INDIANAPOLIS — During a hectic year, Several records were broken, multiple severe weather events occurred, and plenty more. 2024 will also finish the warmest years ever for Indianapolis since weather records started being kept in 1871. It will tie with 2012 as the warmest year with an average temperature of 58.9°.
Additionally, it was a busy year for tornadoes throughout the Hoosier State. In total, 57 tornadoes occurred in 2024. That’s the second-highest one-year total on record behind 2011 (72 tornadoes). Combine 2024’s 57 tornadoes with 2023’s 54 (third-highest one-year total), you get the greatest two-year total on record with 111 combined twisters. One casualty came from the Winchester tornado on March 14.
Tornado totals are traced back to 1950 for Indiana.
Here is The Weather Authority’s 2024 Weather in Review sorted by month…
January:
- January 9th: New single-day rainfall for Indianapolis (1.22″)
- January 9th and 12th: Record low-pressure readings for January recorded for IND (28.97″ Jan. 9th, 29.08″ Jan. 12th)
- January 12th low-pressure system brought wind gusts 60 MPH for some
- 2-3″ of rain occurred
- January 13-17th: Coldest January temperatures in years arrive, on the anniversary of the state’s all-time coldest temperatures in 1994
- Highs in single digits on January 16th, lows below zero on the 14th/15th
- One of the cloudiest Januarys on record (avg. 74% cloud cover)
February:
- 4th warmest February on record
- First 60° (65° Feb. 8th) high of the year
- February 9th: 66° high warmest in 81 years/record set, new “warm” low temperature (52°) breaks 148-year-old record
- First 70° (73° Feb. 26th/new daily record) high of the year
- February 16th: 3-7″ of snow occurred, half of winter’s snow occurred this day.
- Dec. 2023-Feb. 2024: 7th warmest meteorological winter on record
March:
- 10th warmest March on record
- 2nd least snowiest March on record (tied) with only a trace of snow
- Selma/Winchester tornado event March 14th (one fatality with two tornadoes)
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Image of tornado rolling through Winchester and Selma. Courtesy of Lance Huffman -
Image of storm damage in the town of Selma, Delaware County. -
Image of storm damage in the town of Selma, Delaware County. -
Image of storm damage in the town of Selma, Delaware County -
A home collapsed during powerful storms in Winchester trapping two people in a closet under debris. (Yorktown FD) -
A hymnal book from a destroyed church across the street is seen among the debris strewn in Winchester, Ind., on Friday, March 15, 2024, after storms ripped through the area Thursday night. (AP Photo/Isabella Volmert)
April:
- April 8th solar eclipse: The weather was perfect, a trace of rain was recorded in the morning with quick clearing for totality
- April 11th: 1.70″ of rain, rainiest single day since March 3, 2023 (later beaten on July 28th)
- Part of three-day heavy rain event April 10th-12th (more than 4.0″ three-day total in Muncie, 3.06″ Noblesville)
- April 14th: First 80° high of year recorded: first of 4 days total for the month
- 8th rainiest April on record (7.77″ of rain, 3.34″ above normal)
- Rainiest April since 2013
May:
- Tied 10th warmest May on record
- May 7th tornadoes: 5 confirmed throughout Shelby County, Rush County, Decatur County
- More than two inches of rain occurred in spots
- Indy 500: 4-hour delay, race completed and wettest race day in 20 years (1.48″ rain occurred May 26th)
- Second round of storms this day produced EF-2 tornado in Knox County
- March-May 2024: 3rd warmest meteorological spring on record
June:
- June 16th: First 90° high (91°) of year recorded
- 3rd consecutive below-normal rainfall for June (2.16″ of rain, 2.79″ below normal)
- Straight-line winds June 25th: 70 MPH gusts recorded for some south of Indy
- June 29th Severe Storms: Landspout in Warren County, 68 MPH wind gust recorded in Crawfordsville
July:
- Wettest July since 2015 (6.46″ of rain, 2.04″ above normal)
- July 9th: Hurricane Beryl remnants move through
- EF-0 tornado in Martin County
- Spots North and NW surpassed 3.0″ of rainfall (3.33″ Warsaw and 3.38″ Rensselaer)
- Damage in spots, including our coverage in Kokomo
- July 14th Rainfall: Flooding in spots, Flood Warnings issued and fans take shelter during the Indianapolis Indians game
- July 15th Derecho: 75 MPH wind gust at Purdue, trees snapped, power outages etc.
- First derecho since June 29, 2023
- Gustnado recorded near Atlanta, IN
- July 28th: 2.55″ of rain for IND, the rainiest day of the year
- July 29th: Hamilton/Madison County tornado (EF-2)
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Damage to Frankton-Lapel Community Schools Administration Building -
Damage to Frankton-Lapel Community Schools Administration Building -
Damage to Frankton-Lapel Community Schools Administration Building -
Damage to Frankton-Lapel Community Schools Administration Building -
Damage to Frankton-Lapel Community Schools Administration Building -
Damage to Frankton-Lapel Community Schools Administration Building -
Damage to Frankton-Lapel Community Schools Administration Building
August:
- August 1st Downpours: I-465 impassable at Fall Creek
- August 22nd: Lows in the 40s for some spots, highs in the 70s
- August 30th: 96° record high recorded
- Capped a week’s worth of 90s August 24th-30th
- Longest stretch since September 2015
September:
- September 8th: Lows in the 30s for some spots
- 10th consecutive at/above normal September
- Warmest September since 2019
- September 22nd: Delaware County Landspout Tornado
- EF-0: damage in rural Delaware County
- September 27th-28th: Hurricane Helene remnants move through
- 68 MPH wind gust at IND, one of the highest gusts on record
- 75% of the month’s rain came this day
October:
- 100% sunshine streak: October 6th-11th
- In total: 9 100% sunshine days this month
- First snow of season recorded: Trace October 15th
- 7 days of 80s
- 8th driest October on record AND driest in 61 years (0.6″ of rain, 2.62″ below normal)
- Days with fewer than 0.01″ precip: tied 4th on record
- Drought expanded
- Rain occurred on Halloween for third year in a row (0.51″ Halloween 2024)
November:
- 11th warmest on record, warmest since 2020
- November 4th-5th: each day beat high low minimum (low of 63° each day)
- November 21st: Latest first freeze in 122 years (29°)
- Greatest November snow (21st) since 1997 and snowiest November since 1997
- November 21st: 1st measurable snow of the season (3.2″), beating daily record of 1.2″ (2015)
- Caps off the third warmest meteorological fall on record (59.6°) average temperature
December:
- Coldest open to a December in 48 years (21.8° average temperature)
- Brought in the coldest air since February
- Below average temperatures December 1-7
- December 28th: High of 60°, 3.5 weeks later than average last day of 60°
- December 23rd-31st: 9 consecutive days with above-average temperatures (warmest for that timeframe since 2021)
- December 25th-31st: 7 consecutive days of a trace or more of rain (1.24″ December 29th, wettest for that date since 1990)
- Wettest for that timeframe since 2018
