Overall, the coldest morning of this cold cycle. The low was -5 in Anderson, -3 in Lafayette, Bloomington, and Shelbyville. The low was -2 in Muncie and Indy.
HEADLINES
– Cold Weather Advisory in effect until 10am. Chills back above zero this afternoon.
– Flurries or snow showers tomorrow.
– One more quicker shot of cold air tomorrow night and Friday, then closer to average.
– Rain/snow is out of the Sunday forecast. No shovelers the rest of the month!
TODAY’S MAP
NWS TECHNICAL DISCUSSION
Today should be a mostly cloudy day as a trough approaches from the west. Southerly winds ahead of the his feature are expected to increase as the MSLP gradient between it and a departing surface high tightens. We have increased wind and wind gusts slightly from blended guidance since these patterns typically have higher winds than modeled. Gusts may reach 30mph in places especially north and west of Indianapolis. Despite the strong southerly flow, highs are expected to "only" reach the low 20s today. Keep in mind that this is still almost 20 degrees warmer than the previous day. Unfortunately, combined with the winds...we can still expect single digit wind chills throughout the day. This is still well above cold advisory criteria and our Cold Weather Advisory will be allowed to expire at 10am. Wind gusts should die down tonight as the loss of daytime heating allows the boundary layer to stabilize somewhat. Additionally, guidance shows the MSLP gradient relaxing a bit which will further help winds diminish. Regardless, a southerly breeze around 5-10 knots is still anticipated. Low temperatures are a bit tricky since residual winds and clouds will mitigate radiational cooling processes. There should be enough clearing and enough wind reduction, however, to allow for some limited cooling. Lows in the mid to high teens are the most likely outcome, which is only a few degrees below high temps. Though it`s towards the very end of the short term period, guidance shows a cold front approaching the northwestern portions of our CWA by 12z Thursday. Some light snow showers or flurries are possible with this, along with a wind shift to northwesterly and renewed cold air advection. We added chance PoPs to the northern half of the CWA for the latter part of tonight. && .LONG TERM (Thursday through Tuesday)... Issued at 300 AM EST Wed Jan 22 2025 Thursday into Thursday night... A surface cold front will move through central Indiana on Thursday. Moisture is limited, and best upper support will be east of the area. However, the cold air moving in should be able to squeeze out some flurries or isolated snow showers as it moves through. Another surge of well below normal air will move in behind the front, with lows Thursday night in the single digits most areas. Fortunately winds will have diminished by the time those temperatures are seen, so wind chills won`t be much of a factor. Friday and Saturday... An upper level trough will move through on Friday, but with limited moisture and high pressure in control at the surface, no precipitation is expected. Similarly, a cold front will move through on Saturday. Upper flow will be near zonal with no support for the weak front, so dry conditions will prevail. Cold air will linger on Friday into Friday night with highs in the 20s and lows in the teens Friday night. However, on Saturday, southerly winds ahead of the cold front will bring temperatures back into the 30s to around 40. Sunday and Monday... A northwest component will return to the upper flow, and high pressure will try and work in with dry air at the surface. Some questions remain though on how far north a surface wave will get as it moves along the old front to the south of the area. Ensembles have trended drier for central Indiana, and this makes sense given the surface high and dry air. Will just go with some slight chance PoPs in the southeast Sunday night. Temperatures will be seasonable. Tuesday and beyond... Although the area will remain in northwest flow, the cold air will stay northeast of central Indiana. This will allow temperatures to warm perhaps into the 40s for Tuesday and Wednesday. Beyond then, the area could get sideswiped by shots of colder air, returning temperatures to near or below normal.
INDY SEVEN DAY FORECAST
Today: Mostly cloudy. Chills go above zero by mid-afternoon. High 21.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Low 18.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with scattered snow showers. Little or no accumulation. High 28.
Thursday Night: Clearing, and colder again. Low 6.
Friday: Mostly sunny. High 23.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 14.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy. High 38.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy. Low 25.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy. High 36.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Low 20.
Monday: Mostly sunny. High 37.
Monday Night: Mostly clear. Low 25.
Tuesday: Partly sunny. High 41.

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