With all this rain Central Indiana is getting, you might be tempted to plant spring flowers and vegetables soon. The National Weather Service shows conditions warming into the 60s and upper 70s for Indianapolis by Friday, March 6, but don’t celebrate too early.
Those temperatures won’t last — it’s still technically winter in the Midwest.
Indianapolis reached a balmy high of 79 last year on March 14, NWS records show, before a cold front just three days later dropped lows into the upper 20s. The final spring freeze — the last day temperatures hit 32 degrees — for Central Indiana normally happens around mid-April.
“Enjoy the springtime warmth — maybe even ‘heat’ — with temperatures pushing into the 80s for more than 100 million Americans over the next 7-10 days,” said Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue in an email to USA TODAY.
Is Indiana having a ‘false spring?’
“This can be classified as a false spring coming up, especially from the central Plains to the East Coast,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok in an email to USA TODAY.
False spring is a period of unseasonably warm weather, which can trick us into thinking winter is over, according to Homes and Gardens. Temperatures are expected to remain in the 60s and 70s across Central Indiana until next week, according to NWS, until dipping back down again into the upper 40s and 50s.
So if you’re one of the millions of Hoosier homeowners preparing to add a splash of colorful flowers to your yard, you might want to be mindful of Indiana’s final freeze dates. Your plants could suffer otherwise.
When does Indiana have its final freeze?
Historical NWS records — some dating back to the late 1800s — reveal the average final spring freeze dates for cities across Central Indiana. These records include both the earliest and latest dates that spring freezes have happened, which are as follows:
(Note: You can find additional information about spring frost dates for more Central Indiana cities online at the National Weather Service.)
You can look up frost dates for your zip code using the Old Farmer’s Almanac. The information, it states, is pulled from the nearest official weather station. After these dates, the risk of frost decreases but it’s not gone, so check your local weather forecast.
When is spring 2026?
For meteorologists, spring began March 1. Meteorological spring runs the full months of March, April, and May because it’s easier to keep weather records in that fashion.
The first day of spring is different, however, for those who mark the changing seasons by Earth’s relative position to the sun.
What we call “astronomical spring” in the Northern Hemisphere is March 20, 2026. That’s the date of the vernal equinox, when the sun will shine directly over Earth’s equator, creating roughly 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night across the world.
In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s reversed. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Brazil welcome the start of autumn.
What are the dates for the four seasons in 2026?
USA TODAY journalist Doyle Rice contributed.
John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana’s ‘false spring’ is here. See final frost dates for your area
Reporting by John Tufts, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
