What Real Life Looks Like Inside The Snowiest City In Indiana

Indiana weather is pretty unpredictable. One moment you’re strolling around in shorts and a tee shirt and the next you’re stuck inside because of a crazy ice storm. While you can’t rely on consistent weather for this Midwestern state, you can rely on the fact that if we get snow, this will likely be the snowiest city in the state.

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South Bend, Indiana is no stranger to rough winters. According to weather.com, this northern city gets the most snowfall in the state, receiving an average of around 66.8 inches throughout the year. Nathan Rupert/Flickr It's no surprise when you consider South Bend's location neat the Great Lakes, the largest group of U.S. freshwater lakes, which contribute to surrounding cities' high amounts of snow. Jeremy Osterhouse/Facebook When cold air from Canada sweeps over the still warm Great Lakes, bands of snow are built and the moisture is spread across the surrounding cities, leaving South Bend wide open for the whitest of winters. Amanda Govaert/Flickr In 2011, South Bend hit a record they hadn't achieved in more than 30 years: they accumulated over 100 inches of snow that winter. The highest record to date is 172 inches across the 1977-78 winter. Do you remember this crazy snowfall? Panegyrics of Granovetter/Flickr High snowfalls have been known to shut down the city for days, halting transportation and impacting power. While the city prepares for snowstorms in advance, with the unpredictable Great Lakes nearby, you never know what's going to happen. mooninsean/Flickr The coldest temperature on record for South Bend is -21.1 degrees and the most snowfall tends to occur in December and January. mooninsean/Flickr

Did you know this was the snowiest city in Indiana? For more fun facts about Indiana winters, read more about this historic ice storm that shut down parts of the Hoosier state.