Indianapolis has chilly winters and warm summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 85°, a January night drops to 20°, and about 26 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normalsUpdated once a decade
☀️
July high
85°
689th hottest of 1,978 Indiana towns
❄️
January low
20°
786th mildest of 1,978 Indiana towns
💧
Rain + melted snow
43 in
950th wettest of 1,978 Indiana towns
🌨️
Snow a winter
26 in
571st snowiest of 1,972 Indiana towns
A normal year
What a year in Indianapolis feels like
❄️
Winter
39° / 23°
Typical high / low · 8 days with an inch or more of snow
🌷
Spring
63° / 42°
Typical high / low · Last frost around Apr 15
☀️
Summer
83° / 63°
Typical high / low · 20 days reach 90° in a normal year
🍂
Fall
65° / 44°
Typical high / low · First frost around Oct 26
10°
20°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
32°
36°
20°
40°
23°
51°
31°
64°
42°
73°
52°
82°
62°
85°
65°
84°
63°
78°
55°
65°
44°
52°
33°
40°
25°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
32°, freezingBar runs from the typical overnight low up to the afternoon high
Best months to be outsideAprMayJunAugSepOctHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month
Indianapolis 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
36°
20°
2.9"
8.8"
12
11
19° – 39°
February
40°
23°
2.4"
6.0"
10
7
19° – 42°
March
51°
31°
3.3"
3.2"
12
2
34° – 55°
April
64°
42°
4.4"
0.2"
12
0
46° – 58°
May
73°
52°
4.6"
0
13
0
57° – 71°
June
82°
62°
5.1"
0
12
0
67° – 75°
July
85°
65°
4.2"
0
10
0
69° – 82°
August
84°
63°
3.4"
0
8
0
69° – 78°
September
78°
55°
3.3"
0
8
0
61° – 71°
October
65°
44°
3.4"
0.1"
9
0
50° – 60°
November
52°
33°
3.4"
0.8"
10
0
35° – 49°
December
40°
25°
2.9"
6.4"
12
6
19° – 42°
Year
62°
43°
43.2"
25.5"
128
27
“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 Indianapolis
Indianapolis gets 43 inches of rain and melted snow a year. June is the wettest month and February the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 128 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 27 days of the year.
💧
43 in
Rain + melted snow a year
More rain than 62% of U.S. towns
❄️
26 in
Snow in a normal winter
More snow than 51% of U.S. towns
⛄
27 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
Fewer than 52% of U.S. towns
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
5.1"
JFMAMJJASOND
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
8.8"
JFMAMJJASOND
Frost & the growing season
About 193 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by April 15 and the first one by October 26. That leaves about 193 frost-free days for gardens, longer than 67% of U.S. towns.
🌱 Apr 15
🍂 Oct 26
193 frost-free days
JFMAMJJASOND
🥶
106
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
🧊
3
nights below 0° in a normal year
🔥
20
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 Indianapolis
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Indianapolis, 82% of that work is heating and 18% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.
🔥
5,250 heating degree daysLess heating than 61% of U.S. towns
❄️
1,139 cooling degree daysMore cooling than 67% 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 Indianapolis
Indianapolis and its neighbors
Indianapolis borders 12 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 1.4°. Zionsville has the coldest January nights (19°) and Perry the hottest July afternoons (85°). Indianapolis’s January low is 20° and its July high 85°.
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Then and now
Warmer than it used to be
+0.9°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)
The last 30 years in Indianapolis averaged 0.9° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in December (+2.0°). The shift is smaller than in 79% of U.S. towns.
❄️ Winter+1.6°now 31°, was 29°
🌷 Spring+1.2°now 52°, was 51°
☀️ Summer+0.1°now 73°, was 73°
🍂 Fall+0.6°now 55°, was 54°
Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Indianapolis’s spot on NOAA’s grid
−0.4°
+2.0°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Year to year
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. February swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 19° to 42°. June is the most reliable, staying within 8°.
10°
20°
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions
Common questions about Indianapolis’s climate
What is the coldest month in Indianapolis?
January, with a typical high of 36° and a low of 20°.
What is the hottest month in Indianapolis?
July, with a typical high of 85° and a low of 65°. About 20 days a year reach 90°.
How much snow does Indianapolis get?
About 26 inches in a normal winter, most of it in January.
When is the first frost in Indianapolis?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by October 26, and the last spring frost by April 15.
What is the rainiest month in Indianapolis?
June, with 5.1 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 43 inches.
📍Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Indianapolis itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Indianapolis, IN (9 mi) away. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.