SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Six weeks ago, the groundhog said that we would be seeing a long winter, and with snow in Michiana, it seems as if his prediction came true.
However, the way the National Weather Service measures the correctness of Phil’s predictions is by using the average temperatures of February and March. If we use that metric for South Bend, Phil was WRONG!
South Bend’s average temperature was 2.7 degrees above average in February, and so far, this March has been 9.6 degrees above average.
Again, the snow is still fairly oppressive, and through the past months the snow we’ve seen has come in heavy bursts, intermixed with some record-breaking temperatures. It seems as if spring has won this round.
The continuing snowfall in the middle of March has made it feel like we'll never truly escape winter's cold grip, however this snow is more common than you think.
Normally we see the last large snow event in the middle of March, though the last dusting could happen as late as the beginning of April. So, even though we're seeing snow now, we could always see a dusting, even at the end of the month.
We should also be thankful for the snow we’ve seen in the past couple of days, because it has let us join a very prestigious group.
Even though our snow year isn’t over yet, it ends June 30, we have joined the top 10 snowiest years in South Bend, in recorded history.
Our total is up to 94.6 inches since July 1, 2025, putting us in the 10th snowiest. The record seems untouchable, with the snow year 1977-78 holding it at 172 inches.
Hopefully we don't break that record this year, or else we are in for a world of pain.