South Bend, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
South Bend's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 39.2 inches of precipitation and 65 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.6°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 28°C, 996 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSouth Bend Airport
- Station IDUSW00014848
- Location41.71°N 86.32°W
- Elevation773 ft (236 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population103,713
On October 14, the normal high in South Bend is 63°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for South Bend.
- Jan 31° 17°
- Feb 35° 19°
- Mar 46° 27°
- Apr 59° 37°
- May 70° 48°
- Jun 79° 58°
- Jul 83° 62°
- Aug 81° 61°
- Sep 74° 53°
- Oct 62° 42°
- Nov 48° 32°
- Dec 36° 23°
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 South Bend each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.20 in), the least in February (2.31 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 17°F | 24.1°F | 2.66 | 21.6 | 17 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 35°F | 19°F | 27.1°F | 2.31 | 16.1 | 13 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 46°F | 27°F | 36.7°F | 2.35 | 6.8 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 37°F | 48.1°F | 3.49 | 1.0 | 13 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 48°F | 59.1°F | 4.20 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 79°F | 58°F | 68.8°F | 4.04 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 83°F | 62°F | 72.4°F | 3.78 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 61°F | 70.7°F | 4.01 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 74°F | 53°F | 63.7°F | 3.49 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 42°F | 52.0°F | 3.72 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 32°F | 39.8°F | 2.78 | 5.1 | 13 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 36°F | 23°F | 29.6°F | 2.40 | 13.7 | 15 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 40°F | 49.3°F | 39.23 | 64.5 | 148 | 14 | 126 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −8°C | −4.4°C | 68 mm | 55 cm |
| February | 2°C | −7°C | −2.7°C | 59 mm | 41 cm |
| March | 8°C | −3°C | 2.6°C | 60 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 15°C | 3°C | 8.9°C | 89 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 15.1°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 21.5°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 17.6°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 6°C | 11.1°C | 94 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 9°C | 0°C | 4.3°C | 71 mm | 13 cm |
| December | 2°C | −5°C | −1.3°C | 61 mm | 35 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014848; 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 South Bend?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USW00014848.
When is the last frost in South Bend?
In South Bend, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 19 in half of years and before October 5 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
- May 11 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 191 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 170 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 193 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts South Bend in zone 6a across its 9 ZIP code areas (6a in 46628, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, South Bend's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (30 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 USW00014848; 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.
What hardiness zone is each South Bend ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. South Bend's 9 ZIP code areas are all in zone 6a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in South Bend?
In a normal year in South Bend, 14 days a year reach 90°F, 126 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 148 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 126a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 45high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 148a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 20a normal year
The highest temperature in South Bend's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 109°F, on July 24, 1934; the lowest is −22°F, on January 25, 1897.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 55.61 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 172.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014848; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record SBNthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is South Bend, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 61°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 62°F; the driest air comes in January (19°F). March is the windiest month (10.4 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (67%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | 75% | 66% | 10.2 mph | 35% | 52% |
| February | 23°F | 72% | 60% | 10.3 mph | 38% | 50% |
| March | 32°F | 64% | 48% | 10.4 mph | 48% | 35% |
| April | 41°F | 62% | 47% | 9.8 mph | 53% | 30% |
| May | 53°F | 67% | 51% | 8.2 mph | 58% | 23% |
| June | 61°F | 68% | 51% | 7.5 mph | 65% | 12% |
| July | 62°F | 71% | 53% | 6.5 mph | 66% | 12% |
| August | 60°F | 73% | 54% | 6.6 mph | 67% | 14% |
| September | 49°F | 72% | 52% | 7.9 mph | 59% | 22% |
| October | 37°F | 71% | 56% | 9.3 mph | 46% | 40% |
| November | 28°F | 76% | 66% | 10.1 mph | 36% | 52% |
| December | 22°F | 79% | 72% | 10.3 mph | 30% | 61% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00014848. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is South Bend?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around South Bend, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (56%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 416th (with 11 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.6 |
| February | 60% | 2.4 |
| March | 66% | 3.5 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 78% | 4.4 |
| October | 69% | 2.9 |
| November | 63% | 1.9 |
| December | 56% | 1.3 |
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 South Bend need?
A normal year in South Bend brings 6,400 heating degree days, 19% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 722 cooling degree days, 20% 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 2,905 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,268 | 0 |
| February | 1,061 | 0 |
| March | 879 | 2 |
| April | 514 | 6 |
| May | 231 | 48 |
| June | 44 | 156 |
| July | 7 | 236 |
| August | 14 | 189 |
| September | 116 | 77 |
| October | 414 | 9 |
| November | 758 | 0 |
| December | 1,096 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,400 | 722 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014848. 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 South Bend been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.8°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.3°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.4°F | +3.1°F | 42.17 | 39.0 |
| 2022 | 50.6°F | +1.3°F | 35.15 | 91.8 |
| 2023 | 52.8°F | +3.5°F | 39.91 | 24.2 |
| 2024 | 53.9°F | +4.6°F | 40.18 | 36.3 |
| 2025 | 50.8°F | +1.5°F | 34.71 | 64.7 |
Over 114 complete years from 1894 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.2°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014848; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does South Bend's climate compare?
South Bend is warmer than 2 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 11. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.3°F is warmer than 37%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, South Bend 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 South Bend 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.
- Buchanan, MI4,169 people · 9 mi N
- Bridgman, MI2,048 people · 20 mi NW
- Ardmore, IN1,807 people · 1 mi S
- Edwardsburg, MI1,287 people · 13 mi NE
- Baroda, MI913 people · 19 mi NW
- Galien, MI523 people · 11 mi NW
- New Troy, MI379 people · 17 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.
What do South Bend's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near South Bend. This page uses South Bend Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Bend station USC00128437 | 2 mi NE | 710 ft | 49.8°F | 17°F | 83°F | 40.9 | – | April 23 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about South Bend's climate
What is the coldest month in South Bend?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in South Bend?
Yes: 65 inches in a normal year, falling on 42 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (21.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in South Bend?
May, with 4.20 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.31 in.
What plant hardiness zone is South Bend in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts South Bend in zone 6a across its 9 ZIP code areas (6a in 46628, the largest). By the same method at South Bend's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in South Bend?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Bend in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Niles, MI9 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Lakeville, IN12 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Dowagiac, MI22 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Eau Claire, MI22 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made