Warm spring descends into cool start to June

Adobe Stock

With climatological spring ending on Friday and meteorological summer busting out June 1, central Indiana temperatures and precipitation have posted some rather impressive numbers.

Spring closed the books on 2024 as one of the top four warmest springs on record.

Temperatures and precipitation were above normal in central Indiana during climatological spring, consisting of the months of March, April and May. Looking at Bloomington, Indianapolis and Lafayette, high temperatures averaged in the mid to upper 60s with lows in the mid to upper 40s. Those values were approximately four to five degrees above normal.

At Indianapolis, May 2024 ranked as the 10th warmest May on record with daily average temperatures above normal on 25 days, at normal on one day and below normal on five days.

The May average temperature was 68.3 degrees at the Indianapolis Airport. That’s 4.7 degrees above normal, the National Weather Service reported.

Precipitation of about 12 to 16 inches was about 1.50 to 2.50 inches above normal. An estimated 13 inches of rain fell between April 1 and May 31.

Although June is reportedly off to its coolest start in 10 years in central Indiana, the official outlook for June 2024 indicates equal chances for near, above- or below-normal temperatures and precipitation for central Indiana, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

At Indianapolis, the average temperature for the month is normally 72.5 degrees. The average precipitation for June at Indianapolis is generally 4.95 inches.

Summer officially begins June 21 as the month of June will provide an additional 11 minutes of daylight.