INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Overview:
As the state capital of Indiana, Indianapolis is situated on level or slightly rolling terrain. This region has a very temperate climate, including very warm summers with no dry season, and very cold winters from the invasion of frigid northern air.

Maximum temperatures rarely go above 90°F, occurring only about two weeks per year. Precipitation is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year, and therefore there is no pronounced wet or dry season. Rainfall in the spring and summer is produced mostly by showers and thunderstorms. The area experiences an average of 6.6 days per year where precipitation amounts exceed 1.25 inches.

State/ Province ID: IN

Station ID: W00093819

Directory Name: INDIANAPOLIS__IN_W00093819

Elevation: 240.80m


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.

Recent Climate Summary, 1991-2020

Average Temperature53.8°F12.1°C
Average Low Temperature44.6°F7.0°C
Average High Temperature63.0°17.2°C
Days/Year that exceed 90°F14.3 
Days/Year that fall below 32°F98.6 
Lowest Annual Average Temperature50.2°F10.1°C
Highest Annual Average Temperature56.9°F13.8°C
Average Annual Total Precipitation43.6 in110.8 cm
Lowest Annual Precipitation Total31.6 in80.3 cm
Highest Annual Precipitation Total56.9 in144.4 cm
Days/Year that exceed 1.25" of Precipitation6.9 

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 temperature3.11.7
Winter average temperature3.82.1
Spring average temperature3.72.0
Summer average temperature2.21.2
Fall average temperature2.91.6

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

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

  • Monthly Average Precipitation – View a graph of the monthly low, average, and high precipitation climatology (average) of the past 30 years
  • How Precipitation is Changing
    • Changes in Total Precipitation – Includes a summary table of the average annual and seasonal precipitation changes.
    • Heavy Precipitation – View a bar chart of how annual number of days receiving more than 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2 inches of precipitation are changing over the period of record.

Monthly Average Precipitation

Changes in Average Precipitation, 1951-2025.

 in.cm.%
Annual total precipitation6.115.615.70
Winter total precipitation1.02.511.90
Spring total precipitation2.66.623.70
Summer total precipitation1.84.615.40
Fall total precipitation0.82.09.70

Heavy Precipitation