Bluffton, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bluffton's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 40.0 inches of precipitation and 23 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.1°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,017 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBluffton (6 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00120830
- Location40.81°N 85.15°W
- Elevation861 ft (262 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population10,556
On October 23, the normal high in Bluffton is 60°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bluffton.
- Jan 32° 17°
- Feb 36° 19°
- Mar 47° 28°
- Apr 60° 39°
- May 71° 51°
- Jun 80° 60°
- Jul 83° 63°
- Aug 81° 61°
- Sep 76° 54°
- Oct 63° 42°
- Nov 49° 32°
- Dec 37° 23°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Bluffton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.71 in), the least in February (1.96 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 17°F | 24.5°F | 2.51 | 7.6 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 36°F | 19°F | 27.4°F | 1.96 | 6.5 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 47°F | 28°F | 37.3°F | 2.65 | 3.6 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 39°F | 49.3°F | 3.83 | 0.4 | 13 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 51°F | 60.8°F | 4.67 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 60°F | 70.0°F | 4.71 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 83°F | 63°F | 73.0°F | 4.46 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 81°F | 61°F | 71.0°F | 3.84 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 54°F | 64.7°F | 3.07 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 42°F | 52.8°F | 2.92 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 32°F | 40.6°F | 3.08 | 1.1 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 23°F | 30.1°F | 2.33 | 4.1 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 41°F | 50.1°F | 40.03 | 23.3 | 133 | 12 | 126 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −8°C | −4.2°C | 64 mm | 19 cm |
| February | 2°C | −7°C | −2.6°C | 50 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 8°C | −2°C | 2.9°C | 67 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 16°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 97 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.0°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 16°C | 21.1°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.8°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 21.7°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 6°C | 11.6°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 9°C | 0°C | 4.8°C | 78 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 3°C | −5°C | −1.1°C | 59 mm | 10 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00120830; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Bluffton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00120830.
When is the last frost in Bluffton?
In Bluffton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 24 in half of years and after May 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 6 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 241 year in 10 after May 9; 9 in 10 after April 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 6; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 179 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 202 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bluffton in zone 6a in ZIP code 46714, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bluffton's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (24 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Indiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00120830; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Bluffton?
In a normal year in Bluffton, 12 days a year reach 90°F, 126 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 133 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 126a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 42high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 133a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1971) is 104°F, on July 16, 1980; the lowest is −24°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2011, with 54.62 in; the snowiest season is 1981–82, with 78.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00120830; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00120830. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bluffton?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bluffton, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (57%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.7 |
| February | 64% | 2.6 |
| March | 66% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.8 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.2 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.5 |
| October | 71% | 3.1 |
| November | 67% | 2.1 |
| December | 57% | 1.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Bluffton need?
A normal year in Bluffton brings 6,184 heating degree days, 15% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 798 cooling degree days, 12% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,091 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,254 | 0 |
| February | 1,053 | 0 |
| March | 860 | 1 |
| April | 479 | 8 |
| May | 188 | 59 |
| June | 31 | 181 |
| July | 5 | 251 |
| August | 12 | 199 |
| September | 98 | 88 |
| October | 390 | 12 |
| November | 734 | 0 |
| December | 1,082 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,184 | 798 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00120830. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Bluffton been warmer than normal lately?
Over 30 complete years from 1972 to 2017, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.5°F per century (+0.30°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bluffton's climate compare?
Bluffton is warmer than 18 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 18. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.1°F is warmer than 40%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bluffton is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Bluffton share this climate record?
6 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Ossian, IN3,438 people · 4 mi N
- Liberty Center, IN409 people · 10 mi SW
- Uniondale, IN276 people · 5 mi W
- Tocsin, IN269 people · 3 mi NE
- Craigville, IN199 people · 4 mi SE
- Poneto, IN176 people · 11 mi S
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Bluffton's climate
What is the coldest month in Bluffton?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Bluffton?
Yes: 23 inches in a normal year, falling on 15 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (7.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Bluffton?
June, with 4.71 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.96 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bluffton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bluffton in zone 6a in ZIP code 46714, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bluffton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Bluffton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 24; in one year in ten it comes after May 9. Waiting until May 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Fort Wayne, IN11 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Decatur, IN12 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Berne, IN16 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Huntington, IN18 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made