If the Grinch stole Christmas, who stole Old Man Winter? Someone certainly kidnapped him this past winter season. At least that’s how the data appears when you look at summaries from the Midwest for climatological winter, which includes December, January and February.
Yes, there was a cold outbreak here and there, including a long week in the deep freeze across much of the Midwest in January. “Yet overall, we saw a very mild winter, especially in terms of snowfall,” says Beth Hall, director of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, located at Purdue University.
Hall says lower-than-average snowfall totals weren’t a surprise. In fact, they were predicted by most long-term weather forecasters. An El Niño was in play, and El Niño winters in the Midwest are often warmer than average, which often means less snow than average.
What no one can predict ahead of time, however, Hall notes, is how intense a trend will be once it plays out. Will it be just a little below normal or a lot? In this case, the prediction was right on target, and the trend was skewed far to the low side.
What weather data says
Here are some facts and figures from the 2023-24 climatological winter that prove it was extreme.
The mean temperature in Indiana was 35.8 degrees F — 5.3 degrees above normal and second warmest ever.
The warmest winter in Indiana occurred in 1931-32, with a mean temp of 37.4 degrees, 1.6 degrees warmer than this winter.
Across the entire Midwest, this was the warmest winter on record.
For the first time ever recorded, the Midwest mean winter temperature was above freezing, at 32.7 degrees.
Departure above normal was far greater in several other Midwest states than in Indiana: Minnesota, 11.2; Wisconsin, 9.7; Iowa, 7.9; Michigan, 7.7; and Illinois, 5.9. Departures above normal in remaining Midwest states were Ohio, 5.6; Missouri, 4.8; and Kentucky, 3.3.
Precipitation across the Midwest was 0.12 inch below normal.
Indiana precipitation was 0.18 inch below normal.
Many areas in Indiana ran 5 to 10 inches below normal on snowfall; some areas were as much as 10 to 25 inches below normal.
The Midwestern Regional Climate Center also computes something called the Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index, Hall says. It quantifies winter severity by assigning values to intensity and persistence of cold weather, amount of snow, and persistence of snow on the ground.
When data was plotted on a historical graph, the 2023-24 winter season for Indianapolis was one of the mildest on record, Hall concludes.
Read more about:
WeatherAbout the Author(s)
You May Also Like