Climate and average weather in Goshen

In Goshen, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid May to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Goshen typically varies from 19°F to 82°F, and is rarely below -0°F or above 90°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Goshen for warm-weather activities is from mid May to mid October.

Hottest
Jul
82°
Coldest
Jan
19°
Wettest
May
4.2 in
Driest
Feb
2.2 in
Rain / yr
38.9 in
128 wet days
Daylight
9.0–15.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
801 ft
41.6°N
Clearest
Sep
53% cloud

Goshen is city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States.

Density
748/km²
people per km²

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

Goshen 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 mid May to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.4 months, from May 16 to September 27, with daily high temperatures above 69°F. The hottest month of the year in Goshen is July, with an average high of 82°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from December 2 to March 4, with daily high temperatures below 41°F. The coldest month of the year in Goshen is January, with an average low of 19°F and high of 32°F.

Days typically run about 16°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)
Jan3219
Feb3521
Mar4730
Apr5941
May6951
Jun7961
Jul8265
Aug8063
Sep7455
Oct6244
Nov4834
Dec3725

How hot and cold Goshen 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 7°F (around January 21), with roughly 159 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 67 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)
Jan3232819
Feb35351121
Mar47472130
Apr59593441
May70695051
Jun79796161
Jul83826565
Aug80806363
Sep74745555
Oct61623944
Nov48482634
Dec37371525

Average hourly temperature in Goshen

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 82°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 19°F.

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

Goshen 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
Jan32° / 19°2.610.27.59.30.0
Feb35° / 21°2.28.25.510.30.0
Mar47° / 30°3.010.93.611.71.3
Apr59° / 41°3.912.51.113.14.2
May69° / 51°4.213.1014.35.9
Jun79° / 61°4.112.10156.3
Jul82° / 65°3.911.5014.76.2
Aug80° / 63°3.710.4013.76.6
Sep74° / 55°2.99.3012.36.9
Oct62° / 44°3.1100.210.95.1
Nov48° / 34°2.99.92.29.71.7
Dec37° / 25°2.49.55.290.0

Chance of rain

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

Goshen gets about 38.9 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 4.5 months, from around Mar 20 to Aug 4, peaking in May at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 10.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 4.2 in over about 13 wet days; February is the driest, with 2.2 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 14 · 43%Feb 10 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3210
Feb298
Mar3511
Apr4213
May4213
Jun4012
Jul3712
Aug3410
Sep319
Oct3210
Nov3310
Dec3110

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Goshen collects about 38.9 in of rain across 128 wet days — roughly 3.2 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 4.2 in, while February is the driest at just 2.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 31% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

012345JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2.62.23.03.94.24.13.93.72.93.12.92.4
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan2.6108
Feb2.286
Mar3.0114
Apr3.9131
May4.2130
Jun4.1120
Jul3.9120
Aug3.7100
Sep2.990
Oct3.1100
Nov2.9102
Dec2.4105

Snow in Goshen

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.

Goshen averages about 25 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 28 to Apr 25 — about 5.9 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 11 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 39 in of snow.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 14
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan811
Feb69
Mar46
Apr12
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov24
Dec58

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Goshen, 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 May 11 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around October 28. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 55% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 29 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around May 10. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 79% 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 2 · 56%Jan 13 · 19%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2179
Feb2674
Mar3367
Apr3565
May4060
Jun4753
Jul5545
Aug5545
Sep5347
Oct4555
Nov3169
Dec2377

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 12, brings about 15 hours of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 hours — a swing of roughly 6 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.38:145:32
Feb10.37:486:08
Mar11.77:036:43
Apr13.16:107:17
May14.35:307:50
Jun15.05:148:13
Jul14.75:278:11
Aug13.75:577:38
Sep12.36:296:46
Oct10.97:035:54
Nov9.77:405:17
Dec9.08:095:10

Sunny days

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

Goshen averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 12 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.7 months, from around May 17 to Nov 6. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 12 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is January, down near 4 sunny days — about 69% fewer than the September peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedSep 512 daysJan 163 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan4Gloomy
Feb5Gloomy
Mar6Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May8Gloomy
Jun9Mixed
Jul11Mixed
Aug11Mixed
Sep12Mixed
Oct9Mixed
Nov6Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

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 Goshen, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.1 months, from around May 22 to September 22. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 66% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 23 to May 21, and March 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 6 · 100%Jul 20 · 31%oppressivemuggydryhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar9820000
Apr9441000
May711510400
Jun3221232030
Jul14202527130
Aug15252524101
Sep5121151120
Oct8883100
Nov9820000
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 Goshen is typically light breeze, near 9 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.3 months, from around Oct 9 to May 17. The windiest month is January, averaging about 10 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 18 to Oct 8, with August the calmest month at about 6 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyJan 10 · 10 mphAug 6 · 6 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan10light breeze
Feb10light breeze
Mar9light breeze
Apr10light breeze
May9light breeze
Jun7light breeze
Jul7calm
Aug6calm
Sep7light breeze
Oct9light breeze
Nov10light breeze
Dec10light breeze

Best time to visit Goshen

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid May, Goshen 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 time of year to visit Goshen for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 11 · 7.1

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
Feb0.0poor
Mar1.4poor
Apr4.2fair
May5.9good
Jun6.3good
Jul6.2good
Aug6.6good
Sep6.9good
Oct5.1fair
Nov1.7poor
Dec0.0poor

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 Goshen for hot-weather activities is from early June to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 10 · 6.7

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 Goshen, 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 82°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 32°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Goshen sees daytime highs around 82°F and nights near 65°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Goshen 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 Goshen 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

Average hourly UV index in Goshen

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
Apr60
May7.53.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul85
Aug7.54
Sep5.50
Oct2.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Goshen 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 Goshen is worst in July — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.1× the cleanest month (October, 8 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1716 µg/m³Oct 228 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb12Moderate
Mar13Moderate
Apr12Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul16Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec9Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Goshen typically lasts about 246 days, from around March 22 to November 22 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 22 to October 21.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 2250%Apr 2290%Oct 2190%Nov 2250%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1631
Feb1728
Mar4231
Apr8219
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct926
Nov5930
Dec2531

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. Goshen banks about 2,882 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
Apr38
May324
Jun601
Jul724
Aug662
Sep433
Oct101
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.

Goshen receives about 4.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.5 and 6.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 17 to Sep 24. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.5 kWh/m² — roughly 75% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 26.5 kWhDec 171.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.9Dim
Feb2.8Moderate
Mar4.0Moderate
Apr5.0Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun6.3Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.4Bright
Sep4.4Bright
Oct3.0Moderate
Nov1.9Dim
Dec1.5Dim

Where is Goshen?

Goshen sits at 41.6°N, 85.8°W, 801 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Elkhart, 9.9 mi away.

Topography around Goshen

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Goshen has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 164 ft around an average of 817 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 335 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 659 ft.

The land around Goshen is covered by trees (39%), grassland (28%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 2 miles, cropland (46%), trees (25%) and grassland (21%) within 10 miles, and cropland (53%) and trees (32%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
164 ft
10 miles
335 ft
50 miles
659 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Elkhart 9.9 mi · Mishawaka 17 mi · Granger 19 mi · South Bend 22 mi · Portage 45 mi · La Porte 45 mi · Fort Wayne 48 mi · Kalamazoo 50 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 Goshen (41.5823°, -85.8344°, elevation 801 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).