Indianapolis, IN Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Indianapolis's primary NOAA station, INDIANAPOLIS.
The climate verdict for Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 54°F. Its climate comfort score of 63/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 46% of station-mapped location scores.
- 54°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 63/100
- comfort score, above 46% of station-mapped location scores
- 43.6"
- annual precipitation · 26" snow
- 194 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Indianapolis: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00093819 · Indianapolis, IN 54°F mean · 43.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 54°F
- RANK-MID #3,774
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Greensburg
- PRCP-MID 43.6"
- SWING-WIDE 47°F
- COMF-MID 63/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,250 HDD
- STN-1 USW00093819
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Greensburg, IN (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every IN station list.
- Indianapolis (this station) 54°F
- Hot Hovenweep Natio…, UT 54°F
- Near Greensburg, IN 54°F
- Near Fairfield, OH 54°F
- Near Capitol Reef Na…, UT 54°F
Climate Living Index · Indianapolis
Indianapolis: 59/100 · grade C
Indianapolis publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.
PlainClimate-derived for Indianapolis, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 63/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 110 calendar days | 70/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 43.6 in · 8.6 from 35 in | 70/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 194 days/year | 60/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 53.6°F · 13.9° from 67.5°F | 55/100 · C |
| Summer moisture balance | 63.2°F mean dew point | 44/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 25.5 inches/year | 43/100 · D |
Indianapolis · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Indianapolis is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 28.5°F and warmest-month mean 75.8°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 75.8°F
- Coldest month
- 28.5°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Indianapolis sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Indianapolis's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 55th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 66th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 69th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Indianapolis compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Indianapolis's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
63 46th percentile score exceeds 46% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Indianapolis's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 143 complete annual observations from 1872 to 2025, INDIANAPOLIS warmed at a fitted rate of 0.15°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Indianapolis primary station fitted change +0.15 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F (2°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 3.1" | 8.8" | 25.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 41°F (5°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 2.4" | 6.0" | 22.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 3.7" | 3.2" | 15.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 64°F (18°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 4.3" | 0.2" | 3.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 73°F (23°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| June | 82°F (28°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.4 |
| July | 85°F (30°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.4 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 3.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.9 |
| September | 78°F (26°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 3.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 3.2" | 0.1" | 2.1 | 0.1 |
| November | 52°F (11°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 3.5" | 0.8" | 13.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 40°F (5°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 2.9" | 6.4" | 22.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 12, short of 90°F on every date, while 110 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 20°F near January 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 13, then returns to freezing around November 25, covering 110 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 8, when 42% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 27 at 26%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 128 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 27 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 21°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Indianapolis.
Where Indianapolis Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 21°F.
Indianapolis earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 8.8"
12.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.0"
10.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.2"
11.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
11.9 days with precipitation
13.3 days with precipitation
11.5 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
8.3 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
8.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
10.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.4"
11.8 days with precipitation
Indianapolis spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 19%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Indianapolis has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 47.3°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 5.0" and February 2.4". The three wettest months together take 32% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
How Indianapolis's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 128 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 43.6" between them, or roughly 0.34 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Indianapolis
Indianapolis averages 25.5 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 22 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 25.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 22 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 6% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 15
50% probability date
Growing Season
194 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,250
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,139
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 10.7 | 17% | 52% |
| February | 69% | 11.2 | 14% | 51% |
| March | 63% | 11.1 | 18% | 43% |
| April | 64% | 10.4 | 18% | 39% |
| May | 68% | 9.0 | 14% | 32% |
| June | 69% | 8.0 | 18% | 24% |
| July | 69% | 7.4 | 19% | 20% |
| August | 69% | 7.5 | 23% | 19% |
| September | 68% | 8.6 | 30% | 22% |
| October | 69% | 9.8 | 21% | 40% |
| November | 73% | 10.5 | 16% | 52% |
| December | 77% | 10.5 | 14% | 57% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside IN closest to Indianapolis on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (54°F here).
- Bonner Springs, KS 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Brookfield, MO 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Capitan, NM 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Fairfield, OH 54°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (43.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Key West, FL 43.6" · 0.0" off
- Buchanan, VA 43.6" · 0.0" off
- Lynchburg, VA 43.6" · 0.0" off
- Charlotte, NC 43.6" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Indianapolis
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Indianapolis's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,250 annual heating degree days against 1,139 for cooling. Its 47.3°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Indianapolis's frost-free season lasts about 194 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Indianapolis coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 29°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Indianapolis typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Indianapolis snow peak
January
Indianapolis averages 25.5 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Indianapolis's climate
How much snow does Indianapolis get? ▼
How cold does Indianapolis get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Indianapolis? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Indianapolis's primary station: INDIANAPOLIS (USW00093819). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Indianapolis; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Indianapolis comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.