May 18
A sunny, but hot Saturday is on deck before we introduce strong thunderstorms into the picture for the second half of the weekend. We also look ahead to the pattern…
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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/05/18/video-hot-saturday-gives-way-to-sunday-storms-pattern-changes-ahead-for-early-june/
May 17
The upcoming couple of weeks sure will feel like summer has arrived. After “pulling teeth” to get any sort of sustained warmth, the flip to warm/ hot and humid conditions is upon us.
This kind of pattern will keep heaviest rain to our northwest, but that’s not to say we won’t deal with storm complexes from time to time that will be plenty capable of depositing a quick hefty amount of water in a short period (case in point yesterday evening).
As we look ahead, the MJO continues to look like it’ll roll right into Phase 1 as we get set to close May and open June. This should ultimately mean the eastern ridge is replaced with more troughiness (may be tough to erode the southeastern ridge- where anomalous heat will likely continue for the foreseeable future) and an associated cooler pattern as we move towards early-June across our region.
As this transition takes shape, the heaviest precipitation totals will likely shift east, including more of our immediate region, as we progress through late-May and into early June. The modeling sees this taking shape nicely.
Though we’ll likely back away from the anomalous warmth and replace things will cooler air as we move into the half-way point of the year, the same ole song and dance is expected from a precipitation perspective: wetter than average, and, at times, excessively so…
Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/05/17/sudden-stick-and-hold-summer-think-again/
May 15
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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/05/15/video-short-term-storm-update-fresh-thoughts-on-the-late-may-pattern/
May 14
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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/05/14/video-summer-like-feel-develops-talking-storm-chances-in-the-days-ahead/
May 13
As we look ahead to late-May and early June, “transition” is the word that comes to mind when describing the overall weather pattern.
We’re going to begin pulling out of this unseasonably chilly pattern late-week and we’ll replace it with a true summer-like regime. Note the differences at 500mb between now and this weekend:
Not only will the 80s return, but oppressive dew points can be expected as well by Friday (65-70 degrees). The sweat factor will be back in full effect!
With that said, there’s reason for concern that the flip to summer may not last.
Not only do we continue to see high-latitude blocking in place, but the MJO is showing signs of rotating into Phase 1 as we inch closer to early-June. That Phase 1 this time of year is a cool one for the eastern portion of the country. Note the tendency for eastern troughiness illustrated in Image 2 below.
Perhaps ensemble data is seeing this cooler transition in the pattern on today’s 12z run:
Bottom line, confidence is high on a summer-like flip as we welcome in the weekend, continuing into early parts of Week 2, but we don’t think it’s a “stick and hold” variety of warmth. There’s growing reason to believe a flip back to cooler conditions looms before we close out the month.
Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/05/13/transition-is-the-name-of-the-game/
May 06
Though May has opened warmer than average (to the tune of 1 degree F above normal, month-to-date), there’s growing evidence behind a shift towards not only a cooler pattern for mid-month, but drier, as well.
MJO:
The Madden Julian Oscillation is forecast to move through Phase 7 (a cooler phase in May across the eastern half of the country).
PNA:
The Pacific North America pattern is forecast to remain positive into mid-May. This favors a cooler than normal south-central into the eastern portion of the country, as well.
To no surprise, we see modeling now in excellent agreement of the cooler mid-month shift that awaits on deck. Recall that this wasn’t the case last week when the GFS and EPS were in vast disagreement.
The cooler shift also will provide relief from the seemingly unending wet regime we’ve been in as of late.
Hang in there; after a warm, wet open to the month, the pattern will begin to shift around in significant fashion as we move into the weekend and beyond…
Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/05/06/more-evidence-behind-mid-may-shift-to-cooler-and-drier/
Mar 04
This evening’s long range video update discusses the pattern drivers behind the late-March weather pattern…
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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/03/04/video-all-access-long-range-update/
Mar 03
Snow will overspread central Indiana through the late morning hours into the afternoon.
While the overall idea where the accumulating snow would fall was a good one from early week, our initial expected amounts won’t come to fruition. The reason? The storm system is much weaker and faster moving than originally modeled.
Accordingly, this is a 1″ to 2″ type event for most of the area. The majority of the snow will fall from noon to 5p.
This same storm system will be responsible for a severe weather outbreak, including the possibility of a couple of strong tornadoes, across the Deep South this afternoon.
Back here on the home front, MUCH colder air will pour into the region this evening, remaining in place into the new work week. Back-to-back nights with lows in the upper 0s to lower 10s can be expected across central Indiana Monday and Tuesday mornings.
This is all part of the overall colder than normal first half of March, powered by the SOI crash (several week ago), deeply negative EPO, and MJO rumbling through the cold phases.
Additional storm dates to keep note off include Thursday night into Friday (more of a wintry threat with the 3/7-3/8 system) and Saturday into Sunday (potential strong thunderstorms with the system on 3/9-3/10).
Looking ahead, it still appears the mid-March warm-up is on track as the EPO flips to positive.
With that warm-up will also come a return of heavier precipitation events and a continued overall active storm track across the region. Precipitation looks to run above average for the mid-month stretch.
We’ll dig deeper early week on what lies ahead as we close the month of March and look ahead towards April…
Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/03/03/snow-update-and-looking-ahead-towards-mid-march/
Feb 28
Here’s our latest thinking around this weekend’s winter storm and a long range update through the month of March…
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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/02/28/video-updated-thoughts-around-this-weekends-winter-storm-and-the-pattern-through-march/
Feb 26
Discussing the reasons behind the frigid open to March and the mid-month changes that await…
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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2019/02/26/all-access-video-looking-deeper-into-the-reasons-to-the-cold-open-to-march-mid-month-changes/