Salem, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Salem's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 46.9 inches of precipitation and 14 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.0°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,192 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSalem
- Station IDUSC00127755
- Location38.62°N 86.09°W
- Elevation785 ft (239 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population6,463
On October 23, the normal high in Salem is 67°F and the normal low 43°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 Salem.
- Jan 41° 24°
- Feb 46° 26°
- Mar 56° 34°
- Apr 68° 43°
- May 76° 53°
- Jun 84° 62°
- Jul 87° 65°
- Aug 86° 63°
- Sep 81° 56°
- Oct 70° 45°
- Nov 56° 35°
- Dec 44° 28°
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 Salem each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.19 in), the least in October (3.04 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 24°F | 32.7°F | 3.50 | 4.9 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 46°F | 26°F | 36.1°F | 3.17 | 4.1 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 56°F | 34°F | 45.2°F | 4.83 | 2.2 | 11 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 43°F | 55.6°F | 4.83 | 0.3 | 12 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 53°F | 64.7°F | 5.19 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 84°F | 62°F | 72.6°F | 4.27 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 65°F | 75.7°F | 3.67 | 0.0 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 86°F | 63°F | 74.5°F | 3.74 | 0.0 | 7 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 56°F | 68.2°F | 3.13 | 0.0 | 6 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 45°F | 57.4°F | 3.04 | 0.2 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 35°F | 45.4°F | 3.60 | 0.2 | 9 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 44°F | 28°F | 36.2°F | 3.95 | 2.2 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 45°F | 55.4°F | 46.92 | 14.1 | 112 | 25 | 103 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −4°C | 0.4°C | 89 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 8°C | −3°C | 2.3°C | 81 mm | 10 cm |
| March | 13°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 123 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 123 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 22.6°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.6°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 7°C | 14.1°C | 77 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 13°C | 2°C | 7.4°C | 91 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 7°C | −2°C | 2.3°C | 100 mm | 6 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00127755; 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 Salem?
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 (6).
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 USC00127755.
When is the last frost in Salem?
In Salem, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 17 in half of years and after May 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 22 in half of years and before October 7 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 171 year in 10 after May 4; 9 in 10 after April 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 221 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before November 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 186 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 209 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 4 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Salem in zone 6b in ZIP code 47167, 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 USC00127755; 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 Salem?
In a normal year in Salem, 25 days a year reach 90°F, 103 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 112 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
- 103a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 17high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 112a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1897) is 112°F, on July 22, 1901; the lowest is −32°F, on February 2, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 63.32 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 38.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00127755; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00127755. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Salem?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Salem, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 62% | 1.9 |
| February | 63% | 2.6 |
| March | 66% | 3.7 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 82% | 5.6 |
| September | 80% | 4.6 |
| October | 74% | 3.3 |
| November | 70% | 2.3 |
| December | 60% | 1.6 |
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 Salem need?
A normal year in Salem brings 4,637 heating degree days, 14% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,157 cooling degree days, 27% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,900 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,003 | 0 |
| February | 809 | 0 |
| March | 615 | 3 |
| April | 303 | 21 |
| May | 101 | 90 |
| June | 11 | 239 |
| July | 0 | 332 |
| August | 2 | 298 |
| September | 50 | 146 |
| October | 261 | 27 |
| November | 588 | 2 |
| December | 895 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,637 | 1,157 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00127755. 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 Salem's climate compare?
Salem is warmer than 83 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 65. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.4°F is warmer than 62%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Salem 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 Salem share this climate record?
7 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.
- New Pekin, IN1,333 people · 9 mi SE
- Medora, IN647 people · 15 mi N
- Campbellsburg, IN539 people · 10 mi W
- Canton, IN144 people · 3 mi E
- Livonia, IN102 people · 11 mi SW
- Saltillo, IN101 people · 12 mi W
- Fredericksburg, IN43 people · 14 mi SW
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 Salem's climate
What is the coldest month in Salem?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Salem?
Yes: 14 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (4.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Salem?
May, with 5.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.04 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Salem in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Salem in zone 6b in ZIP code 47167, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Salem?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 4. Waiting until May 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Scottsburg, IN17 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Paoli, IN22 miles from this station, 54.1°F a year
- Seymour, IN27 miles from this station, 53.1°F a year
- Louisville McAlpine, KY28 miles from this station, 58.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made