Hoosiers are hardy, but that wasn’t a quality that was important this winter. Meteorological winter—December 1 to February 29—is drawing to a close, and it doesn’t quite feel like it ever really happened. There was one notable cold weather outbreak in mid-January, but besides that, temperatures were generally at or above normal. Even when accounting for the January freeze, the month ended 0.1°F above normal. This comes on the heels of an incredibly warm December across the state, which was 7.4°F above normal and the 3rd warmest December on record. Overall, this has been a top 5 warmest winter for various locations across Indiana, including Fort Wayne, South Bend, Lafayette, Terre Haute, and Richmond.
We also saw that the warm temperatures meant that precipitation didn’t always fall as snow. We’ve had some snow, but nothing jaw-dropping. As of writing, Lafayette 8 S has received 9.1 inches of snow since December 1 but should receive 20.3 inches in a normal season. In Indianapolis, where we’ve seen 8.1 inches of snow, the normal annual total is 25.5 inches. Down near Evansville, snowfall is below 50 percent of normal, and up through northeast Indiana as well (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Accumulated snowfall: Percent of mean, December 2, 2023 to February 21, 2024.
If you’re hoping for more snow, you may be disappointed. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) predicts a 60-70 percent chance of above-normal temperatures for much of northern Indiana and 50-60 percent moving south through the state. The monthly outlook for March has the eastern half of the state in only a slight chance for above-normal temperatures, but the longer-term three-month outlook has an even higher chance of above-normal temperatures through May (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Seasonal temperature outlook, March, April and May 2024.
Don’t put the snow boots away just yet, though. Historically, snow is not uncommon in March, and a good winter whiplash in April isn’t unheard of either. South Bend saw 1 inch of snow on April 1, 2022, and in Fort Wayne, there was over 4 inches of snow on April 20, 2021.