Fort Wayne Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Fort Wayne, Indiana has snow.
There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Fort Wayne usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that the city normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when Fort Wayne can expect the first and last snowfalls of the season.
The first set of monthly snow totals are averages for 2010 to 2019. All the other numbers are averages, based on weather data gathered from 1981 to 2010 at the Fort Wayne International Airport.
How Often it Snows in Fort Wayne
The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).
Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
---|---|---|---|
3.6 | January | 11.4 | 29.0 |
3.9 | February | 10.6 | 26.9 |
1.3 | March | 5.2 | 13.3 |
0.1 | April | 0.5 | 1.3 |
0.0 | October | 0.1 | 0.2 |
0.6 | November | 2.3 | 5.9 |
2.3 | December | 6.4 | 16.2 |
11.8 | Year | 36.6 | 92.8 |
Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
---|---|---|---|
9.5 | January | 10.1 | 25.7 |
6.9 | February | 7.7 | 19.6 |
4.1 | March | 4.1 | 10.4 |
1.0 | April | 1.0 | 2.5 |
0.2 | October | 0.3 | 0.8 |
2.6 | November | 1.8 | 4.6 |
8.2 | December | 8.5 | 21.6 |
32.5 | Year | 33.5 | 85.1 |
These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Fort Wayne varies from year to year.
In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 11.3 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 4.3 inches for the month.
Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 15 inches, while the lightest years get less than 3.5 inches.
New snow for February ranges from over 12 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 3.2 inches in light years.
When Fort Wayne Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of winter for Fort Wayne usually arrives in November. In rare years, October also gets a little snow.
The season's last snowfall typically happens in April. Every three or four years, April has no new snow, which pushes the last snowfall into March.
Fort Wayne is normally free of snow every year from May to September.
How Many Snowstorms Fort Wayne Gets
Most days of snowfall in Fort Wayne leave just a skiff, amounting to less than an inch, of fresh snow on the ground. For ten days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least an inch.
Snowstorms of over five inches a day typically occur just once a year, arriving anytime from December to March. But major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day are not at all normal here.
1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm | |
---|---|---|---|---|
3.1 | 0.9 | January | 0.3 | 0.0 |
2.4 | 0.6 | February | 0.2 | 0.0 |
1.3 | 0.3 | March | 0.1 | 0.0 |
0.3 | 0.1 | April | 0.0 | 0.0 |
0.1 | 0.0 | October | 0.0 | 0.0 |
0.5 | 0.1 | November | 0.0 | 0.0 |
2.3 | 0.8 | December | 0.3 | 0.0 |
10.0 | 2.8 | Year | 0.9 | 0.0 |
How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Fort Wayne
For about one-third of winter days, Fort Wayne has at least an inch of snow on the ground.
Snow mostly accumulates during January. Typically, on five or six days in January and another three or four in February, the snow covering Fort Wayne gets to five or more inches deep, but rarely amounts to over ten inches.
1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm | |
---|---|---|---|---|
15.4 | 9.4 | January | 5.6 | 0.6 |
11.8 | 6.9 | February | 3.5 | 0.9 |
3.7 | 1.8 | March | 0.8 | 0.0 |
0.4 | 0.2 | April | 0.1 | 0.0 |
0.1 | 0.0 | October | 0.0 | 0.0 |
0.9 | 0.3 | November | 0.0 | 0.0 |
9.1 | 4.6 | December | 2.4 | 0.0 |
41.4 | 23.2 | Year | 12.4 | 1.5 |
References
Jay Lawrimore, Ron Ray, Scott Applequist, Bryant Korzeniewski, Matthew Menne. 2016. Global Summary of the Month and Year, Version 1.0. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 1981-2010 U.S. Climate Normals. (Data Access. FTP.)