National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

...Indianapolis Sets Record for Driest June on Record...

...June 2012 is Second Driest Month at Indianapolis Since Records Began... (see precipitation section below)

Temperature

Below are some facts for the heat wave and its impact on records in June:

• The record high monthly temperature for June at Indianapolis was broken on June 28 when the temperature at Indianapolis reached 104 degrees.  This temperature was the warmest temperature at Indianapolis in nearly 58 years.  The last time the Indianapolis area reached 104 degrees was on July 14, 1954. 
• A new record high for June 29th was set when the temperature reached 103 degrees. 
• This is the first time since 1934 that a June at Indianapolis has had at least 2 consecutive days of high temperatures in the triple digits. The only other time this happened in June was on 3 consecutive days from June 27-29, 1934.  Overall, the last occurrence of back to back 100 degree days was July 8-9, 1988.
• The record high temperature of 97 was tied on June 30. The record was originally set in 1913 and tied in 1933.
• The number of 90 degree days in May and June was 15, the most for that time period since the Great Drought of 1988 which had 17. The record for May and June is 19 days set in 1934.

The earliest the temperature has ever reached 100 degrees at Indianapolis was June 2, 1934.  The all time record high for Indianapolis for any month is 106 degrees.  The last occurrence of 105 and 106 degree readings was on July 14, 1936.

High temperature at the Indianapolis NWS Forecast Office on June 28.
The official high temperature of 104 degrees was recorded at the Indianapolis International Airport.

More information on heat can be found at the links below:

• NWS heat information and heat related dangers
• Heat index chart
• Children, adults and pets enclosed in parked vehicles are at great risk. Read more about the "Beat the Heat, Check the Backseat" program can be found at the program's Facebook page and at the NWS heat page.

Precipitation

June 2012 is the driest June on record for the Indianapolis area. The total precipitation for the month at the Indianapolis International Airport was 0.09 inches. The average precipitation for June is 4.25 inches. The old record was 0.36 inches in June 1988. June 2012 is also the second driest month on record for the Indianapolis area. The driest month on record is March 1910, with 0.07 inches.

Through June 28, there were 24 consecutive days without measurable precipitation at Indianapolis. This is a record for June and is the longest period without measurable precipitation since the 25 day stretch ending March 4, 1983. This is a relatively rare phenomenon for the Indianapolis area, occurring only 10 other times since records began in 1871. The record number of consecutive days without measurable precipitation is 39 days, set from August 14 -September 21, 1908. 

Below is a graph of June rainfall, showing average, 2012, and 1988's rainfall. Below that is a plot of June's precipitation for the Midwest in terms of percent of normal (image courtesy of the Midwest Climate Center):

Story last updated at 3:45am EDT July 2, 2012.