARY WAS 19.2 INCHES...11.5 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL.
THIS RANKED AS THE THIRD SNOWIEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD AND THE
SNOWIEST FEBRUARY SINCE 1908. MEASURABLE SNOW FELL ON 12 DAYS
DURING THE MONTH AND THE GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL WAS 6.2 INCHES ON
THE 5TH. THERE WAS AT LEAST ONE INCH OF SNOW ON THE GROUND EVERY DAY
IN FEBRUARY. THIS HAS ONLY HAPPENED IN 5 OTHER YEARS SINCE 1912.
THOSE YEARS WERE 1914...1982...1978...1979 AND 2007. FORT WAYNE
ENDED THE WINTER SEASON WITH A STRING OF 43 STRAIGHT DAYS WITH AT
LEAST ONE INCH OF SNOW ON THE GROUND DATING BACK TO JANUARY 17TH.
THIS RANKED AS THE 9TH LONGEST STRETCH OF DAYS WITH AT LEAST ONE
INCH ON THE GROUND SINCE 1912.
...WINTER SEASON ENDS UP BEING VERY COLD AND SNOWY OVERALL...
THE AVERAGE WINTER SEASON TEMPERATURE AT FORT WAYNE INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT WAS 20.7 DEGREES...6.7 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 27.4.
THIS RANKED AS THE 6TH COLDEST WINTER SEASON ON RECORD AT FORT WAYNE
AND THE COLDEST SEASON SINCE 1977-78. THAT SEASON RANKED AS THE
COLDEST WINTER SEASON WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 17.7. EACH
MONTH INDIVIDUALLY AVERAGED BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES THIS WINTER
AND EACH MONTH BECAME PROGRESSIVELY COLDER WITH RESPECT TO NORMAL.
PRECIPITATION FOR THE WINTER SEASON WAS 8.94 INCHES...1.87 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 16TH WETTEST WINTER SEASON ON
RECORD. THERE WERE 43 DAYS IN WHICH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION
OCCURRED. THIS RANKED 7TH FOR MOST DAYS WITH MEASURABLE
PRECIPITATION IN A WINTER SEASON. THE WINTER OF 2007-2008 WAS FIRST
WITH 50 DAYS.
THE WINTER SEASON SNOWFALL AT FORT WAYNE WAS 59.4 INCHES...33.1
INCHES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 26.3 INCHES. THIS RANKED AS THE 2ND
SNOWIEST WINTER ON RECORD AT FORT WAYNE. THE RECORD WAS SET IN
1981-82 WITH 61.1 INCHES.
MANY PEOPLE HAVE EXPRESSED OPINIONS THAT THIS WINTER SEASON WAS ONE
OF THE MOST EXTREME ON RECORD. WHILE IT IS DIFFICULT TO RANK WINTERS
BASED ON COMBINED PARAMETERS...A VERY SIMPLISTIC CALCULATION WAS
DONE USING THE AVERAGE OF THE RANKINGS FOR SNOWIEST AND COLDEST
WINTER SEASONS. THE WINTER OF 1977-78 CAME OUT THE MOST EXTREME AS
IT WAS THE THIRD SNOWIEST AND THE COLDEST WINTER ON RECORD. THE WINTER OF
1981-82 AND THE WINTER OF 2013-14 TIED FOR SECOND MOST EXTREME. THE
WINTER OF 1981-82 WAS THE SNOWIEST AND 8TH COLDEST WHILE THE WINTER
OF 2013-14 WAS THE SECOND SNOWIEST AND 7TH COLDEST. THESE NUMBERS
REALLY DO NOT MEAN ANYTHING SCIENTIFICALLY BUT ARE A QUICK AND
INTERESTING WAY TO COMPARE SEASONS BASED ON SNOW AND TEMPERATURE
RANKINGS COMBINED. ONE COULD EASILY ARGUE THAT THE WINTER OF 2013-14
WAS THE COLDEST AND SNOWIEST COMBINED SINCE 1981-82.
000
CXUS53 KIWX 020007
CLSSBN
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
700 PM EST SAT MAR 1 2014
...................................
...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE WINTER SEASON, FROM
12/1/2013 TO 2/28/2014...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1893 TO 2014
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 59 12/04 MM MM 65
LOWEST -14 01/28 MM MM 3
01/06
AVG. MAXIMUM 28.1 33.8 -5.7 37.2
AVG. MINIMUM 12.4 20.1 -7.7 23.6
MEAN 20.3 27.0 -6.7
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 61 39.1 21.9 29
DAYS MIN <= 32 80 77.6 2.4 73
DAYS MIN <= 0 19 5.3 13.7 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 13.35 1950
MINIMUM 2.77 1945
TOTALS 8.27 6.85 1.42 10.92
DAILY AVG. 0.09 0.08 0.01 0.12
DAYS >= .01 50 43.3 6.7 49
DAYS >= .10 20 18.4 1.6 33
DAYS >= .50 5 3.0 2.0 6
DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.8 0.2 2
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.64
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 136.3 1978
24 HR TOTAL MM
TOTALS MM 52.9 MM 47.7
SINCE 7/1 MM 58.1 MM 47.7
SNOWDEPTH AVG. MM 3 MM 2
DAYS >= TRACE MM 33.3 MM 41
DAYS >= 1.0 MM 16.0 MM 24
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH MM 11
24 HR TOTAL MM
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 3894 3420 474 3076
SINCE 7/1 MM 4689 MM MM
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0
..............................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.5
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 35/240 DATE 02/20
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 48/MM DATE MM
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.70
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 19
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 26
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 45
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 72
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 4
LIGHT RAIN 10 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 2 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 15
LIGHT SNOW 58 SLEET 0
FOG 58 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 12
HAZE 65
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
...A WINTER SEASON TO REMEMBER...
IT WAS ONE OF THE COLDEST AND SNOWIEST WINTER SEASONS ON RECORD AND
CERTAINLY ONE OF THE MOST EXTREME WINTER SEASONS IN DECADES.
...A COLD DECEMBER WITH NEAR NORMAL PRECIPITATION...
DECEMBER ACTUALLY BEGAN THE WINTER SEASON RELATIVELY MILD AT SOUTH
BEND WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 40S AND 50S FOR THE FIRST 5 DAYS.
THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH WAS 59 ON THE 4TH. THIS WOULD
ACTUALLY TURN OUT TO BE THE WARMEST DAY OF THE ENTIRE WINTER SEASON.
THIS WARMTH WAS SHORT LIVED AS THE FIRST OF NUMEROUS ARCTIC COLD
FRONTS BEGAN TO ESTABLISH THE VERY COLD AIR WHICH WOULD BECOME
ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE REGION FOR THE DURATION OF THE WINTER.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR DECEMBER WAS 26.1 DEGREES...2.7 DEGREES
BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 37TH COLDEST DECEMBER ON RECORD.
THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH WAS 3 DEGREES BELOW ZERO ON THE
12TH. PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH WAS 2.33 INCHES...0.28 INCHES
BELOW NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 56TH DRIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD.
SNOWFALL AT SOUTH BEND WAS BASED ON VOLUNTEER WEATHER OBSERVER
REPORTS. APPROXIMATELY 18.5 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED...1.2 INCHES
ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 17.3 INCHES. THIS WOULD TIE WITH 1964 AS THE
37TH SNOWIEST DECEMBER ON RECORD.
...JANUARY GETS COLDER WITH A LOT OF SNOW...
THE COLDER THAN NORMAL WINTER BECAME BITTERLY COLD AND HARSH IN
JANUARY WITH RECORD COLD TEMPERATURES...NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT
TIMES...DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS AND A LOT OF SNOW. JANUARY BEGAN COLD
WITH THE 2ND AND 3RD HAVING AVERAGE TEMPERATURES NEARLY 20 DEGREES
BELOW NORMAL AND LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE SINGLE DIGITS BELOW ZERO.
THIS WAS JUST A TEASE OF WHAT WAS ABOUT TO COME A FEW DAYS LATER.
ONE OF THE COLDEST OUTBREAKS IN RECENT MEMORY ARRIVED ON JANUARY 6TH
IN THE WAKE OF ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE SNOWFALLS IN RECENT DECADES.
A STRONG STORM SYSTEM MOVED THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY AND DROPPED
BETWEEN 10 AND 18 INCHES OF SNOW ON MANY LOCATIONS ACROSS NORTHERN
INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. THIS STORM WAS ACCOMPANIED BY
WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WHICH CREATED BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND
WHITEOUT CONDITIONS IN SOME AREAS. AS THE TEMPERATURE FELL BELOW
ZERO ON THE 6TH...WIND CHILLS PLUMMETED TO AROUND 40 BELOW ZERO. LOW
TEMPERATURES DROPPED BELOW ZERO FOR 4 CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS BETWEEN THE
6TH AND 9TH. A BRIEF WARMUP OCCURRED BETWEEN THE 10TH AND 13TH AS
TEMPERATURES WARMED INTO THE 40S. MORE SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES
FOLLOWED THROUGH THE 20TH BEFORE YET ANOTHER PLUNGE OF VERY COLD
ARCTIC AIR MADE ITS WAY BACK TO THE REGION. THIS SYSTEM WAS
ACCOMPANIED BY SNOW AND VERY STRONG WINDS AS WELL. LOW TEMPERATURES
DROPPED TO 14 BELOW ZERO AT SOUTH BEND ON THE 28TH AND WIND CHILLS
ONCE AGAIN DROPPED TO NEAR 35 BELOW ZERO.
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS 16.3 DEGREES...8.1 DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 9TH COLDEST JANUARY ON RECORD. THERE WERE
10 DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO. PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH
WAS 3.12 INCHES...0.83 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL. THIS RANKED AS THE 29TH
WETTEST JANUARY ON RECORD.
SNOWFALL AT SOUTH BEND WAS BASED ON VOLUNTEER WEATHER OBSERVER
REPORTS. APPROXIMATELY 46.6 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED...26.6
INCHES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 20.6 INCHES. THIS WOULD RANK AS THE 3RD
SNOWIEST JANUARY ON RECORD. THE RECORD WAS SET IN 1978 WITH 86.1
INCHES.
...FEBRUARY GETS EVEN COLDER WITH MORE SNOW TO END THE WINTER
SEASON...
FEBRUARY CONTINUED A STREAK OF MONTHS WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES
IN THE SOUTH BEND AREA. THIS WAS THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH WITH
BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES...AND IT WAS ALSO THE COLDEST MONTH OF THE
WINTER SEASON. IT WAS ALSO ANOTHER VERY SNOWY MONTH BASED ON
VOLUNTEER WEATHER OBSERVER REPORTS FROM AROUND THE REGION.
THE OVERALL WINTER WEATHER PATTERN THAT KEPT THE CENTRAL UNITED
STATES VERY COLD CONTINUED INTO FEBRUARY. THERE WAS A BRIEF
BREAKDOWN DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH AND THIS ALLOWED
TEMPERATURES TO BRIEFLY WARM ABOVE NORMAL. HOWEVER...THIS REPRIEVE
FROM THE DEEP FREEZE WAS SHORT LIVED AS VERY COLD AIR RETURNED FOR
THE END OF THE MONTH.
THERE WERE ONLY 5 DAYS IN FEBRUARY WITH A DAILY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
ABOVE NORMAL.HALF OF THE DAYS IN FEBRUARY...14...SAW AN AVERAGE
DAILY TEMPERATURE TEN DEGREES OR MORE BELOW NORMAL. THE COLDEST
TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH WAS 8 BELOW ZERO ON THE 11TH. THE AVERAGE
MONTHLY TEMPERATURE WAS JUST 18.4 DEGREES...9.4 DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL. THIS ONLY RANKED AS THE 12TH COLDEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD.
FEBRUARY 1904 WAS THE COLDEST WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 14.4
DEGREES. THERE WERE 8 DAYS WITH A LOW TEMPERATURE BELOW ZERO IN
FEBRUARY. FEBRUARY 1904 AND 1936 HOLD THE RECORD OF 14 DAYS WITH A
LOW TEMPERATURE OF ZERO OR COLDER.
PRECIPITATION FOR FEBRUARY WAS ABOVE NORMAL WITH A TOTAL OF 2.82
INCHES FALLING. THIS WAS 0.87 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL AND RANKED AS JUST
THE 20TH WETTEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD. MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION FELL
ON 11 DAYS WITH THE GREATEST 24 HOUR PRECIPITATION BEING 1.64 INCHES
ON THE 20TH. MOST OF THIS PRECIPITATION FELL IN THE FORM OF RAIN
DURING THE SHORT PERIOD WHICH HAD WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES.
SNOWFALL AT SOUTH BEND WAS BASED ON VOLUNTEER WEATHER OBSERVER
REPORTS. APPROXIMATELY 19.7 INCHES OF SNOW WAS OBSERVED...4.7 INCHES
ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 15 INCHES. THIS WOULD RANK AS THE 22ND SNOWIEST
FEBRUARY ON RECORD.
...ENTIRE WINTER SEASON ENDS UP BEING VERY COLD AND SNOWY...
THE AVERAGE WINTER SEASON TEMPERATURE AT SOUTH BEND REGIONAL AIRPORT
WAS 20.3 DEGREES...6.7 DEGREES BELOW THE NORMAL OF 27.0. THIS RANKED
AS THE 7TH COLDEST WINTER SEASON ON RECORD AT SOUTH BEND AND THE
COLDEST SEASON SINCE 1977-78. THAT SEASON RANKED 5TH COLDEST AND
1903-1904 RANKED AS THE COLDEST WINTER SEASON WITH AN AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE OF 16.6. EACH MONTH INDIVIDUALLY AVERAGED BELOW NORMAL
TEMPERATURES THIS WINTER AND EACH MONTH BECAME PROGRESSIVELY COLDER
WITH RESPECT TO NORMAL.
PRECIPITATION FOR THE WINTER SEASON WAS 8.27 INCHES...1.42 INCHES
ABOVE NORMAL. THIS ONLY RANKS AS THE 32ND WETTEST WINTER SEASON ON RECORD.
THERE WERE 50 DAYS IN WHICH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION OCCURRED. THIS
RANKED AS 9TH FOR MOST DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION IN A
WINTER SEASON. THE WINTER OF 2007-2008 RANKED FIRST WITH 57 DAYS.
THE WINTER SEASON SNOWFALL AT SOUTH BEND WAS BASED ON VOLUNTEER
WEATHER OBSERVER REPORTS. A TOTAL OF 84.8 INCHES OF SNOW WAS
OBSERVED...31.9 INCHES ABOVE THE NORMAL OF 52.9 INCHES. THIS WOULD
RANK AS THE 6TH SNOWIEST WINTER ON RECORD. THE RECORD WAS SET IN
1977-78 WITH 136.3 INCHES. THE WINTER SEASON OF 2010-11 WAS ACTUALLY
MUCH SNOWIER AND THE SECOND SNOWIEST WINTER SEASON ON RECORD WITH
102.8 INCHES.
MANY PEOPLE HAVE EXPRESSED OPINIONS THAT THIS WINTER SEASON WAS ONE
OF THE MOST EXTREME ON RECORD. WHILE IT IS DIFFICULT TO RANK WINTERS
BASED ON COMBINED PARAMETERS...A VERY SIMPLISTIC CALCULATION WAS
DONE USING THE AVERAGE OF THE RANKINGS FOR SNOWIEST AND COLDEST
WINTER SEASONS. THE WINTER OF 1977-78 WAS THE MOST EXTREME WITH THE
SNOWIEST WINTER ON RECORD AND THE 5TH COLDEST WINTER. THE WINTER OF
1962-63 WAS SECOND WITH THE 8TH SNOWIEST BUT 2ND COLDEST WINTER
THE WINTER OF 2013-14 TIED WITH 1976-77 FOR THIRD USING THIS SIMPLE
RANKING SYSTEM. THE WINTER OF 1976-77 WAS THE 4TH SNOWIEST AND 9TH
COLDEST WHILE THE WINTER OF 2013-14 WAS THE 6TH SNOWIEST AND 7TH
COLDEST. THESE NUMBERS REALLY DO NOT MEAN ANYTHING SCIENTIFICALLY
BUT ARE A QUICK AND INTERESTING WAY TO COMPARE SEASONS BASED ON SNOW
AND TEMPERATURE RANKINGS. ONE COULD EASILY ARGUE THAT THE WINTER OF
2013-14 WAS THE COLDEST AND SNOWIEST COMBINED SINCE 1977-78.
Days with Sub-Zero Temperatures
Prior to December 12th 2013, it had been close to 3 years (1035 days to be exact) since the area saw temperatures at or below 0 degrees. This ended a record-breaking streak of consecutive days above 0 at South Bend.
Since December 12th, 2013 the area has seen many days with zero/below-zero temperatures. The graphic below shows the number of days with temperatures at or below 0 this winter compared to normal.
The plot below from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet shows the amount of time (plotted in number of 24-hour days) with temperatures below 0° through 10 PM February 26th. This is about 1.5 to 3 times the normal amount of time we'd see in a winter season!
Since records began, there have been 10 days on record at Fort Wayne and 12 days on record at South Bend where high temperatures failed to reach 0°F or above. The graphic below lists these days in order of coldest high temperatures.
The graphic below shows the records for number of consecutive hours with temperatures below 0°F.
A Cold Winter of 2013-2014
We decided to take a look at how average temperatures stack up for the winter season. The winter seasonal average temperature at Fort Wayne was 20.7 degrees, which is 6.7 degrees below normal. The table below shows the top 15 coldest (average temperatures) winters on record at Fort Wayne.
| Rank |
Value |
Ending Date |
| 1 |
17.7 |
2/28/1978 |
| 2 |
18.8 |
2/28/1977 |
| 3 |
19.3 |
2/28/1963 |
| 4 |
20.1 |
2/28/1918 |
| 5 |
20.3 |
2/29/1936
|
| 6 |
20.7 |
2/28/2014 |
| 7 |
21.0 |
2/28/1982 |
| |
21.0 |
2/28/1979 |
| 9 |
22.2 |
2/29/1920 |
| 10 |
22.6 |
2/29/1912 |
| 11 |
22.7 |
2/28/1945 |
| 12 |
23.0 |
2/28/1970 |
| 13 |
23.2 |
2/28/2011 |
| 14 |
23.3 |
2/28/2003 |
| |
23.3 |
2/28/1959 |
The winter seasonal average temperature at South Bend was 20.3 degrees, which is 6.7 degrees below normal. The table below shows the top 15 coldest (average temperatures) winters on record at South Bend.
| Rank |
Value |
Ending Date |
| 1 |
16.6 |
2/28/1904 |
| 2 |
18.4 |
2/28/1963 |
| 3 |
19.4 |
2/28/1936 |
| 4 |
19.7 |
2/28/1978 |
| 5 |
19.9 |
2/28/1918
|
| 6 |
20.3 |
2/28/2014 |
| |
20.3 |
2/28/1912 |
| 8 |
20.6 |
2/28/1977 |
| 9 |
20.9 |
2/28/1920 |
| 10 |
21.2 |
2/28/1979 |
| 11 |
21.6 |
2/28/1959
|
| 12 |
21.9 |
2/28/1982 |
| 13 |
22.0 |
2/28/1910
|
| 14 |
22.6 |
2/28/1917 |
| 15 |
22.8 |
2/28/1994 |
A Cold February 2014
The average temperature for February at Fort Wayne was 17.6 degrees, which was 10.7 degrees below normal. This ranked as the 5th coldest February on record.The coldest Februarys on record are ranked in the table below.
| Rank |
Ending Year |
Value |
| 1 |
1978 |
11.8 |
| 2 |
1979 |
14.8 |
| 3 |
2007 |
16.1 |
| 4 |
1936 |
17.2 |
| 5 |
2014 |
17.6 |
| 6 |
1914 |
18.1 |
| 7 |
1963 |
18.5 |
| 8 |
1934 |
18.7 |
| 9 |
1912 |
19.8 |
| 10 |
1980 |
20.1 |
| 11 |
1947 |
20.5 |
| 12 |
1917 |
20.8 |
| 13 |
1982 |
21.3 |
| 14 |
1967 |
21.9 |
| 15 |
1958 |
21.9 |
the average temperature for February at South Bend was 18.4 degrees, which is 9.4 degrees below normal. The coldest Februarys on record are ranked in the table below.
| Rank |
Ending Year |
Value |
| 1 |
1904 |
14.4 |
| 2 |
1978 |
14.7 |
| 3 |
1905 |
15.5 |
| 4 |
1936 |
15.7 |
| 5 |
1895 |
16.2 |
| 6 |
1979 |
16.3 |
| - |
1901 |
16.3 |
| 8 |
1914 |
17.6 |
| 9 |
1912 |
17.7 |
| 10 |
2007 |
17.8 |
| 11 |
1963 |
17.9 |
| 12 |
2014 |
18.4 |
| 13 |
1917 |
19.1 |
| 14 |
1902 |
19.2 |
| 15 |
1947 |
19.6 |
A Cold January 2014
The average temperature for January at Fort Wayne was 17.0 degrees, which is 7.9 degrees below normal. This ranks January 2014 as the 10th coldest January on record (since 1897). The coldest Januaries on record are ranked in the table below.
| Fort Wayne |
| Rank |
Value |
Ending Date |
| 1 |
9.2 |
1/31/1977 |
| 2 |
11.4 |
1/31/1918 |
| 3 |
14.1 |
1/31/1912 |
| 4 |
14.5 |
1/31/1970 |
| 5 |
14.6 |
1/31/1940 |
| 6 |
15.3 |
1/31/1982 |
| 7 |
15.8 |
1/31/1963 |
| 8 |
16 |
1/31/1978 |
| 9 |
16.6 |
1/31/2009 |
| 10 |
17.0
|
1/31/2014 |
| 11 |
17.4 |
1/31/1979 |
| 12 |
18 |
1/31/1945 |
| 13 |
18.1 |
1/31/1920 |
| 14 |
18.2 |
1/31/1948
|
| 15 |
18.4 |
1/31/2003 |
The average temperature for January at South Bend was 16.3 degrees, which is 8.1 degrees below normal. This ranks January 2014 as the 9th coldest January on record (since 1893). The coldest Januaries on record are ranked in the table below.
| South Bend |
| Rank |
Value |
Ending Date |
| 1 |
10.6 |
1/31/1918 |
| 2 |
11.2 |
1/31/1912 |
| 3 |
12.2 |
1/31/1977 |
| 4 |
13.3 |
1/31/1963 |
| T-5 |
15.6 |
1/31/2009,
1/31/1982, 1/31/1904
|
| 8 |
16.1 |
1/30/1994 |
| 9 |
16.3 |
1/31/2014 |
| 10 |
16.7 |
1/31/1948 |
| 11 |
16.8 |
1/31/1970
|
| 12 |
17.9 |
1/31/1979 |
| 13 |
18.4 |
1/31/1978 |
| 14 |
18.5 |
1/31/1984 |
| 15 |
18.6 |
1/31/1959 |
A Snowy Winter at Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne Airport saw more than DOUBLE the amount of snow than they would in an ENTIRE normal winter. The winter seasonal total at Fort Wayne was 59.4 inches of snow for the winter season. The normal snowfall for an entire winter season is 26.3 inches.
The line graph below shows this year's snowfall to date (green line), normal snowfall (brown line), and the year with the maximum seasonal snowfall (blue line.)
The winter of 2013-2014 ended as the 2nd snowiest winter ever, just 1.7" shy of the record!
For the season (July - June), Fort Wayne has seen 64.4" (through March 3rd, 2014). This would put Fort Wayne currently in 2nd place all time. Take a look at the records below.
Fort Wayne saw a trace or more of snow on 63 out of the 90 days this winter and measurable snow (0.1" or greater) on 41 days. This ranks #1 in number of days with measurable snow for a winter season.
Monthly Number of Days Snowfall >= 0.1 for Fort Wayne
| Year |
Dec |
Jan |
Feb |
Winter |
| 2013-2014 |
12 |
17 |
12 |
41 |
| 2009-2010 |
12 |
10 |
15 |
37 |
| 2010-2011 |
14 |
12 |
9 |
35 |
| 2007-2008 |
8 |
10 |
16 |
34 |
| 1981-1982 |
10 |
16 |
7 |
33 |
| 1977-1978 |
9 |
14 |
10 |
33 |
| 1944-1945 |
13 |
11 |
9 |
33 |
| 1976-1977 |
10 |
14 |
8 |
32 |
| 2002-2003 |
5 |
16 |
10 |
31 |
| 1992-1993 |
9 |
10 |
12 |
31 |
| 1974-1975 |
10 |
10 |
11 |
31 |
Fort Wayne saw 64 out of 90 days this winter with an inch of snow or more on the ground. This ranks as 8th place.
Monthly Number of Days Snow Depth >= 1 for Fort Wayne
| Year |
Dec |
Jan |
Feb |
Winter |
| 1977-1978 |
17 |
28 |
28 |
73 |
| 1981-1982 |
15 |
29 |
28 |
72 |
| 1976-1977 |
18 |
31 |
22 |
71 |
| 1944-1945 |
22 |
31 |
16 |
69 |
| 1935-1936 |
16 |
26 |
24 |
66 |
| 2010-2011 |
18 |
24 |
23 |
65 |
| 1904-1905 |
11 |
27 |
27 |
65 |
| 2013-2014 |
9 |
27 |
28 |
64 |
| 1983-1984 |
18 |
31 |
12 |
61 |
| 1903-1904 |
22 |
25 |
10 |
57 |
The month of February 2014 also ranked in 3rd place for snowiest Februarys on record!
January 2014 was the snowiest January on record at Fort Wayne!
January 2014 was also the snowiest month on record at Fort Wayne!
Note: There is no snowfall data for the South Bend Airport due to the lack of a snowfall observer.
Updated 3/2/2014
CEO/BENTLEY/KG
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