Elwood, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elwood's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 42.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.6°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,079 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElwood
- Station IDUSC00122638
- Location40.29°N 85.85°W
- Elevation866 ft (264 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population8,495
On October 23, the normal high in Elwood is 61°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elwood.
- Jan 34° 18°
- Feb 38° 20°
- Mar 49° 29°
- Apr 62° 39°
- May 72° 51°
- Jun 81° 60°
- Jul 84° 63°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 77° 53°
- Oct 64° 42°
- Nov 50° 32°
- Dec 39° 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 Elwood each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.30 in), the least in February (2.26 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 18°F | 25.7°F | 3.24 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 38°F | 20°F | 29.3°F | 2.26 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 29°F | 38.9°F | 3.02 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 39°F | 50.4°F | 4.01 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 51°F | 61.5°F | 4.35 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 81°F | 60°F | 70.5°F | 5.30 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 84°F | 63°F | 73.3°F | 4.22 | 10 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 71.7°F | 3.30 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 53°F | 65.0°F | 3.14 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 42°F | 53.0°F | 3.01 | 9 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 32°F | 41.1°F | 3.57 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| December | 39°F | 23°F | 30.9°F | 3.05 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 41°F | 51.0°F | 42.47 | 116 | 17 | 128 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −8°C | −3.5°C | 82 mm |
| February | 3°C | −6°C | −1.5°C | 57 mm |
| March | 10°C | −2°C | 3.8°C | 77 mm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 102 mm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 110 mm |
| June | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 135 mm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 107 mm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 84 mm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.3°C | 80 mm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.7°C | 76 mm |
| November | 10°C | 0°C | 5.1°C | 91 mm |
| December | 4°C | −5°C | −0.6°C | 77 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Anderson (14 miles away), gets 21 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00122638; 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 Elwood?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00122638.
When is the last frost in Elwood?
In Elwood, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 24 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 18 in half of years and before October 4 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 10; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 181 year in 10 before October 4; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 199 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elwood in zone 6a in ZIP code 46036, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Indiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00122638; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Elwood?
In a normal year in Elwood, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 128 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 116 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 17a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 128a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 116a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 103°F, on July 15, 1954; the lowest is −24°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2003, with 53.84 in; the snowiest season is 2002–03, with 51.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00122638; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00122638. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Elwood?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elwood, 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 Elwood need?
A normal year in Elwood brings 5,945 heating degree days, 11% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 858 cooling degree days, 5% 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 3,198 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,216 | 0 |
| February | 999 | 0 |
| March | 809 | 2 |
| April | 446 | 8 |
| May | 173 | 66 |
| June | 28 | 193 |
| July | 5 | 262 |
| August | 11 | 220 |
| September | 95 | 94 |
| October | 386 | 14 |
| November | 719 | 1 |
| December | 1,057 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,945 | 858 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00122638. 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.
How does Elwood's climate compare?
Elwood is warmer than 38 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 43. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.0°F is warmer than 45%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elwood 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 Elwood share this climate record?
8 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.
- Alexandria, IN5,211 people · 9 mi E
- Frankton, IN1,817 people · 6 mi SE
- Summitville, IN1,004 people · 11 mi E
- Windfall City, IN678 people · 8 mi NW
- Orestes, IN341 people · 6 mi E
- Point Isabel, IN70 people · 9 mi N
- Hobbs, IN67 people · 6 mi W
- Jerome, IN31 people · 13 mi N
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 Elwood's climate
What is the coldest month in Elwood?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Elwood?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Elwood's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Anderson (14 miles away), records 21 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Elwood?
June, with 5.30 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elwood in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elwood in zone 6a in ZIP code 46036, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Elwood?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 24; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Anderson, IN14 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Tipton, IN14 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Kokomo, IN21 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Marion, IN22 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made