Valparaiso, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Valparaiso's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 33.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.0°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 847 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationValparaiso Porter County Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00004846
- Location41.45°N 87.01°W
- Elevation770 ft (235 m)
- Population35,065
On October 14, the normal high in Valparaiso is 66°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Valparaiso.
- Jan 34° 18°
- Feb 38° 22°
- Mar 49° 31°
- Apr 62° 40°
- May 73° 51°
- Jun 82° 61°
- Jul 85° 64°
- Aug 83° 62°
- Sep 78° 55°
- Oct 65° 44°
- Nov 51° 34°
- Dec 39° 25°
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 Valparaiso each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.89 in), the least in February (1.51 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. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 18°F | 26.2°F | 1.61 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 38°F | 22°F | 29.8°F | 1.51 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 31°F | 39.8°F | 1.92 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 40°F | 50.9°F | 3.26 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 73°F | 51°F | 61.7°F | 3.71 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 61°F | 71.4°F | 3.86 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 85°F | 64°F | 74.6°F | 3.60 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 62°F | 72.8°F | 3.89 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 78°F | 55°F | 66.2°F | 2.51 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 44°F | 54.6°F | 3.32 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 34°F | 42.3°F | 2.44 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 39°F | 25°F | 31.6°F | 1.72 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 42°F | 51.8°F | 33.35 | 128 | 15 | 125 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −8°C | −3.2°C | 41 mm |
| February | 3°C | −6°C | −1.2°C | 38 mm |
| March | 10°C | −1°C | 4.3°C | 49 mm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.5°C | 83 mm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.5°C | 94 mm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 98 mm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.7°C | 91 mm |
| August | 29°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 99 mm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 19.0°C | 64 mm |
| October | 18°C | 7°C | 12.6°C | 84 mm |
| November | 10°C | 1°C | 5.7°C | 62 mm |
| December | 4°C | −4°C | −0.2°C | 44 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Valparaiso's own co-op station Valparaiso Water Works does: 40 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00004846; 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 Valparaiso?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, September 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 USW00004846.
When is the last frost in Valparaiso?
In Valparaiso, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 20 in half of years and after May 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 26 in half of years and before October 12 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 201 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after April 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 261 year in 10 before October 12; 9 in 10 before November 8
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 187 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 212 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 7 in half of springs and before November 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Valparaiso in zone 6a in ZIP code 46383. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Valparaiso's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (22 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 USW00004846; 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 Valparaiso?
In a normal year in Valparaiso, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 125 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 128 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 125a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 43high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 128a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1997) is 101°F, on July 21, 2011; the lowest is −20°F, on January 5, 1999.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2014, with 39.63 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00004846; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00004846. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Valparaiso?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Valparaiso, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and January the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.6 |
| February | 63% | 2.5 |
| March | 67% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 77% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 79% | 5.3 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 70% | 2.9 |
| November | 66% | 1.9 |
| December | 59% | 1.4 |
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 Valparaiso need?
A normal year in Valparaiso brings 5,737 heating degree days, 7% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 976 cooling degree days, 7% more 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 3,377 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,204 | 0 |
| February | 984 | 0 |
| March | 784 | 3 |
| April | 432 | 9 |
| May | 173 | 72 |
| June | 23 | 213 |
| July | 2 | 300 |
| August | 5 | 247 |
| September | 75 | 111 |
| October | 341 | 20 |
| November | 680 | 0 |
| December | 1,034 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,737 | 976 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00004846. 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 Valparaiso been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.2°F, 0.6°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 51.8°F. 2 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.7°F | −0.1°F | – |
| 2022 | 49.9°F | −1.9°F | – |
| 2023 | 52.1°F | +0.3°F | 39.26 |
| 2024 | 53.2°F | +1.4°F | 37.81 |
| 2025 | 51.2°F | −0.6°F | 29.23 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00004846. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Valparaiso's climate compare?
Valparaiso is warmer than 53 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 0. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.8°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Valparaiso 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 Valparaiso share this climate record?
5 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.
- Lakes of the Four Seasons, IN7,338 people · 12 mi W
- Aberdeen, IN1,761 people · 6 mi W
- Lake Eliza, IN725 people · 9 mi W
- Malden, IN235 people · 5 mi S
- Boone Grove, IN24 people · 10 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.
What do Valparaiso's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Valparaiso. This page uses Valparaiso Porter County Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation, and the linked ones have pages of their own:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valparaiso Water Works USC00128999 | 4 mi N | 800 ft | 50.5°F | 18°F | 83°F | 40.3 | 40 | April 22 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Valparaiso's climate
What is the coldest month in Valparaiso?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Valparaiso?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Valparaiso's NOAA station; Valparaiso's own co-op station Valparaiso Water Works records 40 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Valparaiso?
August, with 3.89 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.51 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Valparaiso in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Valparaiso in zone 6a in ZIP code 46383. By the same method at Valparaiso's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Valparaiso?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 20; 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
- Valparaiso in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wanatah, IN4 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Valparaiso Water Works, IN4 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, IN13 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Wheatfield, IN18 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made