Category: Weather Rambles

Nov 20

Dinnertime Rambles: Talking Thanksgiving Weekend And December…

Updated 11.20.23 @ 5:30p

I. The weather pattern will turn progressively colder as we move through the Thanksgiving holiday. This isn’t anything earth-shattering by any stretch, but temperatures running 4° to 8° below normal is pretty stout. There’s also still the potential of an early season arctic “jab” prior to us getting out of the first 3-5 days of December, but that likely comes after this weekend- if at all.

As a whole, it’s a dry pattern that will accompany the chill, but we will want to continue keeping an eye on energy that will eject off the Rockies over the weekend. At times models can underplay these features only to have to correct stronger as we grow closer to the potential event. Will that be the case this time? Impossible to say from this distance- just something we’ll continue to monitor with such a busy travel period. As it is today, modeling wants to “string” the energy out which would essentially be a light or non-event.

II. While the pattern drivers all are aligned for a cold open (first few days) of December, there’s reason to believe a period of milder than normal air will take foot just after- say sometime between 12/5 and 12/8, or so. That said, we’re in a bit of a fork in the road so to speak.

The East Pacific Oscillation (EPO) is going to pop positive at least for a period of time prior to mid-December. This strongly argues for a relaxation of the cold regime that we’ll endure to open the month. Guidance differs on the handling of the MJO, however. Should the American guidance be correct in taking things into Phase 4, when combined with what we see transpiring with the EPO, then we’re off to the races for at least a 7-10 day period of much warmer than normal temperatures. That said, European guidance collapses the MJO into the “null” phase and even hints at things emerging again in the colder phases come mid December. While we still have time to sort through this “mess,” the idea here is that the cold open to the month will moderate to slightly to moderately above normal for a 7-10 day period leading us into mid-month. Thereafter, I’m becoming increasingly bullish for a renewed cold pattern developing towards the Christmas and New Years holidays…

It’ll be important to closely monitor the MJO as we head into early-mid December as this will have big impacts on our overall weather pattern.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/11/20/dinnertime-rambles-talking-thanksgiving-weekend-and-early-december/

Nov 04

Saturday Morning Rambles…

Updated 11.04.23 @ 8:35a

I. November has opened on a chilly note. Through the 1st few days of the month, Indianapolis is running a whopping 6° below average. Warming will take place in the days ahead and we’re not finished with the 70s just yet. Wednesday stands the best shot at 70° warmth but it’s an admittedly tricky forecast with a wavy front hanging nearby.

After a cold start, November will take a milder turn.

II. A cold front and associated area of low pressure will offer up the best chance of widespread rain midweek, but we’re still not talking about any sort of heavy rain amounts. The bigger deal will be the cooler air moving in behind this system for late week and next weekend.

III. The type of air mass behind the boundary, though cooler, won’t have the same arctic nature to it that our last cold spell included. We’re talking a few days of highs in the 45° to 50° range and overnight lows in the lower 30s. An upper level ridge should return for mid month along with an unseasonably mild pattern. After midweek, the pattern as a whole is also a dry one into mid month.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/11/04/saturday-morning-rambles-13/

Oct 30

Pre-Dinner Rambles: Halloween Snow And New Winter “Tidbit”…

Updated 10.30.23 @ 5:36p

I. Vigorous upper level energy will dive southeast and impact our Halloween weather. Many will see their 1st snowflakes of the season (at least those who didn’t today) tomorrow afternoon and into the evening. This is the type setup that will lead to localized heavier squalls within the broader area of snow showers and I imagine this will carry deep into Tuesday night- longer than what most high resolution guidance currently suggests.

II. Cold and wind will also make for bitter conditions by Halloween standards. Trock or treaters will certainly need the layers under those costumes tomorrow night as wind chills fall into the 10s at times. Gusts up to 30-40 MPH will also create for “spooky” conditions at times.

III. New long range, “seasonal” data continues to suggest we’re heading for a Modoki Nino event. If this does, indeed, verify then we’ll look for colder and potentially snowier trends to take hold (certainly compared to a “traditional” Nino event) towards late December and on into the middle of winter. To no surprise, this should also play into some other drivers that suggest we should see more in the way of high latitude blocking periods this winter, compared to the past few. Stay tuned.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/10/30/pre-dinner-rambles-halloween-snow-and-new-winter-tidbit/

Oct 27

Friday Morning Rambles: Blast Of Arctic Air; Halloween Night Snow And More On November…

Updated 10.27.23 @ 7:09a

I. Most of our Friday will be rain-free and unseasonably pleasant. Enjoy as time is ticking. A cold front arrives tonight with increasing shower and thunderstorm chances after dark, continuing through the overnight. Most area rain gauges will accumulate 0.10” to 0.25” with this initial wave of rain, but there will be a few lucky folks that pick up 0.50” +.

II. A second, more widespread, round of rain will push across central Indiana Saturday night and Sunday morning followed by a potential break through most of the daytime Sunday. One final round of rain will then arrive Sunday night into the predawn hours Monday. Look for nearly steady or slowly falling temperatures into the upper 40s Sunday and highs remaining stuck in the 40s area wide Monday.

III. As attention shifts to Halloween, itself, a vigorous piece of upper level energy will dive into the Ohio Valley. Originating in Alberta, this will officially be the season’s first Alberta Clipper.

This feature will offer up a round of gusty winds and snow showers Halloween night into the predawn hours Wednesday.

We’ll wake up to temperatures in the 20s and ‘chills in the 10s Wednesday morning.

IV. We’ll dive in to our November pattern in greater detail with a video this weekend, but as of now, the early call is for a fairly typical November with many “ups and downs” and an overall transitional regime through the bulk of the month. Again, more on this and the associated pattern drivers a bit later!

Make it a great Friday!

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/10/27/friday-morning-rambles-blast-of-arctic-air-halloween-night-snow-and-more-on-november/

Oct 23

Dinner Time Rambles: Prospects Of HVY Rain On The Increase And Brief, Yet Potent Early Season Arctic Jab…

Updated 10.23.23 @ 5:45p

I. Today’s model suite continues to suggest quite the unsettled stretch of weather awaits for pre-Halloween festivities. I know, please don’t shoot the messenger. The culprit? A strong autumn cold front stalling out for a time in response to waves of energy riding along the boundary. The end result will likely be a widespread swath of 1″+ rains over the weekend with a more localized 2″+ band. Details will have to be fine tuned as we get closer, but folks with outdoor activities and ag/ harvest ’23 interests should plan on a rough stretch of weather in the Saturday through Monday timeframe.

Multiple rounds of moderate-heavy rain are becoming likely over the pre-Halloween weekend.

II. The coldest air so far this fall season will come rushing in on the heels of all of the aforementioned rain in the 8-10 day timeframe. Today’s European guidance is going all-in on a potent early season “jab” of arctic air, including highs around freezing and lows deep into the 20s. Perhaps extreme? Certainly, but this also has merit given where the pattern is. Though this will likely only be a brief intrusion of bitter air (at least by early November standards), I’d certainly go ahead and plan on the growing season coming to a screeching halt in just a little over a week from today.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/10/23/dinner-time-rambles-prospects-of-hvy-rain-on-the-increase-and-brief-yet-potent-early-season-arctic-jab/

Oct 14

Saturday Morning Rambles…

Updated 10.14.23 @ 7:43a I. An upper low and trough of low pressure will lead to a return of cloudiness, additional nuisance variety showers along with gusty winds and falling…

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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/10/14/saturday-morning-rambles-12/

Oct 10

Lunchtime Rambles: Time To Start Thinking About Stocking That Wood Pile…

Updated 10.10.23 @ 12:53p

I. A warm front will lift north through Indiana Wednesday. This will serve as a focal point for locally heavy rain across the northern tier of counties Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Most high resolution modeling keeps central Indiana out of the heavy rain axis but a passing shower is certainly possible.

II. A cold front and associated area of low pressure will rumble across the Ohio Valley Friday with more widespread rain (embedded thunder) impacting central Indiana Friday evening and Friday night.

III. A cold core upper low will drop southeast Sunday into Monday. With the cold air aloft and just enough daytime heating, showers (potentially mixed with graupel) will develop. Otherwise, anticipate a “raw” close to the weekend and open to the new work week.

IV. Our recent chilly turn will only be reinforced that much further behind the passage of Friday’s cold front. Most of next week is looking below to well below normal. Time to start thinking about stocking up that wood pile. Long Range charts show another big blast of the coldest air so far this season the following week…

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/10/10/lunchtime-rambles-time-to-start-thinking-about-stocking-that-wood-pile/

Sep 17

A Quiet Week With A Warming Trend; More Active Week 2?

Updated 09.17.23 @ 9:14a

Just enough energy will be around today to keep scattered, mainly light, showers in the mix into the evening hours. Most area rain gauges won’t collect significant rain but a few thunderstorms could drop a quick downpour in isolated fashion later this afternoon into the early evening.

A secondary disturbance will approach from the northwest Tuesday and provide another opportunity for a few showers, primarily northwest of the city. Most of these should dissipate before moving into central Indiana. All in all, we’re looking at a very quiet week with a significant warming trend.

A calm, mostly dry week is in store for the region.
Temperatures will return to well above normal levels this week.

Highs will run into the middle to upper 80s by the mid and latter part of the week with dry conditions.

Uneventful weather will carry the day through the weekend. While we’re watching a more significant storm system approaching early in Week 2, modeling differs on the specific handling. The European drives most of the energy well south of our neck of the woods and paints a continuation of our dry stretch. The GFS (shown below) is more excited about delivering rain early next week. We’ll watch how trends continue to evolve through the coming days. Make it a great Sunday!

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/09/17/a-quiet-week-with-a-warming-trend-more-active-week-2/

Sep 16

Saturday Morning Rambles: Warm Close To September And An October Look Ahead…

Updated 09.16.23 8:16a

The pattern transition from the current cooler than normal regime to a warm September finish, compared to the norm, will get started the middle of next week. We still have several days to go with highs of 82°+ to close out the month. The pattern, as a whole, looks drier than normal. The exception to that general rule will come Sunday with scattered showers (the system that generates Sunday showers here will serve to ignite an early season ‘Nor Easter early week for the Mid Atlantic and New England. – A sign of the changing seasons) and we’re still tracking the threat of a more organized storm system in the early Week 2 period. The trend, however, has been for this being less of a player in our weather compared to a few days ago but we’ll continue to keep a close eye on things.

The pattern will transition warmer than normal for the 2nd half of the month.

As we flip the page into October, the pattern drivers from this distance appear to be lining up to drive a period of cooler air as we rumble through the first 1/3 of the month. The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) looks to push into Phase 6. This typically favors the warmer anomalies across the west and Plains with at least a reflection of a trough across the East Coast.

The Pacific North America pattern (PNA) and East Pacific Oscillation (EPO) are working in tandem to also favor a cooler regime across our portion of the country. It’s fair to say that we believe the longer range warm “look” will be forced to cool over the course of the next couple weeks for early October.

The dry, relatively boring regime should begin to turn more active as we close out the month and move into October. The thinking here is that we should see a resurgent wet regime the deeper into fall we go before rolling into the drier than normal predominant winter pattern.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/09/16/saturday-morning-rambles-warm-close-to-september-and-an-october-look-ahead/

Aug 25

Friday Morning Rambles: Taste Of Fall Next Week…

Updated 08.25.23 @ 5:02a

I. It’s about as oppressive as it gets around these parts out the door early this morning. Temperatures will only fall a couple more degrees between now and sunrise before another dangerously hot day ahead. Check out these temperature and heat indices at 4:45a:

II. We’re tracking (2) frontal boundaries that will put an end to this heat and humidity in the coming days. The first front slips through here Saturday and will break the heat wave with a secondary, more robust, push of dry, cool air early next week. While a shower or storm is possible with both FROPAs, widespread rain isn’t expected with either.

III. A taste of fall is on deck as we move through the middle of next week and get set to kick off the Labor Day weekend. How does overnight lows into the 40s sound with highs in the upper 70s? This breath of fresh air will hold into the early part of the Labor Day weekend along with anticipated dry conditions.

IV. We’re not expecting the cool, refreshing air to last as “endless summer” returns shortly after the open to September. In fact, we continue to believe a warmer than normal and drier than average September awaits as we push through the initial month of meteorological fall. The latest European Weeklies, updated last night, for September say the same:

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2023/08/25/friday-morning-rambles-taste-of-fall-next-week/

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