Rensselaer, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Rensselaer's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 40.1 inches of precipitation and 25 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.3°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,018 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRensselaer
- Station IDUSC00127298
- Location40.92°N 87.18°W
- Elevation630 ft (192 m)
- Population5,632
On October 23, the normal high in Rensselaer is 61°F and the normal low 39°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 Rensselaer.
- Jan 32° 16°
- Feb 37° 19°
- Mar 48° 29°
- Apr 61° 39°
- May 72° 51°
- Jun 81° 60°
- Jul 84° 63°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 77° 53°
- Oct 64° 41°
- Nov 49° 31°
- Dec 37° 22°
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 Rensselaer each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.78 in), the least in February (2.04 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 16°F | 24.0°F | 2.58 | 8.2 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 37°F | 19°F | 27.9°F | 2.04 | 8.8 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 48°F | 29°F | 38.4°F | 2.71 | 3.5 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 39°F | 50.0°F | 3.88 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 72°F | 51°F | 61.5°F | 4.34 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 60°F | 70.9°F | 4.78 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 84°F | 63°F | 73.6°F | 4.49 | 0.0 | 10 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 71.8°F | 4.01 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 53°F | 65.2°F | 3.24 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 41°F | 52.7°F | 3.18 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 31°F | 40.2°F | 2.59 | 0.5 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 22°F | 29.5°F | 2.25 | 4.2 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 41°F | 50.5°F | 40.09 | 25.3 | 126 | 17 | 127 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.4°C | 66 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 3°C | −7°C | −2.3°C | 52 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 9°C | −2°C | 3.6°C | 69 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 16°C | 4°C | 10.0°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 23.1°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.4°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.5°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | 0°C | 4.6°C | 66 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.4°C | 57 mm | 11 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00127298; 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 Rensselaer?
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 USC00127298.
When is the last frost in Rensselaer?
In Rensselaer, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 7 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 231 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after April 9
- 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 177 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 199 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before October 29 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rensselaer in zone 6a in ZIP code 47978, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Rensselaer's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (29 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 USC00127298; 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 Rensselaer?
In a normal year in Rensselaer, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 127 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 126 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
- 127a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 41high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 126a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 9a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1900) is 116°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −27°F, on December 28, 1924.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1909, with 53.06 in; the snowiest season is 2013–14, with 62.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00127298; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00127298. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Rensselaer?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Rensselaer, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 62% | 1.8 |
| February | 66% | 2.7 |
| March | 67% | 3.6 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 80% | 4.6 |
| October | 72% | 3.1 |
| November | 69% | 2.1 |
| December | 60% | 1.5 |
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 Rensselaer need?
A normal year in Rensselaer brings 6,147 heating degree days, 14% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 891 cooling degree days, 2% 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 3,213 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,269 | 0 |
| February | 1,039 | 0 |
| March | 826 | 1 |
| April | 457 | 7 |
| May | 181 | 71 |
| June | 27 | 204 |
| July | 4 | 272 |
| August | 9 | 221 |
| September | 95 | 101 |
| October | 395 | 14 |
| November | 744 | 0 |
| December | 1,102 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,147 | 891 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00127298. 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 Rensselaer been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.8°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.5°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.6°F | +1.1°F | 42.92 | 30.5 |
| 2022 | 49.9°F | −0.6°F | 32.19 | 27.3 |
| 2023 | 52.4°F | +1.9°F | 33.40 | 7.4 |
| 2024 | 53.2°F | +2.7°F | 39.97 | 10.2 |
| 2025 | 50.8°F | +0.3°F | 31.86 | 21.4 |
Over 100 complete years from 1902 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00127298; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Rensselaer's climate compare?
Rensselaer is warmer than 30 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 21. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.5°F is warmer than 43%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rensselaer 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 Rensselaer share this climate record?
3 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.
- Remington, IN1,367 people · 11 mi S
- Fair Oaks, IN268 people · 11 mi N
- Mount Ayr, IN116 people · 7 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 Rensselaer's climate
What is the coldest month in Rensselaer?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Rensselaer?
Yes: 25 inches in a normal year, falling on 19 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Rensselaer?
June, with 4.78 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.04 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rensselaer in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rensselaer in zone 6a in ZIP code 47978, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Rensselaer's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Rensselaer?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 7. Waiting until May 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Francesville, IN16 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Kentland, IN18 miles from this station, 51.0°F a year
- Wheatfield, IN20 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Chalmers, IN21 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made