Climate and average weather in Carmel

In Carmel, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late July to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Carmel typically varies from 22°F to 83°F, and is rarely below 2°F or above 91°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Carmel for warm-weather activities are from early May to early July and late July to mid October.

Hottest
Jul
83°
Coldest
Jan
22°
Wettest
May
4.6 in
Driest
Feb
2.5 in
Rain / yr
41.5 in
122 wet days
Daylight
9.2–14.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
853 ft
40.0°N
Clearest
Sep
49% cloud

Carmel is city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States.

Density
706/km²
people per km²
Founded
1874

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Carmel weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late July to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Carmel, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.6 months, from May 14 to September 30, with daily high temperatures above 71°F. The hottest month of the year in Carmel is July, with an average high of 83°F and low of 67°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from December 1 to March 2, with daily high temperatures below 44°F. The coldest month of the year in Carmel is January, with an average low of 22°F and high of 35°F.

Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 19°F) in September.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3522
Feb3924
Mar5033
Apr6244
May7254
Jun8064
Jul8367
Aug8265
Sep7657
Oct6446
Nov5135
Dec4027

How hot and cold Carmel really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 10°F (around January 19), with roughly 146 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 45 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan35351122
Feb39391424
Mar50502533
Apr62623844
May72725454
Jun81806464
Jul85836767
Aug83826565
Sep77765757
Oct64644246
Nov50512835
Dec40401727

Average hourly temperature in Carmel

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 83°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 22°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Carmel weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan35° / 22°3.19.44.69.50.0
Feb39° / 24°2.58.64.310.40.1
Mar50° / 33°3.810.82.411.72.2
Apr62° / 44°4.612.10.5135.0
May72° / 54°4.613.5014.26.1
Jun80° / 64°4.211.9014.86.1
Jul83° / 67°3.411.4014.55.6
Aug82° / 65°2.99.2013.66.5
Sep76° / 57°2.77.6012.37.2
Oct64° / 46°3.38.90.110.95.8
Nov51° / 35°3.48.919.82.4
Dec40° / 27°3.09.63.49.20.1

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Carmel gets about 41.5 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.6 months, from around Mar 15 to Aug 1, peaking in May at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 12.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 4.6 in over about 14 wet days; February is the driest, with 2.5 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 2 · 43%Sep 12 · 25%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan309
Feb309
Mar3511
Apr4112
May4314
Jun4012
Jul3711
Aug299
Sep268
Oct289
Nov309
Dec3210

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Carmel collects about 41.5 in of rain across 122 wet days — roughly 3.5 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 4.6 in, while February is the driest at just 2.5 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 32% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.12.53.84.64.64.23.42.92.73.33.43.0
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.195
Feb2.594
Mar3.8112
Apr4.6121
May4.6140
Jun4.2120
Jul3.4110
Aug2.990
Sep2.780
Oct3.390
Nov3.491
Dec3.0103

Snow in Carmel

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Carmel averages about 16 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 4 to Apr 12 — about 5.3 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 5 days of snow and an estimated 8 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 31 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 20
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan58
Feb48
Mar25
Apr11
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov12
Dec38

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Carmel, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 4 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around October 26. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 59% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 27 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around June 3. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 71% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 8 · 61%Jan 11 · 27%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2971
Feb3268
Mar3763
Apr3763
May3961
Jun4951
Jul5545
Aug5842
Sep5941
Oct4951
Nov3763
Dec3070

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 9, brings about 14 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.58:105:37
Feb10.47:466:12
Mar11.77:046:44
Apr13.06:137:16
May14.25:357:47
Jun14.85:208:09
Jul14.55:338:07
Aug13.66:017:36
Sep12.36:316:47
Oct10.97:025:57
Nov9.87:375:22
Dec9.28:055:16

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Carmel averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 13 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.8 months, from around Jun 20 to Nov 13. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 13 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is December, down near 6 sunny days — about 53% fewer than the September peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightSep 2813 daysDec 166 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan7Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May8Gloomy
Jun8Mixed
Jul11Mixed
Aug12Mixed
Sep13Mixed
Oct11Mixed
Nov8Mixed
Dec6Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Carmel, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.2 months, from around May 16 to September 21. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 73% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 22 to May 15, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 16 · 100%Jul 20 · 24%oppressivemuggydryhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar9820000
Apr9173000
May611616700
Jun2518232950
Jul8192231191
Aug13222526131
Sep4820171420
Oct8495200
Nov9720000
Dec10000000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Carmel is typically light breeze, near 8 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.1 months, from around Oct 12 to May 15. The windiest month is April, averaging about 9 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 16 to Oct 11, with August the calmest month at about 6 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyApr 11 · 10 mphAug 5 · 6 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan9light breeze
Feb9light breeze
Mar9light breeze
Apr9light breeze
May8light breeze
Jun7calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep7calm
Oct8light breeze
Nov9light breeze
Dec9light breeze

Best time to visit Carmel

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Carmel throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early August, Carmel is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Carmel for general outdoor tourist activities run from early May to early July and again from late July to mid October, with a peak score in the third week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 19 · 7.3

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.1poor
Mar2.2poor
Apr5.0fair
May6.1good
Jun6.1good
Jul5.7good
Aug6.5good
Sep7.2good
Oct5.8good
Nov2.4poor
Dec0.1poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Carmel for hot-weather activities is from early June to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 24 · 7.1

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Carmel, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 83°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 35°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Carmel sees daytime highs around 83°F and nights near 67°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Carmel by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Carmel peaks around June 22 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 22UV 9Dec 22UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Carmel

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar4.50
Apr6.50.5
May7.54
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54
Sep60
Oct30
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Carmel by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Carmel is worst in July — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (October, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodJul 1416 µg/m³Oct 218 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb12Moderate
Mar12Moderate
Apr12Good
May14Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec9Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Carmel typically lasts about 258 days, from around March 15 to November 27 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 17 to October 22.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1550%Apr 1790%Oct 2290%Nov 2750%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2131
Feb2428
Mar5331
Apr8715
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct926
Nov6330
Dec3231

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Carmel banks about 3,310 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr97
May404
Jun658
Jul772
Aug721
Sep503
Oct154
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Carmel receives about 4.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.7 and 6.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 19 to Sep 26. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.7 kWh/m² — roughly 73% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 36.4 kWhDec 151.7 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.0Moderate
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar4.0Bright
Apr5.1Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun6.3Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.6Bright
Sep4.6Bright
Oct3.2Moderate
Nov2.2Moderate
Dec1.7Dim

Where is Carmel?

Carmel sits at 40.0°N, 86.1°W, 853 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Westfield, 4.3 mi away.

Topography around Carmel

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Carmel.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Carmel has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 148 ft around an average of 830 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 377 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 794 ft.

The land around Carmel is covered by trees (46%) and artificial surfaces (33%) within 2 miles, trees (40%) and grassland (24%) within 10 miles, and cropland (66%) and trees (21%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
148 ft
10 miles
377 ft
50 miles
794 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Westfield 4.3 mi · Fishers 5.6 mi · Noblesville 7.5 mi · Broad Ripple 8.1 mi · Zionsville 8.1 mi · Lawrence 11 mi · Indianapolis 15 mi · Fairfield Heights 17 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Carmel (39.9784°, -86.118°, elevation 853 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).