Madison, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Madison's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 51.0 inches of precipitation and 12 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.3°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,295 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMadison Sewage Plant
- Station IDUSC00125237
- Location38.74°N 85.39°W
- Elevation460 ft (140 m)
- Population12,108
On October 14, the normal high in Madison is 71°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Madison.
- Jan 42° 24°
- Feb 47° 25°
- Mar 57° 33°
- Apr 68° 43°
- May 77° 54°
- Jun 84° 62°
- Jul 88° 66°
- Aug 87° 65°
- Sep 81° 58°
- Oct 70° 46°
- Nov 57° 35°
- Dec 47° 29°
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 Madison each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in April (5.54 in), the least in February (3.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 24°F | 33.0°F | 3.47 | 4.4 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 47°F | 25°F | 35.7°F | 3.15 | 3.6 | 8 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 57°F | 33°F | 44.8°F | 4.47 | 1.0 | 10 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 43°F | 55.6°F | 5.54 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 54°F | 65.2°F | 5.37 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 84°F | 62°F | 73.3°F | 4.97 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 88°F | 66°F | 77.0°F | 4.81 | 0.0 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 65°F | 76.0°F | 4.23 | 0.0 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 58°F | 69.6°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 46°F | 57.9°F | 3.63 | 0.2 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 35°F | 46.1°F | 3.61 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 29°F | 37.7°F | 4.20 | 3.0 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 45°F | 56.0°F | 50.98 | 12.3 | 115 | 25 | 96 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 88 mm | 11 cm |
| February | 8°C | −4°C | 2.1°C | 80 mm | 9 cm |
| March | 14°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 114 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 141 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 12°C | 18.4°C | 136 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 25.0°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 18°C | 24.4°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.9°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 92 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 14°C | 2°C | 7.8°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 8°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 107 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00125237; 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 Madison?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00125237.
When is the last frost in Madison?
In Madison, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 11 in half of years and after April 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 31 in half of years and before October 15 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 111 year in 10 after April 28; 9 in 10 after March 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 15; 9 in 10 before November 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 201 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 223 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before November 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Madison in zone 6b in ZIP code 47250, 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 USC00125237; 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 Madison?
In a normal year in Madison, 25 days a year reach 90°F, 96 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 115 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 25a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 96a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 18high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 115a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 110°F, on July 28, 1930; the lowest is −18°F, on December 22, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 60.93 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 49.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00125237; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00125237. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Madison?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Madison, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 1.9 |
| February | 62% | 2.6 |
| March | 66% | 3.7 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.6 |
| October | 74% | 3.3 |
| November | 70% | 2.3 |
| December | 61% | 1.7 |
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 Madison need?
A normal year in Madison brings 4,532 heating degree days, 16% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,288 cooling degree days, 42% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,038 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 992 | 0 |
| February | 822 | 0 |
| March | 629 | 1 |
| April | 297 | 15 |
| May | 90 | 96 |
| June | 8 | 257 |
| July | 1 | 374 |
| August | 1 | 342 |
| September | 34 | 173 |
| October | 247 | 28 |
| November | 566 | 1 |
| December | 847 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,532 | 1,288 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00125237. 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 Madison's climate compare?
Madison is warmer than 89 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 87. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.0°F is warmer than 64%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Madison is Cfa: temperate, 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 Madison 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.
- Hanover, IN3,827 people · 4 mi SW
- Campbellsburg, KY865 people · 18 mi SE
- Milton, KY592 people · 1 mi SE
- Bedford, KY533 people · 11 mi SE
- Westport, KY243 people · 17 mi S
- Kent, IN0 people · 8 mi W
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 Madison's climate
What is the coldest month in Madison?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Madison?
Yes: 12 inches in a normal year, falling on 8 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (4.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Madison?
April, with 5.54 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Madison in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Madison in zone 6b in ZIP code 47250, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Madison?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 11; in one year in ten it comes after April 28. Waiting until April 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Vevay, IN17 miles from this station, 56.6°F a year
- Scottsburg, IN21 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- North Vernon, IN21 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Warsaw, KY23 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made