Wintry weather can be a travel hazard any time, but New Years Eve? Even worse. Taking your time and designating a driver loom larger than ever tonight.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in place from 1pm Monday until 7am Tuesday, for snow accumulating 2-4 inches by the end of the Advisory period.
Blame two weather makers. A cold front arrives from the northwest, dropping in on Indy just about the time the ball drops in NYC. An upper level wave also travels across the area. The biggest accumulation will probably come Monday night. A few snow showers could persist into Tuesday morning, but that’s it for awhile as far your shovel goes.
But what a cold start to 2013. Nothing above freezing for awhile.
And what a change from the first 20 days of December. TEN out of those twenty days featured Indy highs in either the 50s or 60s. We tied a record high temperature of 69 on December 3.
Since then, snow events rule:
2.0″ December 20+21
7.5″ December 26 (with blizzard-like wind and visibility)
4.5″ December 28+29
Counting some minor snow before that the Indianapolis season-to-date total is 14.2 inches. That’s roughly twice the normal, and if we can get another 1.7 inches before midnight it will be the 5th snowiest December on record.
Once again the northern quarter of Indiana is ignored. South Bend’s had less than half their normal snow so far, even with a 3 inch Lake Effect event Saturday..
The consistency of Friday Night’s storm prompted me to name it “Fluffy” online, in a nod to the Weather Channel arbitrarily naming storms. I say a New Years Eve storm deserves to be “Clark” in honor of the man who’ll be missing from Times Square this year.
Speaking of the ball drop, weather for NYC on NYE is cloudy with winds gusting to 25 mph, ALMOST messing up Ryan Seacrest’s hair. They have a chance of flurries in the Big App.
Thanks for reading me here, and on INDYSTAR this year. I’ve written about a non-Winter Winter, a spectacular Super Bowl period, devastating Southern Indiana tornadoes that happened early in the severe weather season, the hottest and driest summer in about 50 years, and a (mostly) non-Severe Severe season. Top it off with the biggest snow storm in almost 4 years, and one more storm at the finish line…Indiana’s weather is always interesting. Sometimes, too interesting:) Happy New Year!!
INDY ALMANAC:
The average high today is 36 and the average low is 21. Records are 68 and -9. Sunrise is 8:06 and the sun sets the last time of the year at 5:31.
PAUL’S PREVIOUS PREDICTION:
Yesterday’s high was 29. The forecast was 25.
UV INDEX:
1 (Low.)
DETAILED INDIANAPOLIS FORECAST:
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY 1PM MONDAY AFTERNOON UNTIL 7AM TUESDAY
Today: Snow likely, mainly in the afternoon. Wind: SW 10-15 mph. High 32.
New Years Eve: Snow. Totals: 2-4 inches. Wind: SW 5-10 mph, shifting to NW after midnight. Low 24.
New Years Day: A few lingering morning snow showers. Decreasing cloudiness by afternoon. High 26.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 10.
Wednesday: Partly sunny. High 22.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 13.
Thursday: Partly sunny. High 25.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 11.
Friday: Partly sunny. High 22.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 12.
Saturday: Partly sunny. High 27.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 17.
Sunday: Partly sunny. High 32.
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