Lowell, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lowell's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 39.9 inches of precipitation and 30 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.8°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,013 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLowell
- Station IDUSC00125174
- Location41.26°N 87.42°W
- Elevation665 ft (203 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population11,449
On October 22, the normal high in Lowell is 61°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lowell.
- Jan 32° 15°
- Feb 36° 18°
- Mar 47° 27°
- Apr 60° 38°
- May 71° 49°
- Jun 81° 59°
- Jul 84° 63°
- Aug 82° 60°
- Sep 77° 53°
- Oct 64° 41°
- Nov 49° 30°
- Dec 37° 21°
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 Lowell each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.11 in), the least in February (1.91 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 15°F | 23.2°F | 2.33 | 9.7 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 36°F | 18°F | 26.7°F | 1.91 | 9.3 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 47°F | 27°F | 37.3°F | 2.34 | 3.4 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 38°F | 49.0°F | 3.68 | 0.3 | 13 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 49°F | 60.1°F | 4.24 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 59°F | 69.9°F | 5.11 | 0.0 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 84°F | 63°F | 73.0°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 82°F | 60°F | 71.1°F | 4.27 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 53°F | 64.7°F | 3.27 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 41°F | 52.4°F | 3.56 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 30°F | 39.6°F | 2.62 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 37°F | 21°F | 28.9°F | 2.24 | 5.9 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 39°F | 49.7°F | 39.88 | 29.7 | 132 | 16 | 136 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.9°C | 59 mm | 25 cm |
| February | 2°C | −8°C | −2.9°C | 49 mm | 24 cm |
| March | 9°C | −3°C | 2.9°C | 59 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 93 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 22°C | 9°C | 15.6°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 130 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.8°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.7°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 18.2°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.3°C | 90 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 10°C | −1°C | 4.2°C | 67 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.7°C | 57 mm | 15 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00125174; 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 Lowell?
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 (9).
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 USC00125174.
When is the last frost in Lowell?
In Lowell, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 29 in half of years and after May 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 16 in half of years and before October 3 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 291 year in 10 after May 14; 9 in 10 after April 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 161 year in 10 before October 3; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 171 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 193 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 16 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lowell in zone 5b in ZIP code 46356, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Lowell's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (28 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 USC00125174; 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 Lowell?
In a normal year in Lowell, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 136 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 132 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 136a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 42high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 132a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1963) is 104°F, on June 25, 1988; the lowest is −29°F, on December 22, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 57.40 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 48.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00125174; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00125174. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Lowell?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lowell, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and January the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.6 |
| February | 63% | 2.5 |
| March | 67% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 77% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 79% | 5.3 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 70% | 2.9 |
| November | 66% | 1.9 |
| December | 59% | 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 Lowell need?
A normal year in Lowell brings 6,352 heating degree days, 18% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 803 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 3,055 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,294 | 0 |
| February | 1,071 | 0 |
| March | 858 | 1 |
| April | 486 | 6 |
| May | 208 | 56 |
| June | 35 | 182 |
| July | 6 | 254 |
| August | 11 | 200 |
| September | 102 | 91 |
| October | 401 | 12 |
| November | 761 | 0 |
| December | 1,119 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,352 | 803 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00125174. 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 Lowell been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.5°F, 0.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.7°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 52.1°F | +2.4°F | 37.43 | 11.1 |
| 2024 | 53.0°F | +3.3°F | 42.46 | 13.0 |
| 2025 | 50.5°F | +0.8°F | 37.30 | 36.0 |
Over 54 complete years from 1964 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.8°F per century (+0.21°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00125174; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lowell's climate compare?
Lowell is warmer than 8 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 16. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.7°F is warmer than 39%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lowell 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 Lowell share this climate record?
18 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.
- Winfield, IN8,557 people · 13 mi NE
- Beecher, IL4,727 people · 12 mi NW
- Peotone, IL4,228 people · 20 mi W
- Roselawn, IN3,231 people · 10 mi SE
- Momence, IL3,169 people · 15 mi SW
- Willowbrook, IL2,432 people · 14 mi NW
- Lake Dalecarlia, IN1,421 people · 5 mi N
- Grant Park, IL1,282 people · 11 mi W
- Hopkins Park, IL625 people · 17 mi SW
- Plum Valley, IL542 people · 15 mi NW
- Lake Village, IN533 people · 9 mi S
- Thayer, IN447 people · 8 mi SE
- Leroy, IN278 people · 10 mi NE
- Schneider, IN262 people · 5 mi S
- Shelby, IN259 people · 6 mi SE
- Eagle Lake, IL164 people · 10 mi NW
- Sumava Resorts, IN73 people · 7 mi S
- Goodenow, IL0 people · 14 mi NW
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 Lowell's climate
What is the coldest month in Lowell?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Lowell?
Yes: 30 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (9.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Lowell?
June, with 5.11 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.91 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lowell in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lowell in zone 5b in ZIP code 46356, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Lowell's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Lowell?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 29; in one year in ten it comes after May 14. Waiting until May 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wheatfield, IN19 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Park Forest, IL21 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Valparaiso, IN25 miles from this station, 51.8°F a year
- Kankakee, IL26 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made