INDIANAPOLIS — A rainy Thursday is in progress in central Indiana, but radar trends show a decrease in coverage from west-to-east this afternoon. With that said, scattered showers can be expected to linger around here for another 36 hours.
Rain amounts will finish in the .25" to locally .50" range, which doesn't put a dent in the drought but is welcomed either way.
Temperatures hang steady in the mid/upper 50s with abundant clouds this afternoon. A wind-shift to the west-northwest marks the passage of a cool front this evening. That flow eventually become more northerly to deliver lake effect clouds and showers Friday into parts of Saturday.
Odds of rain Friday (40%) will be significantly lower than today (80-100%), but there will definitely be showers around into early afternoon. Right now, we're thinking these mainly diminish near/just before kickoff of Operation Football games Friday evening. Plan to dress for wind chills in the 40s with northwesterly wind of 10-20 mph.
Saturday will be an interesting weather day in central Indiana due to the impacts of our position (southwesterly) in relation to the track of a clipper system. Clouds and spotty showers around early Saturday morning depart quickly to allow for a brightening sky with a rather breezy west-southwesterly wind.
Sun quickly pushes temperatures into the 60s during midday but with gusts that may exceed 30 mph at times. As the center of the clipper zips east-southeast of central Indiana, the wind shifts sharply to the north and drags down, increasing clouds and lake-effect rain showers to the I-70 corridor before sunset, while at the same time, dropping temperatures some 10°.
This chillier air and northerly flow continue into Sunday to keep high temperatures in the 50s with a mixed sky. Clouds and wind diminish Sunday night to up the ante for a widespread frost heading into Monday morning with lows in the mid-30s.
That will easily be the coldest temperatures next week with well above average highs getting pushed into the Ohio Valley from a strengthening southwesterly wind. Temperatures Tuesday-Thursday next week will be some 10-15° with highs in the 70s.
