CXUS53 KIWX 010940 CLMSBN CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 540 AM EDT WED APR 01 2026 ................................... ...THE SOUTH BEND CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2026... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1991 TO 2020 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1893 TO 2026 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR'S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 85 03/21/2012 03/31/1981 07/14/1936 LOW -13 03/08/1943 HIGHEST 77 03/26 MM MM 78 03/14 03/30 03/28 LOWEST 16 03/17 MM MM 16 03/01 AVG. MAXIMUM 55.3 46.2 9.1 54.8 AVG. MINIMUM 32.8 27.2 5.6 31.7 MEAN 44.1 36.7 7.4 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 1 3.5 -2.5 0 DAYS MIN <= 32 14 21.1 -7.1 19 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.1 -0.1 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 7.96 1976 MINIMUM 0.54 1958 TOTALS 5.32 2.35 2.97 5.16 DAILY AVG. 0.17 0.08 0.09 0.17 DAYS >= .01 14 12.4 1.6 12 DAYS >= .10 8 6.0 2.0 10 DAYS >= .50 5 1.3 3.7 5 DAYS >= 1.00 2 0.2 1.8 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.55 03/10 TO 03/11 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 33.9 1960 TOTALS 3.7 6.8 -3.1 0.4 SINCE 7/1 94.8 63.5 31.3 MM SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 -1 DAYS >= 1.0 2 2.0 0.0 0 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 1 03/17 24 HR TOTAL 2.1R 03/16 TO 03/16 DEGREE DAYS HEATING TOTAL 639 879 -240 666 SINCE 7/1 5252 5612 -360 MM COOLING TOTAL 0 2 -2 0 SINCE 1/1 0 2 -2 MM ................................................................ WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.7 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 46/180 DATE 03/10 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 68/250 DATE 03/13 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.52 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 12 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 10 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 9 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 69 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 7 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 5 RAIN 9 LIGHT RAIN 13 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 2 LIGHT SNOW 5 SLEET 0 FOG 18 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 3 HAZE 10 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. && ....TOP 10 WETTEST AND WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD.... A BREAKDOWN OF THE LA NINA PATTERN WE EXPERIENCED OVER THE WINTER LED TO VERY MILD AIR AND ACTIVE WEATHER DURING MARCH. IN FACT, NWS NORTHERN INDIANA EXPERIENCED THE MOST ACTIVE MARCH FOR SEVERE WEATHER ON RECORD (DATING BACK TO 1986) THROUGHOUT MARCH, WE ISSUED A RECORD 18 TORNADO WARNINGS AND A RECORD 57 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS. PREVIOUS RECORDS WERE 7 TORNADO WARNINGS (2023) AND 28 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS (2025). SEVERE WEATHER OCCURRED ON MARCH 6TH, MARCH 10TH, MARCH 22ND, MARCH 26TH, AND MARCH 31ST. ALL SEVERE WEATHER HAZARDS OCCURRED IN OUR FORECAST AREA THIS MONTH, INCLUDING DAMAGING WINDS, LARGE HAIL, AND TORNADOES. WE ALSO HAD HIGH WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH ON MARCH 13TH CAUSED BY A VERY TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT THAT DEVELOPED OVER THE GREAT LAKES. SEVERAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS MOVED THROUGH THE MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES IN MARCH, BRINGING SURGES OF MILD AIR AND PERIODS OF ACTIVE WEATHER THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. IN SOUTH BEND, MARCH WAS NOTICEABLY WARMER THAN NORMAL WITH NUMEROUS DAYS HAVING HIGHS IN THE 60S AND 70S. MARCH WAS SO MILD, IN FACT, THAT THERE WERE 4 DAYS THIS MONTH WITH DAILY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES OVER 20 DEGREESA ABOVE NORMAL! THERE WERE NO PROLONGED STRETCHES OF COLD AIR THIS MONTH BUT A SERIES OF STRONG COLD FRONTS DID BRING BRIEF COOL DOWNS FOR 24-48 HOURS BEFORE MILD AIR RETURNED. AFTER A NEAR RECORD HIGH OF 77 ON MARCH 26TH, A HIGH OF ONLY 39 DEGREES WAS RECORDED THE FOLLOWING DAY. VERY WARM TEMPERATURES LED TO AN AVERAGE TEMPEATURE THIS MONTH OF 44.1 DEGREES, WHICH IS 7.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. MARCH 2026 TIES WITH 2024 FOR THE 7TH WARMEST MARCH ON RECORD. RECORDS BEGAN IN 1893. THIS IS THE WARMEST MARCH SINCE 2012. SEVERAL NEW TEMPERATURES RECORDS WERE SET THIS MONTH. THEY ARE AS FOLLOWS: - MARCH 6TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 77 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 71 IN 1973) - MARCH 9TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 73 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 70 IN 2000) - TIED MARCH 10TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 69 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 69 IN 2021) - MARCH 10TH RECORD WARM LOW: 56 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 53 IN 2021) - TIED MARCH 30TH RECORD HIGH TEMP: 77 DEGREES (OLD RECORD: 77 IN 1943) BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN THIS MONTH, SOUTH BEND SAW ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION THIS MONTH! THERE 14 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION THIS MONTH, BUT IT REALLY ADDED UP FAST! TWO DAYS THIS MONTH HAD OVER AN INCH OF RAIN: A RECORD RAINFALL OF 1.19 " ON MARCH 6TH (OLD RECORD; 1.06" IN 1908)) AND 1.09" INCHES FELL ON MARCH 15TH. MARCH 10TH FELL JUST SHY WITH 0.99". OVER HALF OF THE MONTH'S PRECIPITATION FELL IN JUST THOSE 3 DAYS! THERE WERE ALSO SEVERAL OTHER DAYS THIS MONTH WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN 0.25-0.75 INCHES. IN TOTAL, MARCH HAD 5.32" OF PRECIPITATION, WHICH IS 2.97" ABOVE NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 7TH WETTEST ON RECORD. THIS IS THE WETTEST MARCH SINCE 2023. UNSUPRISINGLY, SNOWFALL WAS HARD TO COME BY WITH SUCH MILD TEMPERATURES. MEASURABLE SNOWFALL FELL ON JUST FOUR DAYS THIS MONTH; THE SNOWIEST DAY WAS MARCH 16TH WITH 2.1". WITH A TOTAL OF 3.7" FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH, THIS IS 4.1" BELOW NORMAL. MARCH 2026 RANKS AS THE 46TH LEAST SNOWY ON RECORD. THIS IS THE 3RD CONSECUTIVE MARCH ON RECORD WITH BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL. JOHNSON $$