Cold Snap Forecast for Indiana: The Next Arctic Blast
In Indianapolis the coldest week is usually Jan 18 to 24, with a normal low of 20°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was −12°F on Jan 2, 2018.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Indianapolis.
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Indiana reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
IndianapolisIndianapolis, USW00093819
Jan 18 to 24
20°F
−12°FJan 2, 2018
Oct 30
−27°FJan 19, 1994records since 1948
South BendSouth Bend Michiana Regional Airport, USW00014848
Jan 21 to 27
16°F
−20°FJan 31, 2019
Oct 25
−22°FTwice, last on Jan 20, 1943records since 1893
Fort WayneFort Wayne International Airport, USW00014827
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Indianapolis against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 4 Indiana reference stations.
At Indianapolis it is usually Jan 18 to 24, with a normal low of 20°F. At the other reference stations: South Bend Jan 21 to 27 (16°F), Fort Wayne Jan 20 to 26 (18°F) and Evansville Jan 19 to 25 (25°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Indianapolis reaches 32°F around Nov 25. The first actual freeze came around Oct 30 in the median of the last 10 winters, weeks ahead of the normal, because one clear calm night can run far below the average.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Indianapolis was −12°F on Jan 2, 2018, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was −3°F. Elsewhere: South Bend −20°F on Jan 31, 2019, Fort Wayne −13°F on Jan 30, 2019 and Evansville −6°F on Dec 23, 2022. The record at the Indianapolis station is −27°F, on Jan 19, 1994, in daily records since 1948.
At Indianapolis a typical recent winter brings 100 nights at 32°F or colder, 32 at 20°F or colder and 3 at zero or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Indianapolis (USW00093819), South Bend Michiana Regional Airport (USW00014848), Fort Wayne International Airport (USW00014827) and Evansville Regional Airport (USW00093817). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
