Is your sidewalk still wet? Indy’s official overnight rainfall total was just under two-tenths of an inch. The Eagle Creek Airport was closer to four-tenth of an inch. That’s the most rain recorded since the showers and storms on the night of St. Patrick’s Day last Saturday.
I think the morning showers will continue to spiral to the north, and some sun will break out (breaking news!) in the middle of the day.
The air above us is now cooler than was it has been. It’s getting cooler with an approaching cold upper level low. So the atmosphere is unstable, because air more easily rises and cools into that environment. That produces clouds and storms. Add to that some frisky jet stream winds and we’ve got a decent shot at both hail and damaging winds with a few storms this afternoon.
The hail could be large enough, and the winds strong enough, to reach severe levels in the southwest third of Indiana. The Storm Prediction Center expects a slight risk of severe storms south and west of a line from Peoria Illinois curving over to Indianapolis and then down to Louisville.
As expected, Indy did not set another record Thursday, but it was close. Forecast high: 80. Actual high: 81. Record? 82. Context? That’s 27 degrees above average.
Because clouds were advancing from the south, the sun stay longest over northern Indiana. Ft. Wayne had another record high, hitting 83. South Bend’s high of 83 was the NINTH consecutive record high. That’s where the record stops. Just one shy of tying the record…for records!
Same deal in Chicago. The all time longest record high streak is also ten days there, and they also finished up at nine yesterday, with a sizzling 83.
The center of the historic heat’s been slipping eastward. Bangor made it to 83, smashing an old record of 64. In New Hampshire’s capital, Concord, the weather service noted there had only been five days in March where the record was 80 or higher. They’ll do it five times in a row this week.
Skiiers in Maine sloshed through slush while dressed in bikini tops and shorts. Does that mean the hills will never be white again? Please. Don’t resort to a slippery slope argument!
ASK PAUL:
Pat Pierce on Facebook wanted to know: “What was the lowest high temp this past Winter? (Coldest day, based on highs).” The Indianapolis answer? It looks like 25 degrees on January 20 & 21. That’s not that cold to be the “worst.”
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INDY ALMANAC:
Today’s average high is 55, and the average low is 35. Record high is 80 and the record low is 12. Sunrise time is 7:43 and sunset is at 8:01.
DETAILED INDIANAPOLIS FORECAST:
Today: Chance of morning showers, then dry for awhile, with some breaks in the clouds. Showers and storms later this afternoon and evening. Some storms could produce small hail. High 74. Low tonight 53.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a few scattered showers and storms. High 66.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy. Low 50.
Sunday: Partly sunny. High 68.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 49.
Monday: Mostly sunny. High 72.
Monday Night: Mostly clear. Low 50.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny. High 74.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Low 55.
Wednesday: Chance of showers and storms. High 73.
Wednesday Night: Chance of showers and storms. Low 48.
Thursday: Partly sunny. High 66.
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