Merrillville in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Merrillville sees average daytime highs around 35°F and overnight lows near 23°F, with 7.0 in of precipitation over about 26 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 35°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
35°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
23°F
Precipitation
7.0 in
26 wet days
Avg wind
10 mph
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Merrillville in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 35°F.

A typical winter day in Merrillville reaches about 35°F and drops to 23°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Merrillville

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
61 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

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

Merrillville 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°2.69.76.79.30.0
Feb35° / 22°2.17.75.210.30.0
Mar45° / 31°3.010.43.211.71.1
Apr57° / 41°4.212.2113.13.8
May68° / 52°4.412.6014.35.9
Jun78° / 62°4.011.8014.96.4
Jul82° / 67°3.912.1014.76.2
Aug80° / 65°3.810.7013.76.6
Sep74° / 57°3.18.9012.37.0
Oct62° / 46°3.39.90.210.95.2
Nov48° / 35°2.99.41.59.71.8
Dec37° / 26°2.49.14.49.10.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Merrillville gets around 7.0 in of rain and snow over 26 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%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 10 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 2.1 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Merrillville?

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 Merrillville.

What to pack for Merrillville in Winter

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

In winter, Merrillville sees daytime highs around 35°F and nights near 23°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 26 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Merrillville in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 38°F across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 10 mi away) is warmest in August at about 73°F and coldest in February near 35°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 10 to Sep 16 — about 2.3 months when the water holds above 68°F.

30°40°50°60°70°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan38Bracing
Feb35Bracing
Mar35Bracing
Apr39Bracing
May46Bracing
Jun59Cool
Jul70Refreshing
Aug73Refreshing
Sep68Refreshing
Oct58Bracing
Nov49Bracing
Dec42Bracing

UV index in Merrillville 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 Merrillville peaks around June 21 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 21UV 9Dec 22UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Merrillville 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 Merrillville 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).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1516 µg/m³Oct 228 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar14Moderate
Apr13Moderate
May15Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Merrillville?

Merrillville sits at 41.5°N, 87.3°W, 656 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Crown Point, 5.0 mi away.

Topography around Merrillville

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Merrillville has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 131 ft around an average of 663 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 305 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 673 ft.

The land around Merrillville is covered by trees (34%), artificial surfaces (30%) and grassland (22%) within 2 miles, trees (39%), grassland (20%) and cropland (20%) within 10 miles, and cropland (42%) and water (22%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
131 ft
10 miles
305 ft
50 miles
673 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Crown Point 5.0 mi · Hobart 5.6 mi · Griffith 5.6 mi · Schererville 6.2 mi · Gary 7.5 mi · Highland 8.1 mi · Dyer 9.9 mi · Portage 11 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 Merrillville (41.4828°, -87.3328°, elevation 656 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.