INDIANAPOLIS — We'll keep the quiet pattern going today with mostly to partly sunny skies and highs climbing to near 70. That's 20 degrees above average for this time of year. It will be a breezy day with 25-30 mph wind gusts possible. This, combined with dry air and a low relative humidity will prompt the risk of rapidly-spreading fire. It is advised to wait and not do any outdoor burning today.
A warm front will lift through the area heading into Wednesday, prompting a few stray rain showers during the first part of the day. We'll see lots of dry hours in the afternoon as temperatures remain above average in the upper 60s, near 70.
This storm system will bring scattered rain and storms for Thursday, especially during the first part of the day with more dry time in the afternoon. We'll still be in the "warm sector" of this weather system, allowing temperatures to still top out near 70 degrees despite the increased clouds and rain chances.
Rain returns late Thursday into Friday morning as a cold front pushes through the state. The Storm Prediction Center has placed the western tier of Indiana under a level 1 of 5 for the risk of a few strong storms. The severity of the storms will be dependent on the rain and storms Thursday morning and how well the atmosphere will be able to recover and support new storms.
The timing of rain exiting as well as temperatures will depend on what time it finally moves through. Plan on scattered rain possible through the first part of the day with temperatures holding steady in the 50s through Friday afternoon.
We're looking at a cooler but dry, partly cloudy start to St. Patrick's Day weekend with high temperatures dropping back into the mid-50s Saturday. Another storm system could bring a stray shower chance through early Sunday morning, then partly cloudy skids with highs in the low 50s for St. Patrick's Day.
