West Lafayette: Last Spring Freeze Dates

Here are the last Spring freeze dates for the West Lafayette COOP, going back to 1954. Two columns, one being the last 28 degree or colder minimum temperature (hard freeze) and the other the last 29 to 32 degree minimum temperature. Blue highlighted dates indicate latest last and red indicate earliest last.

Indianapolis: March 1960 and 2012

At 56.6 degrees, March 2012 will go down as the warmest March on record for Indianapolis. It beats the old record of 51.9, set back in 1910 and tied in 1946. The difference between the two is a whopping 4.7 degrees.

The coldest March on record for Indianapolis is 26.2 degrees, set in 1960. The second coldest on record is  31.0 in 1906. Like 2012, 1960 is an impressive 4.8 degrees colder than second place.

The range between the lowest and highest max temperatures in March 1960 was 63 degrees (13 vs 76)
The range between the lowest and highest max temperatures in March 2012 was 46 degrees (38 vs 84)

The range between the lowest and highest min temperatures in March 1960 was 61 degrees (-6 vs 55)
The range between the lowest and highest min temperatures in March 2012 was 39 degrees (25 vs 64)

The range between the lowest and highest temperatures in March 1960 was 82 degrees (-6 vs 76)
The range between the lowest and highest temperatures in March 2012 was 59 degrees (25 vs 84)

Daily and monthly data for both March 1960 and 2012 below. Daily records either broken or tied are highlighted in blue or red. Some records set in 1960 have been broken since, but were records at the time. Click to enlarge.

Warm Marches=More Warmth To Follow?

With this March sure to go down as the warmest March on record. I thought it'd interesting to look back at other warm Marches and see what kind of trends, if any, were there for the following months. I used the temperature data for Indianapolis, which dates back to 1871. The chart below is of the top 10 warmest Marches on record for Indianapolis and the following average temperatures for April, May, June, July, and August. The official site for Indianapolis has changed through the years, but from 1871 to 1942 a city or downtown location was used. From 1943 to present day, the official site has been at the airport.

For determining whether the month is normal, below, or above, I used the following values: -0.5 to +0.5 is normal, -0.6 or greater is below normal, and +0.6 or greater is above normal. Also, I did long term monthly averages for the city site (1871-1942) and the airport site (1943-present).

What I found sort of interesting is of the top three warmest Marches, none of the following months from all three years produced an above average month for April through August. There also seems to be a trend of May and June being below normal. July would tend to favor warmth and August is 50-50. Of course, it's a fairly small sample size...but something to think about.

Photos From This Evening

Some cool looking clouds rolling in before the storms hit this evening.

March Normal High/Low Temperatures

1981-10 daily normal high and low temperatures for Lafayette (Purdue Airport)

3/1: 44...26
3/2: 44...27
3/3: 45...27
3/4: 45...27
3/5: 45...28
3/6: 46...28
3/7: 46...28
3/8: 47...29
3/9: 47...29
3/10: 48...29
3/11: 48...30
3/12: 49...30
3/13: 49...30
3/14: 49...31
3/15: 50...31
3/16: 50...31
3/17: 51...32
3/18: 51...32
3/19: 52...32
3/20: 52...33
3/21: 53...33
3/22: 53...33
3/23: 54...34
3/24: 54...34
3/25: 54...34
3/26: 55...35
3/27: 55...35
3/28: 56...35
3/29: 56...36
3/30: 57...36
3/31: 57...36

Severe Thunderstorm Watch Until 12:00PM

Link to watch information: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0055.html

Day 1 convective outlook from SPC: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html

Severe Weather Threat For Friday

The Storm Prediction Center has Lafayette under a slight risk for severe weather for tomorrow.

Latest here: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/