INDIANAPOLIS – Quiet conditions are going to hold on through the middle of the work week, but our weather becomes active as we approach the weekend.
Steady warming & clearing
Clouds have been abundant through the first several days of the week, but we’re going to see more frequent breaks as we progress through the week. Along with the clearing skies will come milder weather and opportunities to enjoy time outside.
Wednesday morning will begin on the colder side of things with lows that reach the low 30s. The morning will begin quite sunny, but mostly cloudy conditions will take over soon after. The day will become breezy as wind out of the west picks up ahead of a cold front. Highs are expected to reach the low to mid 50s, but warming will be cut off as the front traverses the state from north to south through the afternoon. A brief period of rain, no more than 20 minutes, may accompany the frontal passage. Breezy and cooler weather will follow in the wake of the front as temps fall back into the 30s in the evening.
Thursday will be chilly as the day begins as well. Low temps may drop into the mid 20s across much of Central Indiana. This will be a great candidate for one of our bigger temperature swings too though, and we’ll see a partly cloudy sky and strong southerly wind warm us quickly. By the late afternoon, temps are expected to range from mid 50s to low 60s across the area. It will be a nice day to enjoy outdoors before active late week weather.
Strong storms on the Friday horizon
A strong storm system will begin to approach us on Friday with a warm front carrying mild air through the state from the onset. Lows will be near 50 degrees as we begin the day with showers and storms. It will be a very windy one with gusts in the 30-40mph range, but this will continue to carry in warm air. Highs will eventually reach the mid 60s, but the middle and upper atmosphere will be cooling as this occurs. This sharp difference in temperature between the surface and upper atmosphere, along with the amount of wind energy being generated by the storm system is what will fuel our severe weather threat.
Timing is something that will be refined as we approach Friday, but it appears likely that the peak of our severe weather threat will come in the second half of Friday. A cold front will bring up the back end of the system and with it will be the greatest threat for severe weather. At this point, all modes of severe weather appear possible (wind, hail, tornadoes), but the extent to which these may occur will need to be refined as well. At the least, you can expect a rainy day with a few strong storms. However, you should prepare around the severe weather potential that we see in this current setup.
