SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Cold conditions stepping out the door this morning, but not like what we saw to end last week, with two mornings being a “first” in Michiana.
Friday marked the first time South Bend saw a frost, and Saturday marked the first time we passed freeze conditions this fall, but what is the difference between a frost and freeze?
With National Weather Service advisories in mind, frost occurs when the temperature drops below 36 degrees, and there are light winds and clear skies, causing widespread frost to develop, and likely damage plants, but not end the growing season.
A freeze is when the temperature dips below 32 degrees for an extended period during the growing season. A freeze will end the growing season, likely kill off bugs and could stop the leaves from developing colors any further.
Again, over the weekend, we did see all of Michiana in that freezing territory, though not many of us got to the hard freeze benchmark of 28 degrees or lower.
But this first frost is one of the latest that we have ever seen.
The average first frost time, when the low gets below 36 degrees, for South Bend is October 10th. This year was the fifth latest day that the first frost happened, the latest frost is on November 3rd.
The freeze was a little bit more on time, average is around October 21st, this year we dropped below 32 degrees Saturday morning. Again, right on time, especially considering the latest freeze in recorded history happened on Nov. 25, 2024.
Again, this freeze means the end of the growing season, and likely the end of leaves getting any more colorful, so enjoy these fall colors and conditions through this week.