Elkhart in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Elkhart sees average daytime highs around 34°F and overnight lows near 22°F, with 7.3 in of precipitation over about 29 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 34°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Elkhart's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Elkhart's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
34°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
22°F
Precipitation
7.3 in
29 wet days
Avg wind
9 mph
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Elkhart in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 34°F.

A typical winter day in Elkhart reaches about 34°F and drops to 22°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Elkhart

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
65 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Elkhart weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan32° / 20°2.710.58.99.30.0
Feb35° / 21°2.185.810.30.0
Mar46° / 29°2.910.53.911.71.3
Apr59° / 40°4.012.41.113.14.1
May69° / 51°4.313014.36.0
Jun79° / 61°4.111.70156.4
Jul82° / 64°4.011.9014.76.2
Aug80° / 62°3.810.6013.76.6
Sep74° / 55°3.19.6012.36.8
Oct61° / 44°3.310.20.110.95.0
Nov48° / 34°2.99.92.49.61.6
Dec37° / 25°2.410.26.190.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Elkhart gets around 7.3 in of rain and snow over 29 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 9 mph across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 12 min in early December to 10 h 54 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.0 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Elkhart?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Elkhart.

What to pack for Elkhart in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Elkhart sees daytime highs around 34°F and nights near 22°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 29 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Elkhart in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Elkhart peaks around June 20 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 20UV 9Dec 18UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec1Low

Air quality in Elkhart in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Elkhart is worst in July — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (October, 7 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1316 µg/m³Oct 237 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb11Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr13Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul16Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct7Good
Nov7Good
Dec8Good
Location & terrain

Where is Elkhart?

Elkhart sits at 41.7°N, 86.0°W, 751 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Granger, 8.7 mi away.

Topography around Elkhart

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Elkhart has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 121 ft around an average of 755 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 325 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 614 ft.

The land around Elkhart is covered by trees (39%) and artificial surfaces (39%) within 2 miles, cropland (35%), trees (33%) and grassland (20%) within 10 miles, and cropland (48%) and trees (32%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
121 ft
10 miles
325 ft
50 miles
614 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Granger 8.7 mi · Mishawaka 9.3 mi · Goshen 9.9 mi · South Bend 14 mi · La Porte 39 mi · Portage 41 mi · Kalamazoo 47 mi · Michigan City 47 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 Elkhart (41.682°, -85.9767°, elevation 751 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.