Clouds crowd the sky early Saturday, but the trend is positive today. I have added a chance of showers and storms to the weekend forecast for Sunday. I think that will be confined to places east and north of I-74. (I know, there’s always an interstate reference.) That chance is connected with an approaching warm front, which vaults Indiana back toward 80 again on Sunday and Monday.
Friday afternoon’s front focused a line of showers and storms that popped some hailers. Biggest stones? Golfball-size stuff 2 miles northwest of Danville just after 5pm, with a 60 mph wind gust. I saw reports of 1 inch+ diameter hail out of Jamestown in Hendricks county, and east of Rockville in Parke county. Hail, it seems to me, has been the dominiant feature of central Indiana’s severe weather season so far. At least it didn’t close roads as it did just one week ago Friday night in Shelby County.
Temps will be cooler than yesterday, but still above average for the last day of March weather madness. That’s “dog-bites-man” territory, since we haven’t had a BELOW average March temperature day in Indy since March 9th.
PP NETWORK HIGHS:
55 South Bend
57 Marion/Muncie
60 Anderson
62 Lafayette
63 Indianapolis
71 Evansville
BTW: Chicago just experienced the 5th warmest April on record…in March!
One thing is clear about March. It was no February! NASA says global February temps were the coolest since 1994, and the coolest month, relative to average, since January 2008. The relatively cool temperatures were due, in part, to the on-going La Niña event in the Eastern Pacific.
People keep asking me if we’ll have to have to “pay” for this nice weather. The law of averages, of course, says yes. So does that song. (“What goes up, must come down…”) Here’s a chilling example: the winters of 1932 and 1934 were as warm as or warmer than 2011-2012, and the winter of 1936 was much colder.
Here’s some small statistical reassurance: There is no evidenlece of any upward trend in the number of really dangerous tornadoes (category F2 and up) over the past 50 years in the United States. That said, it only takes one. Chances of severe storms appear low for the 7 Day Forecast period.
WEATHER GEEK ALERT!
Check out http://hint.fm/wind/. This is a cool display of the wind direction and speed, shown as lines that are bolder with higher speed. You can easily see where surface winds are converging, such as western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas as I look Saturday morning. A quick look at national radar confirms that converging air being forced upward and helping to generate precipitation. Same story in the Pacific Northwest, where you DON’T wanna be spending Spring Break.
Speaking of Spring Break: Good chances of storms in Panama City today, slight chance Sunday. High 81 Saturday and 84 Sunday. South Padre Island goes to about 79 both days, with no rain chances. Denver looks better to me this weekend. Plenty of sun and highs in the low 80s both days.
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INDY ALMANAC:
The average high today is 58 and the average low is 38. The records are 85 and 13. Sunrise today is 7:30 and sunset is 8:09.
DETAILED INDIANAPOLIS FORECAST:
Today: Cloudy start, then decreasing cloudiness through the afternoon. High 63.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Low 49.
Sunday: Partly sunny. A chance of a scattered shower or storm, especially north and east of Indianapolis. High 80.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 60.
Monday: Partly sunny. Chance of a late afternoon showers and storm. High 80.
Monday Night: Chances of showers and storms. Low 60.
Tuesday: More shower and storm chances. High 75.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 47.
Wednesday: Partly cloudy. High 62.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 45.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Slight shower and storm chances. High 64.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 41.
Friday: Partly cloudy. High 65.
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