INDIANA, USA — Indiana has quite a range of snowfall expectations every year, from roughly 5-8 inches in southern Indiana to over 60 inches in northern Indiana. This is not a forecast for what this winter will bring, but rather an average over the past 50 years across the Hoosier State.
Tap HERE to for the latest local forecast to see if snow chances are on the way.
Snow season
The chance for snow showers begins typically in November across Indiana, however we have had snows in October before. The first average 1" of snow in northern Indiana comes in November, too, while central and southern Indiana typically waits until December for their first one inch of accumulation.
Average winter snowfall in Indiana
The whites and pinks show areas that get over 40 inches of snow on average. This is consolidated for northern Indiana, especially Hoosiers within 50 miles of the southeast side of Lake Michigan.
(NOTE: The color of band shows you your average snowfall rounded down. For example in Fort Wayne you typically get 33" of snow every year, so you are in the 30" purple band.)
We next will zoom into the three regions (north, central, and southern) of Indiana to take a closer look.
Northern Indiana average snowfall
Northern Indiana has the biggest difference of snowfall totals, mainly thanks to the position of lake effect snow bands. Some northern parts of LaPorte and St. Joseph counties can get over 60 inches of snow per year (on average). South Bend's average snowfall is 64.5".
There are some winters where northwest Indiana can get over 100" when lake-effect snow storms are intense.
Lake-effect snow bands get weaker the farther you go from the lake. We can still get some lake-effect snow showers in central Indiana, but they are usually not as intense, although snow can accumulate and stick to the roads, at least briefly.
Central Indiana average snowfall
Indianapolis gets 25.5 inches of snow per winter on average (data 1990-2020). Most Hoosiers across central Indiana get between 15" to 30" of snow, with the lowest totals south of U.S. Route 40.
Rarely do we hit 25" of snow in Indiana. It's usually more or less. Recently it has been less. Here are the past 10 years.
- 2023-2024: 8.2"
- 2022-2023: 10"
- 2021-2022: 11"
- 2020-2021: 24.2"
- 2019-2020: 16.2"
- 2018-2019: 19.4"
- 2017-2018: 23.2"
- 2016-2017: 9.7"
- 2015-2016: 13.3"
- 2014-2015: 25.6"
Southern Indiana average snowfall
Snowfall totals typically drop down to 5-15" in southern Indiana. More rain tends to mix with the snow farther south. Lake-effect snow showers are very weak, if they can even reach this far south at times.
Below is our full winter preview and a chat about La Niña's impact for our snowfall and temperatures this winter.
-13News Meteorologist Matt Standridge