WEST LAFAYETTE, IN

Overview:
West Lafayette is located about 65 miles northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and 103 miles southeast of Chicago. The largest water body in this region is the Wabash River bordering the area to its east, while other, smaller ponds and lakes are scattered throughout the terrain. Otherwise, the land remains mostly flat and developed.

Summertime temperatures can get quite hot at times, averaging the mid-70°Fs but exceeding 90°F about two weeks per year. Wintertime temperatures are frequently cold, with temperatures falling below freezing (32°F) over 100 days per year. Most of the area’s annual precipitation falls during the summer months. Extreme precipitation events occur infrequently, with just under 1 week per year. Thunderstorms, which are prominent mostly in July, occur about 43 days each year.

State/ Province ID: IN

Station ID: C00129430

Directory Name: W_LAFAYETTE_6_NW__IN_C00129430

Elevation: 215.80m

The resources presented here were developed in cooperation with the Office of the Michigan State Climatologist using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. For more information regarding our data sources, quality control, and methodology, please see our Historical Climatologies: Quality Control reference guide.

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Recent Climate Summary, 1991-2020


Average Temperature	51.1°F10.6°C
Average Low Temperature	40.7°F4.9°C
Average High Temperature	61.5°16.4°C
Days/Year that exceed 90°F	12.5
Days/Year that fall below 32°F	119.8
Lowest Annual Average Temperature	47.7°F8.7°C
Highest Annual Average Temperature	54.5°F12.5°C
Average Annual Total Precipitation	39.5 in100.4 cm
Lowest Annual Precipitation Total	31.0 in78.6 cm
Highest Annual Precipitation Total	50.4 in127.9 cm
Days/Year that exceed 1.25" of Precipitation	5.5

Temperature

Click on the following links to be taken to the corresponding portion of the page.

Monthly Average Temperature
How Temperatures are Changing
- Changes in Average Temperature – Includes a summary table of the average annual and seasonal temperature changes, and time series graphs of how the annual low, average, and high temperatures compare to the long term average plotted for every year on record.
- Cold Temperatures – View time series plots of the number of days per year below 32°F and the number of heating degree days per year to see how cold days are changing.
- Hot Temperatures – View time series plots of the number of days per year above 90°F and the number of cooling degree days per year to see how hot days are changing.
- Growing Season Changes – View a time series of the annual number of days in the freeze-free period.

Monthly Average Temperature

Changes in Average Temperature, 1951-2025.


	°F°C
Annual average temperature	2.21.2
Winter average temperature	3.41.9
Spring average temperature	2.71.5
Summer average temperature	1.50.8
Fall average temperature	0.60.3

Annual High and Low Temperature Departure

Cold Temperatures

¹Heating Degree Days (HDDs) are indexed units, not actual days, that roughly describe the demand to heat a building. HDDs accumulate on days colder than 65°F when heating is required. Every degree below 65°F is added to the annual total for an annual HDD value, which is plotted in the figure.

Hot Temperatures

²Cooling Degree Days (CDDs) are indexed units, not actual days, that roughly describe the demand to cool a building. CDDs accumulate on days warmer than 65°F when cooling is required. Every degree above 65°F is added to the annual total for an annual CDD value, which is plotted in the figure.

Growing Season Changes

Precipitation