Summer has been dry, thus far, for central Indiana. With the last month of meteorological summer on the doorstep, will that continue?
Before we discuss further, let’s check-up on precipitation anomalies at IND (through July 28th).
- June: finished the month 0.26″ below average
- July: 2.69″ below average, month-to-date
- (This comes after a May that featured a 3.63″ deficit).
We have discussed the upcoming shift to a wetter regime that will develop Sunday into the first half of next week. A Saturday evening update continues to point towards increasing rain chances arriving as we rumble into Sunday evening. As expected, this morning’s high resolution NAM was likely a bit too excited on the initial wave of moisture and has come around to a “more realistic” idea in our opinion.
Rain and embedded thunder will likely be rather widespread early Monday, especially across the southern half of the state.
Data continues to point towards the greatest coverage of rainfall arriving Monday night and Tuesday. We still expect a widespread 1″ to 2″ rain for central Indiana before things begin to wind down mid to late week. There will be locally heavier totals.
As we look ahead, we think the balance of the month of August will feature an upper ridge across the western portion of the country that will keep our immediate region in an active northwesterly flow aloft. Perhaps the GEFS is seeing this best at the moment (important to note the model has been consistent with respect to run-to-run updates as of late). This is a wet signal this time of year…
The model has support of a return to wetter times as noted from the latest JMA Weeklies, CFSv2, and European ensemble.
While the cool will relax as we rumble past the first couple days of the month (we’re in the “dog days” after all), I still think the worst of the heat is over for the summer and the headline for August will likely be a situation where we begin to make up for lost time in the precipitation department. That upper ridge centered to our west in the means will likely result in a continuation of rather active times from a precipitation perspective through the month and our idea is that we finish August with above normal precipitation across central Indiana for the first time since April…
Our latest 7-day forecast reflects this slightly cooler air mass and the associated “pull back” in humidity over the midweek stretch.
Heat and humidity will then build again during the late week period ahead of an approaching cold front that will likely offer up more in the way of scattered to numerous storms next weekend. Note the “ups and downs” over the upcoming 7-10 day period. While sustained heat isn’t expected, there will be a few hot days thrown in the mix for good measure as the overall pattern works through its’ transition.
Again, along with the expected cooler shift, the model is painting a wet pattern emerging as we put the wraps on the month of July. With the developing northwest flow aloft, it’s tough to disagree with this overall more active look.
Enjoy this pleasant early-July weather and have a great weekend! Additional updates will arrive here and on our social media outlets throughout the weekend.
More specific to central Indiana, daily highs in the lower to middle 90s and overnight lows in the lower to middle 70s will continue into late next week. For the most part, this is a dry pattern, as well, BUT there will be a few exceptions.
Thereafter, additional isolated to widely scattered storm coverage is possible- primarily during the afternoon and evening hours, but more than not will remain rain-free. 7-day precipitation totals check in this morning in the 0.25″ to 0.75″ range.
Not only will this likely lead to a cooler second half of July, but should also offer up an increasingly active and wetter northwesterly flow for our immediate region.