Gary has chilly winters and pleasant summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 83°, a January night drops to 19°, and about 27 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normalsUpdated once a decade
☀️
July high
83°
64th coolest of 1,978 Indiana towns
❄️
January low
19°
831st coldest of 1,978 Indiana towns
💧
Rain + melted snow
38 in
131st driest of 1,978 Indiana towns
🌨️
Snow a winter
27 in
500th snowiest of 1,972 Indiana towns
A normal year
What a year in Gary feels like
❄️
Winter
36° / 22°
Typical high / low · 8 days with an inch or more of snow
🌷
Spring
58° / 40°
Typical high / low · Last frost around Apr 22
☀️
Summer
81° / 63°
Typical high / low · 11 days reach 90° in a normal year
🍂
Fall
62° / 45°
Typical high / low · First frost around Oct 27
10°
20°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
32°
33°
19°
36°
22°
47°
30°
58°
39°
70°
50°
79°
60°
83°
65°
81°
64°
75°
56°
63°
45°
49°
34°
38°
25°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
32°, freezingBar runs from the typical overnight low up to the afternoon high
Best months to be outsideMayJunJulAugSepOctHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month
Gary weather by month
Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.
Month
High
Low
Rain + melt
Snow
Wet days
Snow on ground
30-yr range
January
33°
19°
2.2"
10.3"
10
12
16° – 38°
February
36°
22°
1.9"
6.3"
8
9
18° – 39°
March
47°
30°
2.3"
4.3"
10
3
30° – 53°
April
58°
39°
3.5"
0.6"
10
0
40° – 55°
May
70°
50°
4.3"
0
12
0
54° – 66°
June
79°
60°
4.2"
0
10
0
65° – 74°
July
83°
65°
4.0"
0
9
0
69° – 79°
August
81°
64°
3.9"
0
9
0
67° – 79°
September
75°
56°
3.5"
0
8
0
60° – 70°
October
63°
45°
3.5"
0
10
0
50° – 60°
November
49°
34°
2.7"
0.4"
9
0
34° – 50°
December
38°
25°
2.2"
4.7"
9
5
18° – 41°
Year
59°
42°
38.2"
26.6"
112
29
“Wet days” have at least 0.01" of rain or melted snow. “Snow on ground” counts days with 1" or more. The 30-year range is the coldest and warmest that month’s average temperature got between 1991 and 2020.
Rain & snow
Rain and snow in Gary
Gary gets 38 inches of rain and melted snow a year. May is the wettest month and February the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 112 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 29 days of the year.
💧
38 in
Rain + melted snow a year
Less rain than 56% of U.S. towns
❄️
27 in
Snow in a normal winter
More snow than 52% of U.S. towns
⛄
29 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
More than 50% of U.S. towns
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
4.3"
JFMAMJJASOND
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
10"
JFMAMJJASOND
Frost & the growing season
About 188 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by April 22 and the first one by October 27. That leaves about 188 frost-free days for gardens, longer than 62% of U.S. towns.
🌱 Apr 22
🍂 Oct 27
188 frost-free days
JFMAMJJASOND
🥶
117
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
🧊
5
nights below 0° in a normal year
🔥
11
days that reach 90° in a normal year
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
JFMAMJJASOND
90° days by month
Average days at 90° or more
JFMAMJJASOND
Heating & cooling
Heating and cooling a home in Gary
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Gary, 88% of that work is heating and 12% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.
🔥
6,171 heating degree daysMore heating than 60% of U.S. towns
❄️
808 cooling degree daysLess cooling than 53% of U.S. towns
Degree days measure how far each day’s average temperature falls below or rises above 65°, added up over a year. Source: NOAA station normals.
Around Gary
Gary and its neighbors
Gary borders 12 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 2.3°. Ross has the coldest January nights (17°) and Ross the hottest July afternoons (84°). Gary’s January low is 19° and its July high 83°.
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Then and now
Warmer than it used to be
+1.2°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)
The last 30 years in Gary averaged 1.2° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in December (+2.5°). The shift is smaller than in 51% of U.S. towns.
❄️ Winter+2.0°now 29°, was 27°
🌷 Spring+1.4°now 49°, was 48°
☀️ Summer+0.7°now 72°, was 71°
🍂 Fall+0.8°now 54°, was 53°
Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Gary’s spot on NOAA’s grid
+0.4°
+2.5°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Year to year
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. March swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 30° to 53°. June is the most reliable, staying within 9°.
10°
20°
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions
Common questions about Gary’s climate
What is the coldest month in Gary?
January, with a typical high of 33° and a low of 19°.
What is the hottest month in Gary?
July, with a typical high of 83° and a low of 65°. About 11 days a year reach 90°.
How much snow does Gary get?
About 27 inches in a normal winter, most of it in January.
When is the first frost in Gary?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by October 27, and the last spring frost by April 22.
What is the rainiest month in Gary?
May, with 4.3 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 38 inches.
📍Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Gary itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Crown Pt 1n, IN (10 mi, snow) and Indiana Dunes Nl, IN (14 mi, frost, heat and degree days). Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.