Can anyone give me a realistic view of the weather..... (Indianapolis: buy, construction)

[CravenClan]

Hi everyone,

Just curious what the weather is like in Indiana?? I know there are 4 seasons, but what are those seasons like??

Rain?
Snow
Humidity?

Thanks!!
Christina

[rrah]

All of the above, just not at the same time.

To some extent the weather will depend where you are in the state. There are some slight to extreme differences. Last winter the area about 60 miles north of me had a couple of snows, when we didn't even have rain.

[jamh13]

Winters will be COLD if ur from socal. I'm from the upper midwest and they seem mild to me(Not 2 much snow, usually melts pretty quick). Spring is nice but w/ some violent storms. Summer is hot, sometimes humid. Last 2 weeks have been nice. Fall is the best weather, usually mild sunny days w/ cool nights.

[domergurl]

Indiana is a strange state/weatherwise. You can hack the state 3 ways diagonally:

The top third is more snowy and gets colder

The middle third doesnt get as cold, but gets more ice, not as much snow

The lower third gets icy and more wet than snow, and a little warmer

The thirds get more humid as you move down the state.

[Alien!]

We've been here in Indianapolis area exactly for one year now. We used to live in southwest US all the time, so used to warmer more stable climate.
Here, the weather is overall very unpredictable. It can switch from sunny clear sky to heavy rain and storm in less than an hour, and reverse.
It has so-called four seasons: Summer is about 2-2.5 months I would say. It starts about mid June/early july, goes to early August. Mid August you can see it's getting less warm and even little cold in the evening. It was slightly humid this year, not really annoying, but I've heard it gets hot and really bad humid some years, perhaps for 2-3 weeks being higher than 90 and badly humid. The fall is about 2 months maybe. For about a month or so it's really reallly beautiful with different colors. It gets rainy and cloudy then, with frequent showers. The cold months are about 5-6 months I would say. Starting about October, getting worse in November, coldest in December, January, February, then still cold in March, starting to be less cold in April. Winter is continuously cold, mostly cloudy. Most of the days it's around 10-20 degrees. Some days it gets to 0 or even below. It snowed 2-3 heavy ones this past year, but there's about 1-2 light snows per week. However, between the snows, the snow melts to some extent, so it's not like Minnesota to see ice and snow all the time on the ground. Overall, about 50% of the winter time you can see the ground without snow. My wife said the past winter was the coldest winter she'd ever seen in her life and she was not happy at all with this state. I've heard this past winter in fact was even warmer than average for Indiana!!
Then the short spring comes. You see blooming trees for about 2 weeks. The spring is very short. It switches from cold to warm over just a few weeks.
Also, to make it complete, I should say, most of the days no matter winter, spring, fall or summer, there is some wind, some annoying wind around. You can rarely find a pleasant day with comfortable temperature without wind that you can make a barbeque outside. I'm glad we didn't buy a barbeque grill, it'd be a waste of money in here!!
Overall, in summary, if weather is somewhat important to you, don't come to this state, you'll not be happy. There of course are some other downsides in this state but aren't subject of this topic so let me not talk about them now.

[BU191433]

Alien! - I can tell from your discription that you are used to living in the southwest.

There are not 5-6 cold months. Unless you think highs of 45-55 are cold. It can and has been 55 degress on Thanksgiving day. It can also snow then. I'm not trying to argue with you, it just depends on what you are used to.

I do want to dispute that most winter days are 10-20 degrees. Maybe for low temps - but average highs even in the dead of winter - 34 degrees.

Yes last winter was a mild winter - we didn't have any extended long cold stretches.

Probab;ly the worst thing for those who are used to sunny climates - is that it is extrmely cloudy especially from the end of November through most of December - not uncommon to go 7 or 8 days and not really seeing the sun.

And yes this summer has been very mild - last summer I think we had over 30 days of over 90 degrees - this summer, we've had 2

[Zig'sbird]

I'm surprised by the answers

In reality, Indiana only has two seasons: Winter and Construction

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by Zig'sbird

I'm surprised by the answers

In reality, Indiana only has two seasons: Winter and Construction

No, that's Chicago seasons

Alien ... wow, what you are describing are normal weather cycles in most of the southern great lakes ... Indiana, Illinois & Ohio. Not quite sure what to tell you other than sorry it's not working out to your family's liking. Didn't anyone tell you before you moved???

This year's seasons were better than last years. I remember last summer was bloody hot and drought. At least this season, we had regular rain, albeit a big flood at the beginning of the summer. Winter was mild with a couple ice storms and one major blizzard. Spring was very normal. And with the wet summer, the fall colors are going to be spectacular, can't wait to see them.

Again, sorry Alien ...

[remee]

Originally Posted by domergurl

No, that's Chicago seasons

And with the wet summer, the fall colors are going to be spectacular, can't wait to see them.

That makes me so excited to get there to Indiana! Fall is my absolute favorite season!
Having been in So Cal for three years and then Hawaii another three years, I'm burnt out on year round warm weather with no seasons.lol

[Zoo Animals On Wheels]

Guess I'll put my two cents in on the seasons in Indiana.

You'll find the midwest runs through all the extremes. Hot and humid in summer, cold and snowy in winter.

That said, Indiana winters are much milder than most midwestern areas experience. People in Green Bay, Minneapolis, or Chicago would laugh at what most Hoosiers consider a "heavy snowfall." We average maybe a foot and a half of snow each winter. Usually in 2 or 3" increments, and at least half the winter there is usually no snow on the ground. Of course, there are exceptions - occasionally lots of snow is on the ground virtually all winter, and sometimes we don't get any snow at all!

Look for average temps in the winter to be in the 30s, though it can dip below freezing (especially at night), and then there are the occasional freakish what-the-hell-it's-65-degrees-in-January days.

Wind? I have no idea what is with the comment about Indiana's terrible, freakish winds. Yes, I can see where, if you live in a very flat area with no mature trees, you might experience some strong breezes. But for somebody coming from the southwest, this should not be a problem. We were in Texas and Oklahoma this past spring - now THAT'S wind!

Coming from SoCal, your first winter here you will probably be cold all the time. We were when we moved here from South Florida. But the next winter is a piece of cake. It's all what you get used to.

If you do wind up moving here, welcome and enjoy the wonders that come with having all four seasons!