INDIANAPOLIS — Some might call the cold, wet and windy conditions in central Indiana today ugly. We'll let you be the judge of that, but that's exactly what we're dealing with on the first day of May. We warned of this unseasonably cold start a week ago, and that forecast came to fruition.
The result is "highs" in the 40s, wind chills in the 30s, wind-whipped showers and steady rain with one of the coldest May 1 days on record in Indianapolis. If our 47-degree forecast "high" verifies, it would be the fourth coldest May 1 in Indianapolis since 1871. It would also be over 20 degrees below average for this time of year.
Give thanks to a record-breaking low pressure system in eastern Canada for the cold, raw weather today. It's the lowest pressure on record for many areas in the eastern Great Lakes for May.
We're obviously on the colder side of this intense storm system that will be moving very little the next 48 hours due to a blocking upper air pattern over the lower 48.
In this particular case, it's what we call an "Omega Block," which derives it's name from the shape of the pattern resembling the Greek letter Omega.
This happens when two separate areas of low pressure aloft sandwich high pressure. The troughs of low pressure typically produce cooler than average air and wet weather, while the weather under the high pressure section is sunny and pleasant.
It will take time, but eventually the high will be positioned over central Indiana this weekend — just in time for the first big May event of the month.
Saturday morning is the One America 500 Festival Mini Marathon, and – fingers crossed – conditions look very pleasant right now. Look for dry weather at this point, with temperatures in the upper 40s at the start — perfect weather for running.
We will keep you informed on the Mini as we get closer to the date, but be sure and download the Live Doppler 13 weather app for the latest.
