PlainClimate
NOAA 1991–2020 normals Station-mapped location · no exact Census place match 1 NOAA station · Primary-station record

South Bend Michiana Rgnl, IN Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month

Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score

30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from South Bend Michiana Rgnl's primary NOAA station, SOUTH BEND MICHIANA RGNL AP.

The climate verdict for South Bend Michiana Rgnl

South Bend Michiana Rgnl, Indiana has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 49°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.

49°F
yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
54/100
comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
39.2"
annual precipitation · 65" snow
171 days
frost-free growing season

South Bend Michiana Rgnl: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.

Normals record plate

Sheet USW00014848 · South Bend Michiana Rgnl, IN 49°F mean · 39.2" precip

TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL

Nearest mean-temperature peer: Battle Creek Kellogg, MI (+ 0 °F mean)

Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.

Mean-temperature neighbourhood

Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every IN station list.

Climate Living Index · South Bend Michiana Rgnl

South Bend Michiana Rgnl: 49/100 · grade D

South Bend Michiana Rgnl publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.

D
49/100Climate Living Index

PlainClimate-derived for South Bend Michiana Rgnl, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.

South Bend Michiana Rgnl Living Index dimension scores
DimensionStation valueScore
Precipitation balance 39.2 in · 4.2 from 35 in 85/100 · A
Summer moisture balance 61.1°F mean dew point 55/100 · C
Normal heat + freeze calendar 139 calendar days 53/100 · D
Frost-free season 171 days/year 43/100 · D
Annual temperature balance 49.3°F · 18.2° from 67.5°F 37/100 · F
Snowfall burden 64.5 inches/year 13/100 · F

South Bend Michiana Rgnl · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.

South Bend Michiana Rgnl is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa

Coldest-month mean 24.1°F and warmest-month mean 72.4°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.

Köppen code
Dfa
Group
Continental
Warmest month
72.4°F
Coldest month
24.1°F

Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.

National standing · heating-led station

Where South Bend Michiana Rgnl sits across the climate record

Three NOAA fields for South Bend Michiana Rgnl's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.

Annual temperature
37th percentile warmth
Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
Annual precipitation
56th percentile wetness
Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
Seasonal temperature swing
Wider than 75%
Warmest-to-coldest month gap for South Bend Michiana Rgnl is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.

How South Bend Michiana Rgnl compares across U.S. station-mapped locations

South Bend Michiana Rgnl's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations

PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals

54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores

0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry. 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry. 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry. 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry. 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry. 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band. 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry. This location 0 100 every station-mapped location, bucketed by value
  1. 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  2. 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  3. 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
  4. 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
  5. 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
  6. 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
  7. 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
  8. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
  9. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
  10. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.

Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more station-mapped locations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

South Bend Michiana Rgnl's measured station temperature trend

Methodology

Across 114 complete annual observations from 1894 to 2025, SOUTH BEND MICHIANA RGNL AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.12°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.

South Bend Michiana Rgnl fitted annual mean temperature change, 1894-2025 Fitted station-temperature change from 1894 to 2025, relative to the fitted first year. The linear trend warmed at 0.12 °C per decade. -0.3°C +0.2°C +0.7°C +1.2°C +1.7°C 1900192019401960198020002020
  • South Bend Michiana Rgnl primary station fitted change +0.12 °C/decade
Source: NOAA GHCN-M v4, quality-controlled monthly mean temperature. PlainClimate fits ordinary least squares over complete calendar years; minimum 30 years, record must reach 2015 or later.

Monthly Temperatures

Average daily high and low temperatures by month

Month Avg High Avg Low Mean
January 31°F (0°C) 17°F (-8°C) 24°F (-4°C)
February 35°F (2°C) 19°F (-7°C) 27°F (-3°C)
March 46°F (8°C) 27°F (-3°C) 37°F (3°C)
April 59°F (15°C) 37°F (3°C) 48°F (9°C)
May 70°F (21°C) 48°F (9°C) 59°F (15°C)
June 79°F (26°C) 58°F (15°C) 69°F (20°C)
July 83°F (28°C) 62°F (17°C) 72°F (22°C)
August 81°F (27°C) 61°F (16°C) 71°F (22°C)
September 74°F (24°C) 53°F (12°C) 64°F (18°C)
October 62°F (17°C) 42°F (6°C) 52°F (11°C)
November 48°F (9°C) 32°F (0°C) 40°F (4°C)
December 36°F (2°C) 23°F (-5°C) 30°F (-1°C)

The year, day by day

Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 83°F around July 8, short of 90°F on every date, while 139 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 16°F near January 24.

Normal daily high and low temperature for South Bend Michiana Rgnl, January through December Peaks 83°F around July 8. Bottoms 16°F around January 24. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 freezing JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal daily high and low across the calendar year. NOAA 1991–2020 daily normals, SOUTH BEND MICHIANA RGNL AP.

The freezing stretch

The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 1, then returns to freezing around November 15, covering 139 dates in all.

Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.

Where the wet dates fall

The likeliest wet date is January 8, when 53% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 30 at 32%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 148 wet dates a year.

The widest day

April 22 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 22°F between the normal high and the normal low.

Look up any date

Any date's 1991–2020 normal for South Bend Michiana Rgnl.

Where South Bend Michiana Rgnl Stands Nationally

Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 22°F, is narrower than most stations record.

South Bend Michiana Rgnl earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.

Monthly Precipitation

Average monthly rainfall and snowfall

January 2.7"

Snow: 21.6"

16.8 days with precipitation

February 2.3"

Snow: 16.1"

12.5 days with precipitation

March 2.4"

Snow: 6.8"

12.4 days with precipitation

April 3.5"

Snow: 1.0"

13.4 days with precipitation

May 4.2"

13.4 days with precipitation

June 4.0"

11.0 days with precipitation

July 3.8"

9.5 days with precipitation

August 4.0"

10.0 days with precipitation

September 3.5"

9.6 days with precipitation

October 3.7"

Snow: 0.2"

11.5 days with precipitation

November 2.8"

Snow: 5.1"

12.6 days with precipitation

December 2.4"

Snow: 13.7"

14.8 days with precipitation

South Bend Michiana Rgnl spreads its precipitation across the year

Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 30% of the annual total and December through February 19%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. South Bend Michiana Rgnl has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 48.3°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.

The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 4.2" and February 2.3". The three wettest months together take 31% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.

Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.

How South Bend Michiana Rgnl's precipitation splits across the calendar

About 148 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 39.2" between them, or roughly 0.27 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.

Wet days a year
148
Wettest month by days
January
Driest month by days
July

A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.

Winter brings real snow to South Bend Michiana Rgnl

South Bend Michiana Rgnl averages 64.5 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 42 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.

NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.

Frost Dates & Growing Season

First Fall Freeze

October 19

50% probability date

Last Spring Freeze

May 1

50% probability date

Growing Season

171 days

Heating & Cooling Degree Days

Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling

Heating Degree Days

6,400

Higher = more heating needed

Cooling Degree Days

722

Higher = more cooling needed

Warmest Month

July

Coldest Month

January

Humidity & Wind

Monthly averages from hourly observations

Month Humidity Wind (mph)
January 75% 10.2
February 72% 10.3
March 64% 10.4
April 62% 9.8
May 67% 8.2
June 68% 7.5
July 71% 6.5
August 73% 6.6
September 72% 7.9
October 71% 9.3
November 76% 10.1
December 79% 10.3

Nationwide similar cities

Other rankable U.S. places outside IN closest to South Bend Michiana Rgnl on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.

Closest by average temperature

Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (49°F here).

Closest by annual precipitation

Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (39.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.

Indiana climate overview →

Snow and freeze rhythm

When cold and snow define South Bend Michiana Rgnl

heating led · moderate · mid swing

South Bend Michiana Rgnl's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,400 annual heating degree days against 722 for cooling. Its 48.3°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.

South Bend Michiana Rgnl's frost-free season lasts about 171 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.

  1. 1. South Bend Michiana Rgnl coldest normal

    January

    Averaging 24°F (-4°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.

  2. 2. South Bend Michiana Rgnl typical freeze period

    January through December

    The station reports average freezing days from January through December.

  3. 3. South Bend Michiana Rgnl snow peak

    January

    South Bend Michiana Rgnl averages 64.5 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.

Questions about South Bend Michiana Rgnl's climate

How much snow does South Bend Michiana Rgnl get?
South Bend Michiana Rgnl averages 64.5 inches of snow a year, most of it in January, within 39.2 inches of total precipitation. Snowfall is depth on the ground; the precipitation total counts its liquid equivalent, so the two are not additive.
How cold does South Bend Michiana Rgnl get in winter?
South Bend Michiana Rgnl records about 126 days a year with a low at or below freezing, with January the coldest month on the normals, and an annual average daily low of 40°F.
How much energy does heating and cooling require in South Bend Michiana Rgnl?
South Bend Michiana Rgnl has 6,400 heating degree days and 722 cooling degree days annually, a heating-dominated climate. Degree-day definitions: reading weather data.

Data Sources

Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from South Bend Michiana Rgnl's primary station: SOUTH BEND MICHIANA RGNL AP (USW00014848). For informational purposes only.

Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for South Bend Michiana Rgnl; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainClimate

On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for South Bend Michiana Rgnl comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.