INDIANAPOLIS — Temperatures remain well above average today, and we stay dry, as well with a mix of sun and clouds. Look for highs in the low 70s — just shy of the record that stands at 80 degrees from 2007.
The pattern becomes more active overnight as our next storm system brings scattered rain and storms. This will begin in the early morning hours Thursday as a warm front lifts through and keeps a better chance of scattered storms across the northern tier of the state into Thursday afternoon as the frontal boundary stalls out. We'll still be in the "warm sector" of this weather system, allowing temperatures to still top out in the low 70s while central Indiana sees a decent amount of dry time in the afternoon.
Storms return late Thursday into early Friday morning (approximately 9 p.m. through 5 a.m.) as a cold front pushes through the state. The Storm Prediction Center has placed the western tier of Indiana under a Level 2 of 5 for the risk of scattered severe storms, with a few stronger storms possible across the entire state. Primary threats include damaging wind gusts, and a few rotating storms will be possible.
The cold front will exit the state by early Friday morning, with most of the rain coming to an end by daybreak. Temperatures will fall between 45-50° for morning "lows" and only recover to the mid-50s behind that cold front Friday afternoon as skies clear.
We're looking at a sunny start to St. Patrick's Day weekend, with high temperatures near 60 Saturday. Another storm system could bring a stray shower chance through early Sunday morning, then partly cloudy and cooler with highs near 50 for St. Patrick's Day.
As a colder air mass continues to take over, temperatures will continue to drop for Monday, only likely staying in the upper 30s with a few snow showers possible. This cold snap won't last long as we'll recover to the low 40s Tuesday and back into the 50s mid-week.
