Northwest Franklin County, Indiana Weather

From Ice to Severe Thunderstorms

2012-01-22T13:44:00.003-05:00

The ice storm on Friday night left about an 1/8th of an inch of ice coating everything. Sleet fell on top of that making for a hard pack of ice on roadways. The temperature on Saturday only reached 22 degrees and it was cloudy, so there was absolutely no melting. Back roads are still icy this afternoon, but softening up quite a bit as temperatures are up to 32 degrees at 1:47pm.
The next storm promises to bring the opposite side of the spectrum to the region with strong storms. The Storm Prediction Center has placed southwest Indiana in a moderate risk for sever storms while the rest of Indiana is in a slight risk for severe weather. The heaviest storms should enter the state late Sunday night into early Monday morning. Threats include strong winds, hail, and possible tornadoes.

Ice Storm

2012-01-21T00:27:00.003-05:00

Today's winter storm has been the most significant storm so far this winter. After all, it's late January and we've only had 4 inches of snow this winter. In fact, this storm is the first storm of the season that has prompted the NWS to issue a winter storm warning. The counties shaded in pink are under the winter storm warning. The purple shaded counties are under a winter weather advisory.
The current storm has seen little if any snow in our area. Instead, we've seen freezing rain. So far, we've seen 0.14" of liquid precipitation. This has fallen as freezing rain and sleet. Temperatures at the surface are in the mid 20's. When the freezing rain began, it quickly coated all untreated roads with a layer of ice. As a result, the Franklin County Sheriff department issued a level 3 travel advisory which means all roads in the county are closed. A good idea as I watched a small pickup try to get up the hill in front of my house. The road was solid ice.

Total Precipitation 2011

2012-01-02T18:37:00.004-05:00

Here are some interesting maps that depict the amount of precipitation that fell across the contiguous United States during 2011. The top map shows the total precipitation that fell. The bottom map shows what the normal yearly precipitation should be.

Locally, I measured 54.23 inches of precipitation at my station from January 1 through December 31, 2011. The official measuring site for Cincinnati, Ohio (which is across the river in Covington, Kentucky) was 73.28 inches. That was a record amount for the city. Records date back to 1872.

2011 Summary

2012-01-02T18:01:00.004-05:00

From the NWS in Indianpolis

2011: A Year in Review

2011 was a year of extremes across central Indiana. Indianapolis received a little less than 50 inches of precipitation for the year, making it the wettest year since 2006 and the 17^th wettest year on record. A very wet start to the year was highlighted by above normal snowfall in January, a significant ice and sleet storm in February and a very wet and stormy spring that saw extensive river flooding and repeated bouts of severe weather across the region. It remained wet through late June across central Indiana, before a switch to hot and dry weather in July which continued for most of the rest of the summer. This included the driest July on record in Indianapolis when less than a half inch of rain fell. Many locations across the region received less than three inches of rainfall from the beginning of July through the middle of September, enabling drought conditions to develop across portions of central Indiana. Stormy and wetter than normal conditions returned in late September and would persist for much of the rest of the year.

The heat that arrived across the region in July and continued into September helped to make the summer the 5^th warmest on record in Indianapolis. Additionally, the average temperature of 82.0 degrees at Indianapolis in July marked the hottest month experienced in the Circle City since July 1936. Many locations reached 100 degrees on July 21, including at Indianapolis where the temperature made it to the century mark for the first time since 1988. The temperature made it to 100 degrees in Indianapolis again on September 3, the first time that had happened in September since 1954. The annual average temperature of 55.2 degrees made 2011 the 8^th warmest on record, and the warmest since 2007. Records began for Indianapolis in 1871.

61 tornadoes touched down in the state of Indiana in 2011, breaking the old record of 49 tornadoes from 1990. Most of these tornadoes occurred during the spring and early summer as several significant severe weather events impacted the state.

Cold Snap

2012-01-02T17:31:00.002-05:00

An arctic front crossed the region on New Year's Day bringing strong gusty winds and some lake effect snow showers. Temperatures fell from through the day on January 1 to a low of 30 near 11pm. Temperatures continued to tumble through the night and did not get above 22 during the day today, January 2. Through the day today, some brief but impressive snow showers blew across the region leaving behind a dusting of snow. Skies have begun to clear this evening and the winds are subsiding which should make for a very cold night. Forecasts are calling for a low of 15 overnight, but I think we will be colder than that.

No Snow

2012-01-02T17:30:00.000-05:00

December saw no measurable snow. I know there is a lot of winter left, but I'm not feeling very confident that this will be a snowy winter. Of course, even though the last few winters have seen plenty of snow, the snow came in very small doses of 2-3 inches at a time. Maybe this winter will see fewer snowstorms, but larger amounts of snow with each storm. One can only hope.

First Snow Fall

2011-12-03T12:50:00.003-05:00

The first snowfall of the season occurred on Tuesday, November 29. The snow began around 4pm and continued until about 8pm. Total accumulation was 3 inches.

First Snow Flakes

2011-11-13T00:08:00.002-05:00

The first snow flakes of the year were seen on Thursday, November 10. Temperatures on Thursday only reached the low 40's at the surface, but just a few hundred feet above the surface temperatures were much colder. A weak disturbance moved through the area in the afternoon and with the daytime heating and the disturbance, snow showers developed. Some of the snow showers were strong enough to coat the ground and cause some icy patches on bridges and overpasses.

Hard Freeze Across Area

2011-10-30T22:49:00.002-05:00

Temperatures on Sunday morning dropped to 28F or below for several hours which means we experienced a killing freeze and ending the growing season. As a result, the NWS will no longer post frost or freeze watches/warnings/advisories for the area.
The morning low at my station was 27F.

Historic October Snowstorm Still Crushing New England

2011-10-30T10:15:00.002-05:00

Historic October Snowstorm Still Crushing New England

Cool October snowstorm photos.

Waylan, Massachusetts: Yikes! Snowmen before Halloween.

Dalton, Massachusetts: The obligatory shot of snow covered patio furniture.

New Boston, Massachusetts: A little white with the fall "cullah". :-)

Arlington Heights, Massachusetts

First Frost and First Winter Storm

2011-10-29T22:32:00.003-05:00

The temperature dropped to 30F this morning which was the coolest of the season so far. A widespread frost occurred this morning. Temperatures were below freezing from 1:20am to 8:40am. I'm not sure if this would be considered a freeze though. The temperature was below freezing for several hours, but usually we need temperature in the upper 20's for several hours for a killing freeze. That didn't happen. Interestingly though, the first below freezing morning low last year also occurred on the morning of October 29.

On to the big news. A mid fall winter storm has been tracking across the nation this week. It started in Denver, Colorado on the 26th with 3-5 inches of snow in the metro area and up to 15 inches in the higher elevations to the west of the city. What's really interesting though is that just two days before the storm hit, Denver enjoyed temperatures in the 70's. After hitting Denver with the cold and snow, the storm then dove towards Texas dropping a 3-4 inches in Amarillo. The storm produced rain across the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley, but changed back into snow across the higher elevations of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia on Friday and Saturday. Winter storm warnings were issued for the New England states Friday with forecasts of up to 10 inches of snow in the inland areas away from the coast. Earlier tonight, the forecast for New York City was up to 7 inches of snow, but that has since been dropped to 2-4 inches of snow.
Hopefully, Indiana will get in on the action in a few weeks. :-)

Return to Posting

2011-10-29T21:21:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted to this blog. Starting a new job seems to have taken away a lot of my extra time. Plus, Indiana weather in the summer and early to mid fall is boring. Things are beginning to become more interesting now though, so I hope to post on a regular basis once again. Oh, also I changed to look of the blog. It's looked the same for so long it was time for a makeover. Enjoy the changing weather.

Summer Heat Sucks

2011-07-26T21:08:00.001-05:00

From the NWS in Indianapolis 7-25-11

Hottest 8 Day Heat Wave in 70 Years

The Indianapolis area experienced the hottest 8 day Heat Wave since July 1941. The average temperature for the period from the 17th through the 24th was 86.6 degrees. The high temperature for this period averaged 95.9 degrees...the highest since July 1988. The low temperature averaged a stifling 77.2 degrees...the highest since the Dust Bowl summer of 1936.

During this period, Indianapolis reached 100 degrees for the first time since August 1988. The temperature remained above 74 degrees for slightly more than 8 days for only the 4th time since weather records began in 1871. This last time this occurred was in July 1940. The string of 8 consecutive days of 90 degrees or higher is the longest since the 14 day string during the summer of 2007. Click here for additional hot weather statistics for the Indianapolis area.

A slight break in the humidity and possibly the 90 degree weather will occur on the 25th and 26th. The heat and humidity will return on the 27th. Above normal temperatures will continue into August.

Hottest Day in 23 Years

2011-07-26T21:03:00.001-05:00

From the NWS in Indianapolis 7-20-2011

Hottest Day Since August 1988

The average temperature for July 20 was a stifling 88 degrees. This was the hottest day at Indianapolis since August 16, 1988. August 16, 1988 was also the last time the Indianapolis area reached 100 degrees until today. The high temperature that day was 102 degrees. The temperature at Indianapolis reached 100 degrees as of 3:07 pm this afternoon, and the temperature could still increase by a degree or two. The record high for today however is 106, which looks unattainable.

In addition, the average low temperature for the 19th and 20th was only 78.5 degrees. The last time 2 consecutive morning low temperatures averaged warmer was back in the Dust Bowl summer of 1936.

Locally, the temperature hit 95 with a heat index of 121!

Heat Burst

2011-07-26T20:41:00.004-05:00

From the NWS in Indianapolis 7-5-2011

Heat Burst Occurs in the Indianapolis Area

In addition to the impressive natural fireworks show, gusty winds, small hail, and very heavy rainfall from a strong thunderstorm complex across central Indiana, an interesting and fairly rare atmospheric phenomenon occurred in the Indianapolis area during the very early morning hours of July 3 - a heat burst.

Heat bursts are not completely understood, partially owing to the fact that their small spatial scales and short duration make observing them difficult. However, several researchers over the past few decades have offered hypotheses based on observational studies of heat bursts occurring in areas with an established mesonetwork (small scale network of observation sites).

In general, these studies indicate that heat bursts are the result of dry downbursts (strong, small scale downdrafts from thunderstorms) occurring from decaying nocturnal thunderstorms, perhaps with a contribution from a descending rear inflow jet into the decaying storms. Typically, these downbursts originate from fairly high in an atmosphere with significant dry air aloft. These downbursts descend quickly, with the air drying and warming as moisture in the air evaporates and increasing pressure compresses and warms the air. As with the downbursts that typically cause damaging winds in a severe thunderstorm, this downburst strikes the ground and spreads out horizontally, resulting in a rapid increase in wind speed and gusts. In addition to increasing temperature, decreasing dewpoint, and increasing winds, rapid pressure drops are often observed as well.

Some heat bursts can be particularly severe, with damaging winds of 80-100 mph, and temperature increases to above 100 degrees occurring in the middle of the night. A recent case in Wichita, KS resulted in temperatures rising to 102 degrees with damaging wind gusts. A handful of historical cases have occurred where temperatures associated with heat bursts have briefly approached 130+ degrees.

Fortunately, the heat burst that occurred in the Indianapolis area on July 3 was not nearly this severe. Observations around 1:30 AM EDT in the area indicate the temperature rose and the dewpoint dropped nearly 15 degrees in a less than an hour, causing the relative humidity to drop nearly 40-50%. Winds increased rapidly, with gusts to near 50 mph. One NWS Indianapolis employee reported that his neighbor's patio furniture ended up in his backyard. It is likely that at least a few small limbs were downed by these winds as well.

Temperature and dewpoint meteogram for KEYE. Notice the rapid changes between 0500 UTC (1:00 AM EDT) and 0600 UTC (2:00 AM EDT). The temperature rose from 72 to 86 degrees, and the dewpoint dropped from 63 to 50 degrees.

Extreme Flooding Likely

2011-04-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

The next three days will see an incredible amount of rain across the midwest. Based on the evening forecast, up to 5 inches (130mm) of rain will fall across southern Indiana by Sunday morning. Up to 10 inches (260mm) of rain will fall across southwestern Illinois and southern Missouri. Low lying areas will see significant flooding. This will be the beginning of a very wet period over the next ten days. So far in April 6.67" inches (170mm) of rain has fallen at my location. Cincinnati has seen 8.19 inches (210mm) of rain this month. The record there for April is 9.77 inches (250mm). The all time wettest April on record for Cincinnati is 13.7 inches (350mm)! The Ohio river will likely hit 60 feet (18 meters) next week. Flood stage is 52 feet (16 meters).

Storm Aftermath

2011-04-21T19:56:00.005-05:00

There were 30 severe weather reports across the area as the powerful overnight storms pushed across the area. Most of the damage was caused by straight line winds reaching up to 75mph. There were two confirmed tornadoes in central Indiana. An EF1 tornado touched down in Boone county just west of Thorntown, Indiana. The tornado path was about one half mile in length and 50 yards wide. The second tornado was categorized as an EF2 touching down about 6 miles south of Lafayette, Indiana in Tippecanoe county. EF-1 tornadoes typically have winds of 86-110 mph, while EF-2 tornadoes have winds of 111-135 mph.

Here at home, the strongest wind gust measured was just 49mph. The most interesting development with this storm was the large temperature swing. Most of the day Tuesday was cool with temperatures hovering in the low 40's. By 11pm though, the temperature had sky rocketed to 73F.

Tornado Threat Increasing

2011-04-19T19:29:00.003-05:00

Strong storms are moving through central Illinois with several tornado warnings issued. A tornado watch has been issued for most of Indiana until 6am Wednesday morning. I expect this watch to be expanded to the east later this evening.

Early this morning and into the afternoon, heavy rain and storms dumped up to 3 inches of rain across the area. It was cold through most of the day today too. The temperature hovered around 44F (6C) until 3pm and then began to sky rocket as a warm front moved across the area. The current temperature at 9pm is 70F (21C)! The warm and humid air provides plenty of fuel for severe weather.

Severe Weather Likely

2011-04-18T18:47:00.001-05:00

Thunderstorms will develop over the mid Mississippi valley and expand northeast into central Indiana this evening and overnight. Thunderstorms will impact areas mainly along and south of interstate 70 this evening...and all of central Indiana after midnight. Isolated severe storms will be possible...especially along and south of interstate 70. Large hail...torrential rainfall...and dangerous lightning will be the main threats.

From Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday night significant severe storms are likely with the primary threats being tornadoes...very large hail...and damaging winds. The thunderstorms will also produce torrential rainfall and dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning. Two rounds of severe weather are currently expected. The first will be in the afternoon and evening hours associated with the warm sector and the northward lifting warm front. The second will be along and ahead of the cold front as it moves through overnight. Continue to check the latest forecast for updated information on timing as the system approaches.

Tornadoes, storms leave at least nine dead

2011-04-15T22:34:00.004-05:00

LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - Violent storms ripped across the south overnight and for most of Friday, killing at least nine people including three children, and cutting a path of destruction through Little Rock, Ark. and Jackson, Miss., authorities said early Friday evening.

Six of the seven fatalities in Arkansas were caused when uprooted trees smashed into houses, National Weather Service meteorologist John Robinson said.

The trees were falling through houses, Robinson said, adding that he could not recall a time in recent memory when so many fatalities occurred because of fallen trees in Arkansas.

In Oklahoma, two elderly sisters were killed when a tornado hit the double-wide mobile home they occupied, according to school board President Bennie Evans.

Among the dead in Arkansas Friday were two boys, ages 6 and 7, and an 18-month-old girl. The seven-year-old and his mother were killed after a tree fell on their house in Little Rock.

"All I heard was a boom boom," said a neighbor, Jennifer McShane, while surveying the destruction that left the mother and her seven-year-old son dead.

The storm left Little Rock with uprooted trees, downed power lines and destroyed traffic signals, Robinson said.

At least four tornadoes were also reported in Alabama Friday and more storms were expected tonight, officials said.

Art Faulkner, director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, noted the state has several large events this weekend, including sports events at the University of Alabama and Auburn University, and a major NASCAR race at Talladega expecting more than 100,000 fans. "This is causing us to do some extra planning," Faulkner said.

The Talladega Superspeedway alerted fans on its web site to watch the weather and take necessary precautions.

A senior citizen in Sumter County, Alabama was hospitalized after a tree fell on her house, collapsing the roof and ceiling and pinning her down, said Sumter County Emergency Management Agency director Margaret Bishop-Gulley.

And local officials reported severe structural damage in Jackson, Miss., with lines down and roofs off. An 18-wheel semi-trailer truck flipped over on I-20, shutting down the highway. There have been no fatalities reported, though eight people have been injured, one critically, authorities said.

"It was like a bomb went off," said one man in Clinton, Miss., north of Jackson, who did not wish to be identified. His home was destroyed when a tornado passed through the area north of Jackson.

There were severe storms running from western Tennessee into Illinois early Friday evening, but they are expected to dissipate Friday night, said Rich Thompson, a lead forecaster at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.

The main tornado threat will continue overnight across Alabama and Georgia and the same weather system will continue Saturday when it moves into the Carolinas, Thompson said.

"We have another beefed up severe weather threat in the Carolinas and southern Virginia," Thompson said.

Tornadoes kill about 70 people in the United States each year.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/16/us-weather-tornadoes-idUSTRE73E89J20110416

2010-2011 Snow Days

2011-03-27T19:47:00.002-05:00

2010-2011 Franklin County Community School Corporation Snow Days
December 13, 2010 - Closed
December 14, 2010 - 2-hour Delay
December 16, 2010 - Closed
December 17, 2010 - Closed (Water main break)
December 21, 2010 - Closed
December 22, 2010 - 2-hour Delay
January 7, 2011 - 2-hour Delay
January 11, 2011 - Closed
January 12, 2011 - Closed
January 13, 2011 - 2-hour Delay
January 20, 2011 - Closed
January 21, 2011 - Closed
January 24, 2011 - 2-hour Delay
January 28, 2011 - 2-hour Delay
February 1, 2011 - Closed
February 2, 2011 - Closed
February 3, 2011 - Closed
February 4, 2011 - Closed
February 7, 2011 - 2-hour Delay
February 25, 2011 - 2-hour Delay
Last Day - Friday, June 3

2010-2011 Snowfall

2011-03-27T19:39:00.000-05:00

2010-2011 Season Total: 33.25"
Snow Cover: 70 days 2-25-11 December 1 = 1.5"

December 4 = 2.75"
December 12=4"
December 16 = 4.5"
December 21 = 2"
January 7 = 2"
January 11 = 4.5"
January 20 = 5"
January 28 = 1.5"
February 1 = .25" FrzRn
February 1 = 1" Sleet
February 2 = .25" FrzRn
February 2= 1.5"
February 5= 2"
February 25= 1"

Happy Groundhog Day!

2011-02-02T20:59:00.003-05:00

It's Groundhog Day.

From Yahoo News: The country's most famous groundhog predicted an early spring Wednesday but wasn't willing to go out on a limb to forecast whether his state's Pittsburgh Steelers will win the Super Bowl.

Punxsutawney Phil emerged just after dawn on Groundhog Day to make his 125th annual weather forecast in front of a smaller-than-usual crowd in rural Pennsylvania who braved muddy, icy conditions to hear his handlers reveal that he had not seen his shadow.

Including Wednesday's forecast, Phil has seen his shadow 98 times and hasn't seen it just 16 times since 1887, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, which runs the event. There are no records for the remaining years, though the group has never failed to issue a forecast.

Two years ago, Phil's forecast also acknowledged the Steelers' Super Bowl XLIII win the night before. This year, Sunday's game was mentioned in the forecast but no winner was predicted between the Steelers and the Green Bay Packers, who meet in Dallas for Super Bowl XLV.

"The Steelers are going to the Super Bowl," Mike Johnson, vice president of the Inner Circle, said just before the forecast was read, drawing cheers from the clearly partisan crowd gathered on Gobbler's Knob, a tiny hill in this borough of about 6,100 residents some 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

In reality, Pennsylvania's prophetic rodent doesn't see much of anything. The result is actually decided in advance by 14 members of the Inner Circle, who don tuxedos and top hats for the event.

The celebration usually draws 10,000 to 15,000 spectators when it falls on a weekday, Groundhog club spokesman Luke Webber said. The area was under a winter weather warning and while heavier snows and sleet never materialized, rain falling in about 35-degree temperatures made for a below-average crowd, said Webber, who offered no specific estimate.

Blizzard Effects on Chicago

2011-02-02T13:51:00.005-05:00

Chicago Blizzard, February 1 & 2, 2011

Now, where did I park?

A whitetail deer looking for a place to escape the storm.

The Eisenhower Expressway. Normally bumper to bumper.

An abandoned city bus on Lake Shore Drive.

Lake Shore Drive becomes a parking lot.

Lake Shore Drive in the daylight.

United terminal at O'Hare airport. One of the busiest airports in the nation.

Two realities in life.. snow and taxes?

Cold hardy Chicagoans.

I-290 Westbound near Forest Park.

Got salt?

Updated Travel Ban Map

2011-02-02T09:14:00.003-05:00

Many more counties have been added to the travel ban map. I imagine most of these counties will remain at their current advisory level through the day today. My road is coated in a layer of ice, then an inch of sleet, then another layer of ice. That's the perfect recipe for a solid sheet of hard ice.
Temperatures overnight actually rose to 37. At 11pm the temperature hit 32, rose to 37 at 1:50am, then began to fall and hit 32 at 2:50am. At 9:20am it is 21.
Winds have been strong, but unfortunately my anemometer is frozen over and unable to move. It's on the roof too, so it will just have to wait for a warm up.
Thankfully, the power did not go out overnight for me. There are some outages around the area though. The warmer temperatures last night along with the wind knocked some of the ice off the trees. That seems to have reduced the load on many trees which in the wind is a positive. A lot of limbs have fallen and there will be a big cleanup once the weather breaks.

All Travel Banned

2011-02-01T23:01:00.004-05:00

Travel across East Central Indiana is banned due to road conditions. I've never seen so many travel bans before. I've not been out of course, but I can imagine that in addition to the icy conditions, there are downed trees to contend with as well. County crews will definitely have their work cut out for them.

The temperature has risen above 32 to 33 now. It will begin to fall after midnight. All of the ice on the road from this morning, along with the layer of sleet and freezing rain on top of that should melt together a bit and form one thick layer of solid ice later tonight when the temperature falls back into the 20's.

Amazingly, the power is still on. It went off for about 6-8 minutes early this evening, but came back on. It was flickering quite a bit though. The winds died down after 9:30pm, but they might be coming back up a bit now. The lights just went off completely and back on. I certainly hope we don't lose power.

Map source: http://www.in.gov/ai/appfiles/dhs-countyMap/dhsCountyMap.html

Catastrophic!

2011-02-01T14:46:00.010-05:00

Catastrophic! That's the word the the National Weather Service out of Indianapolis used to describe the recent upgrade to this storm. An Ice Storm Warning was issued this afternoon for all of central Indiana with up to an inch of ice forecast along with winds gusting to 45mph! Yes, that will be catastrophic. Already, the winds are picking up out of the Northeast. The warm air forecast didn't make it. I'm certain that power will be out across a wide area and will take days to restore. I feel for the folks who have no alternative method of heating their home.
Many counties across Indiana have issued travel advisories with some counties issuing all out bans on all but emergency vehicle traffic. Shelby, Fayette, and Decatur counties are three such counties. I've heard that Franklin county is also under a travel ban, but according the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, that's not the case. Franklin county is under a Level 2 emergency which just indicates all non-essential travel is banned. You can still be out as long as you have a purpose.

The ice storm warning covers all of the counties you see in purple. Franklin, Fayette, Union, and Wayne counties *should* be included in this, but they are under the control of the NWS in Wilmington, Ohio and not Indianapolis. The pink shade is a winter storm warning. Regardless, I think we are in for a serious storm.

Massive Winter Storm

2011-02-01T06:49:00.002-05:00

I don't recall ever seeing such a massive area painted with a blizzard warning. The blizzard warning (painted in red) stretches from Oklahoma City all the way to Detroit. Snowfall may reach 24 inches in these areas with 50mph winds. Wish I were there. Anyway, locally a more insidious storm element will be affecting us... ice. Already, freezing rain has fallen overnight coating everything in a glaze of ice. There have been a few power outages, but nothing on a widespread scale yet. I say yet, because winds are forecast to increase this afternoon into the overnight hours along with more freezing rain. Here in Franklin county, we are right on the edge between freezing rain and just rain. I think there are a lot of questions as to what will fall because temperature is so critical. The temperature has risen overnight from 24 at midnight to 30 this morning. I *want* an ice storm, so I'm hoping it doesn't go up any further. We'll see though.
The winter storm warning for Franklin county (painted pink) has just been extended until 7pm Wednesday.

Ice Storm Begins

2011-01-31T23:30:00.002-05:00

Looks like we're in store for a good ice storm over the next 36 hours. The temperature has been dropping into the low 20's this evening with rain showers moving in too. The bulk of the moisture has been north of I70 though. Down here, we've just had some light showers, but the showers are heavy enough to make everything super slippery. Ice accumulation is a 1/16 or so, but enough to make walking difficult, let alone driving on untreated roads which are most county roads. Not sure if more will develop overnight, but I hope so.

Coldest in Two Years

2011-01-22T14:05:00.003-05:00

It was a cold morning across the region with several areas dipping below zero F for the second night in a row. (Click on the map to enlarge the image.) Morning lows on Friday, January 21 dipped to -2F (-19C) at 8:40am, but that wouldn't be the low for the day. The actual low for the day occurred at 11:59pm when the temperature dropped to -5F (-21C). Today's low (Saturday, January 22) dropped to -7F (-22C) and occurred shortly after Friday's low at 12:50am. Temperatures slowly began to moderate over night as a southwesterly flow took over bringing in the warmer air. Temperatures the last two nights were the coldest since January 2009 when the mercury dipped to -11F (-24C).

The coldest temperature ever recorded in Indiana was at New Whiteland. A small community just south of Indianapolis. The date was January 19, 1994 and the temperature was -36F (-38C). Source: Indiana State Climate Office

Ho Hum Snowstorm

2011-01-20T21:14:00.003-05:00

Calling the weather system that just crossed the region a snowstorm might be a bit over the top. It wasn't that big of a deal. We picked up 5" of new snow out of the storm. The snow began to fall around 6am this morning and ended around 6pm. Twelve hours of snow and only 5 inches means the snow fell at an average rate of 0.4" per hour, so you can see it was never a blinding snowstorm. During the day the winds were calm, but they are picking up this evening as an arctic front crosses the area. Winds will gust up to 25mph overnight and then becoming lighter during the day Friday. Franklin County schools were closed today and will be closed again on Friday.

Snowfall for the season is up to 26 inches. Just 8 more inches and we'll top last winter's season total of 34 inches. I think we will easily top that. Could we hit 40 inches this winter? Time will tell. One last thing to mention is that since December 1, we have had an inch or more of snow on the ground for 44 out of the last 52 days. I've never kept records of how many days snow was on the ground, so this will be interesting to compare from year to year.

70% of Nation Under the Blanket

2011-01-12T22:08:00.003-05:00

Nearly every state in the nation has snow cover today. The holdout is Florida. Even Hawaii has snow on it's highest volcanic peak, Mauna Kea, although it is at 13,796 feet above sea level. Overall, 70% of the nation is snow covered. This is unusual, but not unheard of. The same thing happened last winter, but all 50 states had snow then even Florida. The snow across the south will soon be a memory. Temperatures locally are forecast to be a few degrees above freezing Saturday, so 500 miles south it will be much much warmer.

Additional Snow Develops

2011-01-11T20:13:00.002-05:00

A bit more snow developed over the late afternoon and evening. I'm upping my total from 3 inches to 4.5 inches. It's surprising how quickly the accumulates from what seems like an innocent snow shower. As predicted, the winds have picked up this evening too. Current winds are from the west at 15mph with gusts up to 22mph. The snow is blowing around and drifting a bit, but not much that it causes significant trouble. Highways in open areas are becoming snow covered again where they were clear earlier.

It's Better than Nothing

2011-01-11T15:46:00.002-05:00

Another wimpy snowfall across the area. Sure it was enough to close schools and cause a few problems, but it certainly wasn't anything severe. This winter has been cold, but we just haven't had many storms with a lot of moisture content. I have yet to pick up a shovel to clean the sidewalk. Every snow we've had this winter could be swept away with the broom. There's another storm coming in the later half of the weekend that seems to be more promising for at least 6 or more inches of snow, but I'm not very confident.

Today's snow put down 3-4 inches across the region with a few spots hitting 5 inches. I measured 2.75 inches this morning, but am rounding that number up to 3 since we've had a few snow showers through the afternoon. Winds have been fairly calm this afternoon, but are supposed to pick up tonight. I think 20mph will be the strongest gust though.

Earth Shakes and Snow Melts

2010-12-30T21:13:00.004-05:00

Apparently, there was an earthquake this morning across central Indiana. According to the USGS office, the quake registered 3.8 on the Richter scale. I didn't feel it, but two reports were made to the USGS from the Laurel area.

In weather news, the snow is gone. Early this morning, a quarter inch of rain fell washing a lot of the snow away. It was also warm today with a high temperature of 49F. This is the first day since December 1 that we've not had snow cover. Hopefully, after a dry and mild start to January, the weather will turn more interesting.

Snow Day

2010-12-21T08:04:00.002-05:00

Only an inch or less of snow was forecast for last night, but the latest storm affecting the area had a bit of a surprise. Beginning around 9:30 last night a few flakes were falling, but by 10:30 about an inch and a half of snow had fallen. This morning, I measure 2 inches of accumulation. Good enough to close school for the day.
The winter has gotten off to an awesome start with over 14 inches of snow this month. The models are hinting at an awesome Christmas Eve storm too. How great of a Christmas gift a foot of snow would be. :-D The storm should insure that the entire month of December will have snow on the ground. I can't remember the last time that happened.

Snow Potential and Cold

2010-12-15T23:08:00.003-05:00

The HPC has put most of central Indiana in the 10% risk category for receiving at least 4 inches of snow overnight an on into Thursday morning. The area outlined in green has a 40% chance of receiving at least 4 inches of snow.

This morning's low of -1F (-18C), was the coldest low since the winter of '08-'09 (January 16, 2009) when the low temperature was -11F (-24C). The lowest temperature in the winter of '09-'10 was 0F. Hopefully, this is a sign of what is to come later on in the winter. :-)

Metrodome Collapse

2010-12-13T19:36:00.003-05:00

Minneapolis Metrodome collapsed Sunday morning from the nearly 18 inches of snow that fell in the area. The Metrodome is nearly 30 years old and has a roof system that is held up by air pressure, much like a balloon. Check out the video below. My question is, why were there cameras and lights on at 5am? Was this expected?

Kansas City Ice Castle

2010-12-13T19:22:00.002-05:00

A water main broke in a residential area of Kansas City, Missouri resulting in the formation of this ice castle.

Arctic Cold Hits the Deep South

2010-12-13T19:14:00.003-05:00

Arctic cold is streaming south east towards the Florida peninsula. Current wind chill readings are below zero F in 17 states. In fact, the cold is so strong that wind chill warnings are in effect all the way to the tip of Florida where overnight wind chills may drop to as low as 15F. I'll be the old folks are going to be pulling out the afghans tonight!

December 12 Snowfall

2010-12-13T18:31:00.002-05:00

It was a storm that had been hyped for over a week. In the beginning, the storm was going to be a major storm for us and then it turned into just a nuisance snow. In the end though, it turned into a moderate winter storm that closed schools and left behind 3-5 inches of snow across the area. Here at home, I measured about 4 inches of snow. It fell over several hours and was very light and fluffy.

Massive Winter Storm

2010-12-12T00:33:00.002-05:00

A massive winter storm is effecting nearly the entire eastern half of the nation tonight. Blizzard conditions are occurring across all of Iowa, southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as northwest Illinois.
This storm has given forecasters a real challenge. Earlier in the week the storm looked as though it might travel from St. Louis to Cincinnati. Had that happened, we would be seeing heavy snow. As it turns out, the storm took a more northerly track lowering potential snowfall forecasts from 6-10 inches down to 1-2 inches. I think this storm has a few more surprises in store for us though. Tomorrow afternoon will be the time that the storm really gets active for our area and I think we'll have more snow than predicted. Even if we only get a couple of inches of snow, the strong winds and cold temperatures will be fun to watch.

More Snow

2010-12-04T14:49:00.002-05:00

The snow wasn't quite as heavy across our area as I had hoped, but we wound up with nearly 3 inches from this storm. The main roads were mostly wet with just a bit of slush since road crews began treating the roads with salt and brine solution before the snow began. Back roads were snow covered though and slippery this morning. Now they are mostly wet with slush in the center of the travel lanes and on the sides. Temperatures are beginning to fall and will likely cause some icy spots where no salt or brine was spread.

Had today been a school day, we likely would have been closed simply because of the conditions of the back roads. On to the next snow whenever that might be.

Compared to the '09-'10 winter season, we're already ahead in terms of snowfall. The first accumulating snow last season did not happen until December 19 with 1.5 inches falling. Already this year, we've had five inches!

Season's First Winter Weather Advisory

2010-12-03T20:54:00.004-05:00

An Alberta Clipper is heading southeast across southern Illinois and western Kentucky bringing with it our first snow that could cause slippery conditions on the roads. In anticipation of the snow, the NWS has issued a winter weather advisory across the area. Snowfall totals should be in the 2-4 inch range with some areas receiving up to 5 inches. This will not be a very troubling snowfall, but more of a nuisance for those who don't like it. What makes it a nuisance to me is that it comes on a weekend. It's a waste of good snow. Had it come on a weekday, maybe we'd have gotten a day off from school.

Season's First Snowfall

2010-12-01T23:50:00.002-05:00

It was unexpected, but the season's first snowfall came early this morning and through the rest of the day. About an inch and a half of snow fell today in a persistent light snow. It was enough snow to cover everything in a nice white blanket making all the Christmas decorations look that much more festive. Now we just need to keep the snow coming through March. :-)
There were a few travel problems as with every first snow, but nothing serious. Common sense prevents so much.

An Icy November Afternoon

2010-11-24T22:45:00.006-05:00

What an afternoon. I was not expecting anything like what you see in these photos. The rain began to fall around 11:30 am as a few sprinkles, then sleet pellets. By 12:30 or so, the sleet pellets had ended. The temperature was only around 30F (-1C) when the rain began, so of course it was freezing rain. Road conditions were just wet in most locations, but there were some icy patches. Dad was pulling the horse trailer through Greensburg around 11:30 am and slid through a red light. Knowing how dad drives, he was not speeding and was not braking hard as he approached the light, so the road was definitely slick. Morning lows were in the mid 20's, 26F (-3C) here at home, so road temps were obviously below freezing. Since then though, temperatures have been on the rise and we've been above freezing since 3:30pm. Tomorrow, the temperature is forecast to be 57F (14C) and then crash back into the mid 20's (-4C) tomorrow night.
Rainfall for the last 12 hours has been 0.94 inches. There's much more on the way though. Thanksgiving day looks like it's going to be very wet. If only this could have all been snow.

Thanksgiving Climatology

2010-11-20T20:35:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving is observed every year on the fourth Thursday during the month of November, as designated by Congress in 1941. This means it can fall on any day between the 22nd and 28th of November. This year the date happens to fall on the 25th. The Thanksgiving Day forecast for central Indiana looks cold, with a chance for snow flurries. HIgh temperatures will rise only into the upper 30s and lower 40s.

The following are some historical climate statistics for Indianapolis on Thanksgiving Day.

Average High Temp	Average Low Temp	Average Precipitation	Average Snowfall
46	30	0.11”	0.1”

Warmest High Temp	Coldest High Temp	Warmest Low Temp	Coldest Low Temp
74 in 1900	14 in 1930	55 in 1966	1 in 1930
69 in 1973	24 in 1893	55 in 1896	6 in 1950
69 in 1896	24 in 1881	53 in 1879	10 in 1881
68 in 1934	25 in 1903	50 in 1979	10 in 1871
68 in 1915	26 in 1956	48 in 1883	12 in 1872

Most Precipitation	Most Snowfall	Most Snow on Ground
1.01” in 1951	2.4” in 1902	2” in 1975
0.93” in 1968	2.0” in 1959	1” in 1971
0.89” in 1916	0.9” in 1953	1” in 1959
0.88” in 1887	0.5” in 1980	*
0.74” in 1993	0.5” in 1889

* There has been a Trace of snow on the ground in numerous years: 2004, 1980, 1956, 1953, 1950, 1936.

Official Weather records began in the Indianapolis area with Temperature and Precipitation in 1871 and Snowfall in 1884.

Data compiled by the Indianapolis National Weather Service

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=ind&storyid=19557&source=0

Burn Ban Lifted

2010-11-17T17:56:00.003-05:00

The county wide burn ban that had been in effect since September 27 has now been lifted. Yesterdays' rainfall apparently was enough to reduce the fire danger. Hopefully the rain will continue and we can make up the nearly 9 inch deficit. Total rainfall for the year has been 30.73 inches.

Finally -- Rain

2010-11-16T20:52:00.002-05:00

Finally, some much need rain has fallen across our area. As of 9pm, 1.15 inches of rain has fallen at my station. That's the most rainfall in a 24 hour period since June 12, 2010 when 3.78 inches of rain fell.
This radar estimate shows that a band across Franklin county received up to 1.5 inches of rain. It appears that up to 2 inches fell in Henry county (the yellow area).
Had we been just a bit later in the season, I believe this would have been an awesome snowstorm. The track of the low was perfect for heavy snow in our area since it moved up the Ohio river towards Wheeling, West Virginia. Maybe we'll see more tracks like this over the winter and get much more snow. At a 10:1 ratio, we would have nearly 12 inches of snow on the ground. :-D
From what I'm reading on a couple of forums I watch, we might be in store for another wet storm around the 24th or 25th of November. This storm may bring in some colder air with it, possibly leading to our first accumulating snowfall of the season.

Indian Summer

2010-11-12T16:05:00.001-05:00

A message from the NWS in Indianapolis:

The temperature has reached 70 degrees today (Friday) at the Indianapolis airport, making this the 5^th consecutive day with a high temperature of 70 degrees or higher. This has occurred only 3 times after the 7^th of November. The last time was in 1971 from November 14-18. The longest stretch of 70 degree weather after the 7^th is 6 days. This occurred from November 14-19, 1953. Although the high temperature Saturday is not forecast to get up to 70, if it does we will tie the record. A cold front will move through the area by Saturday night, however, bringing the string of warm days to an end.

Weather records began at Indianapolis in February 1871.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=ind&storyid=59760&source=0

2010-11-10T17:49:00.002-05:00

The dry weather has really taken a toll on the groundwater level. Lakes, creeks, rivers, and ponds all across the state are running very low. The last time I saw my pond as low as it is in this photo was in 2007. That was the last major drought in the area.
I think next week will begin the transition to winter. I'm confident that we will have an accumulating snow before the end of November. The snow will be light, but I think Thanksgiving will be white.

Dry Weather Continues

2010-11-07T21:11:00.004-05:00

The dry weather across the region continues. Burn bans in some areas of the state have been lifted, but Franklin county continues to enforce a ban. This week will likely see a few days with red flag warnings issued due to low humidity, warm temperatures, and breezy southwest winds. Most of the upcoming week will see temperatures in the mid and upper 60's. I won't be a bit surprised to see some areas reaching the low 70's. We are one quarter of the way through the month with only 0.02" of precipitation so far. Long range forecasts continue to hint at a turn to stormier conditions.

Off topic, but a large fire began in Connersville, Indiana this afternoon around 3pm. The building is part of an old industrial complex on the corner of 16th and Western Ave. The building that is on fire last housed Creative Fixtures Inc. The building is also attached to Superior Chemical building. The fire has so far been kept away from the south end of the building where the chemical business is located. Crews fighting fire at Connersville factory - 13 WTHR

First Snow Flakes of Season

2010-11-06T07:38:00.002-05:00

Friday, November 5 saw the first snow flakes of the season. A strong area of low pressure moved up the Appalachian mountains and helped to pull very cold air down from Canada. The northwest winds picked up moisture off of Lake Michigan creating lake effect snow bands and rain showers in our area. No accumulation of course, but it was exciting to see our first snow flakes for what I hope will be a snowy winter.

Monster Storm

2010-10-27T18:02:00.003-05:00

It was a historical storm for the Midwest on Tuesday, October 26. A low pressure system moved across the province of Ontario bringing high winds, snow, tornadoes, and heavy rain across a 2,000 mile wide area from upper Ontario all the way into the Ohio and Tennessee valley's.
Locally, a squall line of severe thunderstorms with embedded tornadoes moved across the area beginning at 11am. The storms prompted the NWS in Indianapolis to issue a tornado warning for Rush and Decatur counties. A few minutes later, the NWS in Wilmington, Ohio issued a tornado warning for Franklin county. At that time, schools across the county sounded the alarm and began "tornado procedures". All students were sent into the hallway as a safety precaution. Because the strongest part of the storm moved across the northwest corner of the county, Laurel school kept students in the hallway for an hour until the threat of severe weather had ended. Luckily, there was very little damage. The peak wind gust at my station was 43mph.
The worst damage appeared to be to our north where several tornadoes have been confirmed.
Check these links for storm damage photos.
http://tinyurl.com/39c4cfe
http://tinyurl.com/24qeovx
And look here for information about the storm from the NWS in Indianapolis. Here is a nice link showing damage reports across the NWS in Wilmington, Ohio. Laurel is listed as one of the damage sites.

First Frost Sightings

2010-10-07T15:29:00.002-05:00

It wasn't widespread, but Wednesday, October 6 was the first sighting of frost this fall season in the local area.

Franklin County Joins Burn Ban

2010-09-28T20:24:00.003-05:00

Franklin county has joined the growing number of counties that have banned all outdoor burning. As of September 27, 53 of the 92 counties within the state have a burn ban in place.
The "abundant" moisture that the TV meteorologists were forecasting for our area on Monday afternoon and evening fizzled. Total rainfall for the 24 hour period ending 6am Tuesday was 0.02". Certainly not enough rain to provide any type of relief. Our next chance of rain will be Saturday, but it is a very small chance of <10%.
In the last 60 days, total rainfall for my station has been only 2.06". Total rainfall for the month of September has been only 0.20".

Field Fire Forces Evacuations

2010-09-24T21:22:00.004-05:00

Proof that conditions are dangerously dry were quite apparent Thursday afternoon.
From the Rushville Republican...
A fire raced through north-central Decatur County and the south-central part of Rush County Thursday afternoon. A call to the Rush County Sheriff’s Department dispatch center reported a field fire south of CR 1100S in Decatur County and east of SR 3 shortly before 1 p.m. Fanned by a 25 mph wind the fire quickly engulfed field stubble from a recently harvest bean crop and moved across CR 1100S and into a recently harvested cornfield, causing alarm in the rural community of Williamstown and its 75 residents. Residents of the small village were asked to evacuate their homes as the fire entered the field surrounding a dozen or so homes and gained momentum.

Fall Begins 11:09 PM EDT

2010-09-22T20:32:00.003-05:00

The autumn equinox will occur tonight at 11:09 pm edt. This is when the direct rays of the sun cross the equator as the sun moves south in our skies. At this time of the year...the length of days are close to 12 hours over most of the world.

Even though Thursday will be the first official full day of fall...it will feel more like summer. Record high temperatures in the lower to middle 90s are expected.

Fortunately...the hot weather will be short lived as much cooler weather will be the rule by this weekend with highs in the middle and upper 70s saturday and the lower 70s on sunday.

When are the times and dates of the next equinoxes and solstices?

The chart shown below shows the dates and times for the equinoxes and solstices through 2012. Times listed are in Eastern Time. Subtract one hour for Central Time.

Year	Spring Equinox	Summer Solstice	Fall Equinox	Winter Solstice
2010	Mar 20 -- 1:32 pm	June 21 -- 7:28 am	Sept 22 -- 11:09 pm	Dec 21 -- 7:38 pm
2011	Mar 20 -- 7:21 pm	June 21 -- 1:16 pm	Sept 23 -- 5:04 am	Dec 22 -- 1:30 am
2012	Mar 20 -- 1:14 am	June 20 -- 7:09 pm	Sept 22 -- 10:49 am	Dec 21 -- 7:11 am
2013	Mar 20 -- 6:02am	June 21 -- 1:04am	Sept 22 -- 4:44pm	Dec 21 -- 12:11pm
2014	Mar 20 -- 11:57am	June 21 -- 6:51am	Sept 22 -- 10:29pm	Dec 21 -- 6:03pm
2015	Mar 20 -- 5:45pm	June 21 -- 12:38pm	Sept 23 -- 4:21am	Dec 21 -- 11:48pm
2016	Mar 19 -- 11:30pm	June 20 -- 6:34pm	Sept 22 -- 10:21am	Dec 21 -- 5:44am
2017	Mar 20 -- 5:29am	June 21 -- 12:24am	Sept 22 -- 6:02pm	Dec 21 -- 11:28am
2018	Mar 20 -- 11:15am	June 21 -- 6:07am	Sept 22 -- 9:54pm	Dec 21 -- 5:23pm
2019	Mar 20 -- 4:58pm	June 21 -- 11:54am	Sept 23 -- 3:50am	Dec 21 -- 11:19pm
2020	Mar 19 -- 10:50pm	June 20 -- 5:44pm	Sept 22 -- 9:31am	Dec 21 -- 5:02am

2010-09-22T20:11:00.002-05:00

Rush county is now included in the burn ban. Surely Franklin county will soon be included.
No rain here today, although I saw some rain in the southeast corner of the county today on radar. Looking at radar estimates, it appears that half an inch fell in a line from the Batesville area to Mt. Carmel.

Burn Ban Expands

2010-09-21T21:56:00.003-05:00

Compare this map to the map from a few days ago. The burn bans are expanding as the dry weather conditions continue.

Record Heat

2010-09-21T21:43:00.002-05:00

Record heat today. Indianapolis hit a high of 96F (35C), Louisville hit a high of 98F (37C) and Cincinnati hit a high of 92F (33C). Here at home, I recorded a high of 90F (32C). Too hot for late September.

RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
0731 PM EDT TUE SEP 21 2010

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA...

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 96 DEGREES WAS SET AT INDIANAPOLIS AT
3:29 PM EDT...SEPTEMBER 21ST BREAKING THE PREVIOUS MARK OF 93 DEGREES LAST REACHED ON THIS DATE IN 1955.

THIS IS THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE READING SO LATE IN THE YEAR AT INDIANAPOLIS IN 57 YEARS. ON SEPTEMBER 29 1953 THE TEMPERATURE AT INDIANAPOLIS REACHED 97 DEGREES.

TEMPERATURE RECORDS AT INDIANAPOLIS BEGAN IN 1871.

Drought Continues

2010-09-19T19:36:00.003-05:00

About 25% of the state is now categorized as being in a moderate drought. Locally, only 0.18 inches of rain has fallen since September 1. That's not nearly enough. The trees are severely stressed and are losing their leaves earlier than normal. The grass is completely brown and dormant. It's very unlikely that there will be any significant fall color this year. It doesn't appear that there will be any significant rain anytime in the near future.

Burn bans are now in effect for 27 of the 92 counties in the state. I think more bans would be in effect across the state if county commissioners would report to the state. Conditions here in Franklin county are no better than those in Fayette county next door. The only difference I can see is the number of acres of farmland. Fayette county has much more farmland than Franklin county and they may be trying to protect the crops. One brush fire could wipe out an entire field of corn.

It was no drought buster.

2010-09-12T11:44:00.003-05:00

Saturday, September 11, saw 0.13 inches of rainfall. Not much considering it was the first rainfall since August 21. Yesterday's rain did little more than settle the dust for a day or two. The next few days call for clear skies, low humidity, and temperatures near 80F. Perfect weather to just suck the moisture from Saturday out of the ground and return us to tinderbox conditions.

Our best chance at relief from the dry weather is a tropical system moving up the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. There are currently three systems to watch in the Atlantic. Igor is currently a category 2 storm and forecast to become a category 4 storm. This storm will have little or no effect on us here in Indiana. Tropical depression 12 is just coming off the coast of Africa, but it too will likely move off the coast of the US. I do see some tropical development just to the south of Haiti in the next two days. If this develops, we could see a storm move into the Gulf. These are the storms we need to look for if we want rain in the Midwest.

Tropical Storm Hermine

2010-09-06T21:10:00.004-05:00

Will tropical storm Hermine bring us some relief from the dry weather? The possibility exists, but I think the bulk of the moisture will go to our north. The map at left shows where the center of the storm will be over the next three days. The forecast models aren't bringing a lot of rain into our area once the low pressure center arrives. Time will tell though. A nice all day soaker would be great, but I don't see that happening.

High Fire Danger Today

2010-09-06T21:04:00.003-05:00

It's a little unusual for this part of the country, but a red flag warning was issued for today. High temperatures, low humidity, and dry conditions were the perfect recipe for explosive fire growth today. Humidity levels this afternoon were as low as 17% in Evansville. That is desert dry. Luckily, there weren't any widespread fires reported today.

Morning Low

2010-09-05T16:00:00.002-05:00

The low temperature this morning was 43.3F (6.3C) occurring at 7:13am. That was the coolest morning low since May 10, 118 days ago. The coolest temperature across the state was 41F (5C) at Shelbyville. The coolest in the lower 48 was 30F (-1C) at several locations across Minnesota and at one location in Oregon. To put it all in perspective though, the morning low temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska this morning was 51F (11C)!

Winter Weather Outlook 2010-2011

2010-09-03T22:06:00.005-05:00

What's all this crap I hear about a "kinder and gentler" winter ahead? Kinder and gentler for who? Well, if you like kind and gentle, I don't think you'll like this winter. The Farmer's Almanac has posted their 2010-2011 winter outlook and it's looking good for us.
Here in Indiana I'm hoping for lots of snow and extreme cold this winter. Who knows what will happen though.
Click here for the Farmer's Almanac site.

Devloping Drought?

2010-09-03T22:00:00.003-05:00

September and October are two of the driest months of the year, but its already dry. Are we heading for a drought? I doubt it, although most of Indiana has been placed in the "abnormally dry" category.

In the map at left, the areas shaded in yellow are "abnormally dry" while the tongue of tan working up the Ohio River valley is the moderate drought category. I think by next week we could easily be categorized as being in a moderate drought. Time will tell.

Summer 2010

2010-09-03T20:17:00.007-05:00

Summer is over... meteorologicaly speaking. The seasons are broken into nice three month chunks for statistical purposes. Autumn lasts September 1 through November 30. Before we move on to autumn though, we need to look back at the summer of 2010.

If the month of June were to be any indication of what the summer would be like, I think we'd all be floating down the Mississippi River and out to sea! June saw nearly a foot of rain, 11.53 inches (293mm) to be exact. At least 0.1 inch (2.5mm) of rain fell on twenty days during June. It was definitely a wet month ending 7.19 inches (183mm) above normal. It was a warm month too ending 2.9 degrees F above normal. The warmest temperature occurred on the 20th at 91F (33C). The coolest temperature was 54F (12C) on the 30th.

The month of July was more moderate as far as the temperature goes, but the rain began to shut off. During the month of July, 1.99 inches (50mm) of rain fell. This was 2.38 inches (60mm) below normal. As I said, temperatures were more moderate but still warmer than normal. The month ended 1.5 degrees F above normal. The warmest temperature occurred on the 23rd at 90F (32C). The coolest temperature was 51F (11F) on the 2nd.

August continued the trend of warm and dry. August saw only 1.46 inches (37mm) of rainfall. This was 2.13 inches (54mm) below normal. August was hot ending 2.9 degrees F above normal. The warmest temperature was 94F (34C) on the 4th. This was the warmest temperature seen since August 2007. It's interesting to note also, that the heat index on August 4 was 112F (44C). That's the warmest heat index since August 2005. The coolest temperature was 52F (11C) on the 27th.

The summer of 2010 was hot and has been compared to the summer of 1988. That was hot!

Here's a summary of the summer by the National Weather Service in Indianapolis:

Central Indiana

Summer 2010 Summary

As we begin the month of September, we mark the conclusion of meteorological summer and welcome meteorological autumn as nights become longer and the temperatures begin to cool. The summer of 2010 will go down as one of the warmest in recent memory across central Indiana. After a very wet and stormy June, increasingly drier conditions were experienced through July and August. The following is a summary of weather conditions experienced in Central Indiana during the months of June, July, and August 2010.

At Indianapolis, high minimum temperature records of 78 degrees were tied on July 23 and August 10. The high of 96 degrees on August 15 tied the record for that day. 1.95 inches of rain fell on June 21, setting a new record rainfall for the day.

Temperatures

The summer of 2010 was the 4^th warmest summer ever at Indianapolis and the warmest since the summer of 1934, with an average temperature of 78.1 degrees. The normal summer average temperature is 73.5 degrees, making this summer above normal by 5.5 degrees. This summer was noted for its warm nighttime lows, and the average minimum temperature of 68.6 degrees ended up being the 5^th warmest for a summer season.

June

High temperatures started in the mid and upper 80s right away to begin the month with lows only falling into the mid 60s for most locations. In the wake of a cold frontal passage early on the 6^th, highs fell back into the 70s through the 8^th as a cooler and less humid airmass arrived in central Indiana. As southerly flow reestablished by the 9^th, high temperatures recovered back into the 80s. In fact, high temperatures would not fall back below 80 degrees for most of the region again until the 29^th as a very warm and humid airmass would remain not only across central Indiana, but much of the Midwest for the bulk of the month. The first 90 degree day of the year came for much of the region on the 11^th, with several to follow as the month progressed. Indianapolis made it to 90 degrees officially five times during the month. The high exceeded 80 degrees on 25 of the 30 days at Indianapolis, and was at or above 85 degrees on 15 of the 30 days during June.

After the 10^th, low temperatures largely remained at or above 65 degrees for most of the rest of the month as the humid airmass and plenty of moisture from rainfall through the month kept temperatures higher at night. The low remained at or above 70 degrees at Indianapolis eight times during the month, and at or above 65 degrees 25 of the 30 mornings.

This was the seventh warmest June on record in terms of average temperatures at Indianapolis, and the warmest on record since June 1952 when the average temperature topped out at 76.5 degrees.

July

The month started off on a cooler note, with below average temperatures experienced at most locations on the first few days of the month. Those dates saw low temperatures in the 50s, something that would not be seen again at most areas for the remainder of the month. Just a few days later, hot and humid conditions moved into Central Indiana and these conditions would prevail for most of the rest of the month. Even on days with scattered showers and thunderstorms, temperatures had time to reach above average.

Most areas saw temperatures at or above 90 degrees on about a third of the days during the month. At Indianapolis, 11 days of 90 or above were recorded. A typical July in Indianapolis has 7 days of 90 degrees or higher. For June and July, Indianapolis has had 16 days of 90 or higher, compared to an average of 11 days in a typical year. The highest temperature recorded during the month at many locations was around 93 degrees. At Indianapolis, the high temperature for the month of 93 degrees was the warmest temperature seen in a July since 2006.

The hot and humid airmass kept temperatures well above average during the night. Across much of Central Indiana, over a third of the month had low temperatures at or above 70 degrees. At Indianapolis, the average low temperature during July 2010 ranked the 11th warmest. Indianapolis tied the record of 78 degrees for the warmest minimum temperature on July 23. The original record for the date was set in 1933.

This was the 15th warmest July on record in terms of average temperatures at Indianapolis, and the warmest July on record since July 1999 when the average temperature topped out at 79.2 degrees.

August

The month was dominated by a persistent high pressure ridge both at the surface and aloft. This resulted in many days with abundant sunshine and hot temperatures. High temperatures at Indianapolis exceeded 90 degrees on 16 days and exceeded 95 degrees on 7 days during August. For August, the number of days above 95 degrees was the second only to 1936 when 11 occurred. July 1988 was the last time Indianapolis experienced more days above 95 degrees when 10 occurred. Highs were at or above 80 degrees at Indianapolis every day of the month, the first time that has happened since August 2002. This was the 5^th warmest August on record at Indianapolis, with an average temperature of 79.5 degrees.

Highs across central Indiana warmed into the mid and upper 90s on the 4^th before a cold front brought temperatures back into the 80s through the 8^th. The return of the upper ridge of high pressure then signaled the hottest stretch of the entire month, as many locations across central Indiana saw temperatures rise to 95 degrees or warmer for five consecutive days from the 9^th through the 13^th. For the Indianapolis area, this was only the 17^th such occurrence since weather records began in 1871. Such warm temperatures combined with high humidity levels produced heat indices of 100-110 degrees. The passage of another cold front early on the 15^th provided a brief respite from the hot temperatures. However, slightly hotter weather returned once again on the 19^th and 20^th. A more significant cold front moved across central Indiana on the 21^st, ushering in cooler and less humid conditions through the 27^th. Temperatures in rural areas of Indiana dropped into the middle to upper 40s and in urban areas into the 50s. For the urban areas, this was the coolest air in 8 weeks and since May some rural areas. The upper ridge returned for the last four days of the month and with much of central Indiana dry from very little rain since late July, high temperatures warmed quickly back into the lower and mid 90s. Lafayette recorded its warmest temperature of the summer at 95 degrees on the 29^th.

The presence of higher humidity values helped keep overnight lows well above average for much of the month, especially at Indianapolis and at Eagle Creek Airpark. Low temperatures remained above 70 degrees at Indianapolis seventeen days out of the month.

Rainfall

Overall this was the 45^th wettest summer on record. The total rainfall for Indianapolis this summer was 12.97 inches. The normal rainfall total for summer is 12.37 inches, which made this fall above normal by 0.60 inches. Much of the rainfall received during the summer season fell during the month of June, when many locations were three to six inches above normal. Indianapolis experienced the third wettest June in recorded history, as 9.73 inches of precipitation fell. July and August were progressively drier, with many locations in central Indiana receiving less than three inches of rainfall during the month of August. Indianapolis experienced the driest August on record with just 0.37 inches of rainfall. Due to the excessive rainfall during June across much of central Indiana, many locations still finished the summer three to five inches above normal.

June

Monthly rainfall during June in central and southern Indiana varied from 4 inches to over 15 inches. Nearly 90% of the area received 6 to more than 15 inches...with one-third of the area receiving more than 10 inches. This was 150% to more than 600% of normal. Typically central Indiana receives around 11 inches of rain during the summer. This June one-third of central Indiana received a summer’s worth of rain in less than four weeks. At Indianapolis, 9.73 inches fell making it the third wettest June on record.

A seemingly endless parade of storms continually dumped rain, sometimes heavy, on central Indiana. The longest “dry spell” between storms was less than 3 days. Because May was on the wet side, the widespread nature of this rainfall had almost an immediate impact on area rivers. Most rivers reached bankfull levels early in June and continually rose higher after each rain. Because the rainfall was distributed over a four week period, historic river flooding as experienced in June 2008 did not occur. Flooding occurred along almost every river in central Indiana. River flood levels were the highest since late May 2009. Flooding along the White and Wabash Rivers in southwest Indiana and southeast Illinois continued into July.

The worst flooding during the month occurred on the 22^nd. Portions of central Indiana received up to 4 inches of rain during the night of the 21^st. Because this area had already received nearly 2 inches of rain in the previous 72 hours, serious flash flooding occurred in portions of Clinton and Hendricks Counties. Nearly the entire town of Edna Mills in northeast Clinton County was flooded including State Road 26. In Hendricks County, two small dams located in the White Lick Creek drainage area were compromised. This caused the evacuation of a nearby mobile home park located along White Lick Creek just downstream of the dams. County and state roads near the creek were flooded in the Avon, Plainfield and Mooresville areas. High water affected the Crystal Bay area near Hummel Park in Plainfield.

The abundant and prolonged rainfall impacted the agricultural community. Fields that did not drain properly had uneven growth patterns. The nearly constant high humidity levels delayed wheat harvest and hay cutting. Some agricultural lands will remain fallow this season because they will not dry out in time to plant a crop.

July

Monthly rainfall during July in central and southern Indiana varied from slightly over 1 inch to more than 10 inches. This was 25% to more than 200% of normal. The wet pattern of June continued in July for much of the western portion of Indiana. This was not true for portions of eastern Indiana. After receiving nearly 14 inches of rain during June, one location in Rush County measured only 1.50 inches during July.

The dry period at the end of June continued through the morning of the 8th. Once again, a prolonged unsettled weather pattern returned to central Indiana and continued through the end of July. The longest dry spell across the entire central and southern Indiana area was less than 3 days. Nearly daily afternoon and evening thunderstorms occurred. As is typical of convective rainfall, amounts varied greatly over short distances and coverage was not often widespread. Rainfall from these storms was quite intense at times. Several locations received 2 to more than 4 inches in a 3 to 6 hour period.

Localized flooding did occur during July in several areas of Indiana. The coverage and duration of the heavy rain was much less than in June. As a result, localized flooding lasted less than 12 to 24 hours. The heaviest rain in central and southern Indiana occurred during the evening of 17th when 3 to nearly 6 inches fell in portions of Owen and Greene Counties. The White River in Greene, Knox and Daviess Counties reached bankfull levels as a result.

The tropical conditions of July provided Indiana field crops excellent growing conditions. The frequent and at times abundant rainfall aided crop growth especially in much of western Indiana. Crops in dry areas like portions of Rush County suffered during the afternoon sun. The dry spell in early July allowed farmers to replant many areas flooded during June.

August

August 2010 was reminiscent of the Great Indiana Drought of 1988 for central and southern Indiana. August 2010 was one of the driest months on record for portions of central Indiana. Monthly totals ranged from 0.25 inches to nearly 6 inches. This was less than 10% to nearly 200% of normal. Most areas received 0.50 to 3.50 inches for the month. As is typical of convective rainfall, amounts varied greatly over short distances.

Near record dry conditions occurred in an area of central and western Indiana south of I-74, west of I-65 and north of US highway 50. This dry area extended westward into Illinois. Most of this area received less than an inch of rain during August. The Indianapolis airport measured 0.37 inches of precipitation for the month, making it the driest August on record.

Most of the rainfall during August occurred from the 3^rd through the 15^th. The most significant rain of the month occurred during the evening of the 13^th. In a 2 hour period, 3 inches of rain fell in the Lawrence area of northeast Marion County. Unusual local flooding was noted.

During the second half of August, rainfall of 0.25 to 1.50 inches occurred from late on the 20^th through the 21^st. Southwest and south central Indiana received the most rain during this period. After the 21^st, nearly the entire state remained dry for the rest of the month.

The tropical conditions of July were replaced with desert like conditions in August for many areas of central and southern Indiana. The afternoon heat caused crop stress and the lack of rain caused early maturity of many crop fields. Those areas north of Interstate 74 which received significant rain during August prospered.

The US Drought monitor of August 24 indicated abnormally dry conditions along and south of Interstate 70 in nearly all of Indiana. The Indiana Weekly Crop Progress and Condition Report released on August 30, 2010 indicated that nearly three-fourths of the state’s top soil and nearly two-thirds of the state’s subsoil was rated dry to abnormally dry.

Major Weather Events

The first significant bout of severe weather during the summer season occurred during the early morning of June 6 as an unusually strong low pressure system moved across the lower Great Lakes. Numerous supercell thunderstorms producing damaging winds and tornadoes developed over northern Illinois during the evening of June 5 before migrating into north central Indiana after midnight. One of the supercells produced two EF0 tornadoes over Carroll County, causing some structural damage in Yeoman.

The majority of the severe weather during June across central Indiana took place between June 12 and 22 as a frontal boundary remained in the vicinity of the region. This included severe storms producing an EF0 tornado in Paragon in Morgan County on the evening of the 12^th, two intense bow echo lines of thunderstorms moving across the region and producing widespread wind damage on the 14^th and again on the 15^th, and additional severe thunderstorms producing flooding during the evening of the 18^th and the early morning of the 19^th. The culmination of this very busy stretch with waves of thunderstorms producing severe weather and flooding came on the evening of the 21^st and early morning of the 22^nd as central Indiana was affected by three significant thunderstorm clusters over about a 12 hour period. Initially, these storms produced damaging winds and constant cloud-to-ground lightning but as heavy rain continued to fall, the focus during the early morning of the 22^nd shifted to flash flooding across much of the region. Much of central Indiana received 3 to 4 inches of rain from sunset on the 21^st through daybreak on the 22^nd, and this led to several instances of flash flooding across the region.

Thunderstorms produced scattered wind damage on July 16, with trees knocked down the most common report. On July 17, severe storms produced 70 mph winds in the Lafayette area, downing numerous trees and causing damage to some homes. Heavy rain also fell that day, with over 6 inches of rain reported at Shakamak State Park.

A tornado touched down near Trafalgar in Johnson County on July 20. The tornado was rated EF0, and it produced damage including several trees snapped in half or uprooted, damage to a shed where the tin roof was littered into an open field, and tin siding embedded into the ground. Just a couple of days later, on July 22nd, another EF0 tornado touched down in Johnson County, this time near Greenwood. This tornado downed tree limbs, damaged roofing of some sheds, and flattened small areas of crops.

Data prepared by the NWS Indianapolis Climate Team

Questions should be referred to w-ind.webmaster@noaa.gov

Hurricane Andrew Anniversary

2010-08-24T20:51:00.004-05:00

Eighteen years ago today on August 24, 1992, hurricane Andrew hit South Florida. This was the third strongest Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States. I remember seeing the damage on TV. A reporter from Indiana compared the damage to that from a tornado. The exception being that damage from a tornado followed a path and the hurricane damage was everywhere. The video below is from a Miami TV station broadcasting during the storm. At the beginning of the video, they reporters are moving to a bunker inside the studio for protection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Andrew

Heat

2010-07-23T14:21:00.005-05:00

Nearly the entire eastern half of the country is under some sort of heat advisory or excessive heat warning. I don't think I've seen this in a while. Heat index values from Kansas City to DC will be in the 105-110F (40-43C) range. According to the NWS in Indianapolis, this is the warmest Indianapolis has been since September 2007.

Hottest Temperatures in nearly 3 years at Indianapolis

The high temperature at Indianapolis will reach the middle 90s today. This will be the hottest temperature for the Indianapolis area since September 5, 2007 when the temperature reached 96 degrees. Other high temperature milestones for the Indianapolis area:

99 degrees last occurred on July 30, 1999

102 degrees last occurred on August 16, 1988

103 degrees last occurred on July 15, 1988

104 degrees last occurred on July 14, 1954

106 degrees last occurred on July 14, 1936

The highest temperature recorded at the Indianapolis airport is 107 degrees on July 25, 1934. At this time the official weather station was located in downtown Indianapolis, where the temperature reached 105 degrees.

Wouldn't you hate to have to work outside in this heat. Especially a job like road paving. Couldn't do it.

Heat Advisory Issued

2010-07-23T00:36:00.002-05:00

It's hot and only getting hotter. A heat advisory has been issued for Friday and encompassing the entire state. Temperatures should reach 95F (35C) with heat index values reaching 105F (41C).

In addition to the heat, two small tornadoes touched down in Johnson county in the past two days. Both tornadoes were rated at EF0 which is the weakest type, but still some slight damage occurred.

Early Dog Days of Summer

2010-06-26T20:27:00.003-05:00

Although the "Dog Days of Summer" aren't until August, I think they've come a bit early. The heat and humidity, along with what seems like endless daylight (I hate daylight saving time) has led to some very warm daytime temperatures. Today's high reached 89F (32C), but with dew points in the mid 70's the heat index today reached 102F (39C). Had we not had nearly 11 inches of rain (280mm) this month, the actual air temperature would be much higher. Drier air can heat much faster than moist air, so as long as the grass is green daytime temperatures will not get much higher than 90F or so.

I Hear Katydids

2010-06-24T15:17:00.003-05:00

I heard the katydids last night. According to the weather folklore I discovered, the first frost of the upcoming fall season will occur 90 days after the first katydids are heard. So, that means our first frost will be September 23! Click here if you aren't sure what a katydid sounds like.

God Destroys King of Kings Statue

2010-06-15T15:22:00.006-05:00

On I-75 north of Cincinnati, there was a 65 foot tall (20 meters) statue of Jesus reaching towards the sky. I say "was" because last night, God decided to shoot a bolt of lightning at the statue causing it to burst into flames. The statue was built in 2004 and was made of Styrofoam and fiberglass. You can see that all that is left is the metal frame. They say the estimated damage (based on construction costs) is $700,000! Why would a church spend so much money on such an extravagant decoration? That money could have gone towards building homes for low income families or even restocking food pantries. The world needs to feed all of it's children before we build stupid statues. Okay, I'm stepping of the soap box now.

You can watch a news clip of the story here: http://www.wlwt.com/video/23905638/
You can watch the actual fire as it happened here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGTBFPte-MY

Moderate Risk of Severe Weather

2010-06-15T15:01:00.002-05:00

There's a moderate risk of severe weather this afternoon across central and southern Indiana. Already, a severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for the state. The map at left shows the risk for winds in excess of 65mph.

Flooding Rains

2010-06-13T20:18:00.002-05:00

A lot of rain has fallen in the last 36 hours. Nearly 4.25" (108mm) of rain has fallen since early Saturday morning. Several roads in the area were closed for a short time due to the high water and some were even washed away. I'll try and get a picture tomorrow of one of the roads nearby that was washed away.
After the rain Saturday morning, the heat arrived with it's stifling humidity. The dew point reached 80F (27C) yesterday with an air temperature of 86F (30C). That turns into a head index of 99F (37C). Although this was not the hottest day of this summer season, it was highest heat index of the season so far.

2 Tornaodes Strike Northern Indiana.

2010-06-06T13:37:00.002-05:00

Carroll and Miami counties in northern Indiana saw severe weather overnight. Around 1am a severe storm produced a tornado in Carroll county destroying several barns and at least one home. A second tornado ripped through parts of Miami county near the same time. No reports of injuries have been made.

Locally, there was no severe weather but a Tornado watch was issued for Rush, Fayette, and Union counties to our north until 5am Sunday. The watch was discontinued early though because the storms had weakened significantly. Around 6:30 am Sunday, a line of storms moved through the area, but only heavy rain and some brief gusts of wind were encountered. Rainfall totals from this morning's storm was 0.42". The frontal passage which brought the storms has certainly brought in a very pleasant air mass. At 3pm, the temperature out is just 72F (22C) with very low humidity and a northwesterly breeze of 10-20mph. I wish the entire summer were like today, but that's wishful thinking.

Heavy Rain and Amazing Sinkhole

2010-06-02T21:19:00.003-05:00

Some very heavy rain fell this afternoon in a very short period of time. Beginning at 5:30pm rain began to fall and within 20 minutes, 0.81 inches (21mm) had fallen.

This sinkhole in Guatemala is amazing. I read today that it is 30 stories deep! It looks like something from a movie. It is so perfectly round with smooth edges.

Busy Hurricane Season Possible

2010-05-31T20:42:00.002-05:00

The National Hurricane Center has come out with their annual hurricane season forecast. This year, they are predicting that there will be a 70% probability of the following...
*14-23 Named Storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher)
*8-14 Hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher)
*3-7 Major Hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph)

On average, there are 11 named storms (tropical storms and hurricanes) in the Atlantic basin.

Hail Storm

2010-05-30T13:47:00.003-05:00

A major hailstorm occurred on Wednesday, May 26 in the Denver, Colorado area. Hail up to baseball size accumulated up to 12 inches deep in some areas. A lot of cars and homes were damaged. Some livestock was injured by the hail. Northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming is the hail capital of the U.S.

No New Record High

2010-05-30T13:39:00.003-05:00

The potential for a new record high temperature on Earth didn't happen. The high in Jacobabad, Pakistan on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 was only 126F (52C). The high of 136F (58C) in Al 'Aziziyah, Libya stands.

94th Running of Indy 500

2010-05-30T12:37:00.002-05:00

It's a hot and humid day at the Indianapolis Motor Speeedway for the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500. The current temperature at the track is 91F (33C). I imagine it will get a few degrees warmer before the end of the race. There is a slight chance for a thundershower this afternoon, but I think the race will get finished before any showers appear. Unlike F1 cars, Indy cars can't run when the track is wet because Indy car tires have no tread. Although this picture isn't of today's race you can see that there are a lot of people there. Estimates put the crowd at around 400,000.

World Record High?

2010-05-25T21:03:00.003-05:00

The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 136F (57.7C) in Libya, the year was 1922. Tomorrow may see a new world record high temperature. The forecast high for Jacobabad, Pakistan is 135F (57C) on Wednesday! I can't even begin to imagine what that must feel like, but I'd love to experience it one day. I just checked the current conditions in Jacobabad and at 7:14am the temperature is already 94F (34C). Amazing stuff.

30th Anniversary of Mount St. Helens Eruption

2010-05-18T17:38:00.003-05:00

It was 30 years ago today that Mount St. Helens erupted. Located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest just 50 miles north of Portland, Oregon, the volcano stands at a hefty 8,365 feet (2,550 meters) above sea level. However, before the eruption on May 18, 1980 the volcano stood at 9,677 feet (2,950 meters) above sea level! The deadliest and most destructive volcanic event in US history, fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed.
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_St._Helens

Severe Potential This Evening

2010-05-13T12:13:00.003-05:00

The potential for severe weather this evening. This map shows an area where the SPC (Storm Prediction Center) is considering issuing a watch area.
Currently, the atmosphere seems juicy enough for strong storms and heavy rain. The temperature is 78F with a dew point of 70F! That's a very humid air mass. All we need now is the trigger to ignite some excitement tonight.

Oklahoma Tornados and Hail

2010-05-10T22:03:00.003-05:00

If tornadoes weren't enough, residents near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma are dealing with massive hailstones. I can't imagine a hailstone the size of a grapefruit falling from the sky. Amazing! Earlier in the week, it looked like we might have severe weather here on Tuesday, but now it just looks like we'll have some general showers and thunderstorms. Although we are in the 15% risk are for severe weather.

Tennessee Flooding

2010-05-09T20:16:00.006-05:00

Last weekend, nearly 24 inches of rain fell over western Tennessee forcing the Cumberland river out of it's banks. The result was major flooding. It seems most of the attention has been on Nashville, but I'm sure there were a lot of areas affected along the river too. Here are a few pictures of the event. Click on any picture for a full size view. In the first two pictures, trucks are trying to cross an overpass on Interstate 24. I guess these truckers have never heard the saying, "Turn Around. don't Drown."

Arkansas Tornadoes Turn Deadly

2010-05-02T07:13:00.004-05:00

Tornadoes moved across Arkansas on Saturday killing one woman and injuring several others. The town of Scotland, Arkansas was particularly hard hit.

Locally, no severe weather has occurred from this storm. We didn't even see the heavy rain that was predicted. Our rainfall total for the storm is just over 1.1 inches. Western Tennessee and Kentucky though saw the heaviest amounts of rain. Radar estimates for some towns northeast of Memphis, Tennessee are suggesting that up to 15 inches of rain has fallen since Friday.

Tornado Watch

2010-05-01T22:16:00.002-05:00

A tornado watch (yellow shaded area) has just been issued for a large portion of Indiana . Strong to severe storms will likely move across the area overnight. Some of these storms could produce tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds. At this time, eastern counties are not included in the watch. I'm not sure that the watch will be extended any further to the east though. After this morning's storms, skies did not clear and there was little to no sunshine during the day. Temperatures remained in the mid to upper 60's all afternoon. However, further west, the sun did break through the clouds adding some energy to the atmosphere.

Severe Flooding in Western Tennessee

2010-05-01T21:51:00.003-05:00

Northwest of Memphis, Tennessee up to 12 inches (30cm) of rain has fallen today! As a result, severe flooding is occurring across the area. There have been 5 deaths reported today due to the storm and more are likely. You can click on the radar rain estimate to the left to see a larger image.
Next, watch this amazing video below of a building floating along on the water. It appears this video is from a traffic camera. The cars and semis appear to be on a bridge that goes over a river or stream. Notice how in the foreground, you can see where the water has filled the bridge deck and the water is pouring over the concrete barrier sides. Finally, the building gets sucked under the bridge, disintegrating in the process.
If the flooding wasn't enough, tornadic thunderstorms are heading across the same areas affected by the flooding. Right now, five active tornado warnings across Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. No reports of damage, but I'm sure by morning more information will get out of the area.

Gulf Oil Slick Worsens

2010-04-30T21:48:00.003-05:00

It has been estimated that up to 5,000 barrels of oil (210,000 gallons) are pouring into the Gulf of Mexico every day from an offshore drilling rig. An explosion on April 20, 2010 caused the rig to eventually capsize and sink.

The oil slick is moving towards the Louisiana coastline and the Mississippi River delta. This coastline is very different from a normal coastline. There are no sandy beaches. Instead, the coastline is made up of swampy marshes. If the oil makes it into these areas, it will be nearly impossible to clean.

These images of the affected area were captured on April 25 by the MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite. The Mississippi Delta is at image center, and the oil slick is a silvery swirl to the right. The oil slick may be particularly obvious because it is occurring in the sunglint area, where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water gives the Gulf of Mexico a washed-out look.

The initial explosion killed eleven people and injured several others, and a fire burned at the location for more than a day until the damaged oil rig sank. An emergency response effort is underway to stop the flow of oil and contain the existing slick before it reaches wildlife refuges and beaches in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The slick may contain dispersant or other chemicals that emergency responders are using to control the spread of the oil, and it is unknown how much of the 700,000 gallons of fuel that were on the oil rig burned in the fire and how much may have spilled into the water when the platform sank.

On April 25, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Emergency Response Division issued the following update on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident in the Gulf of Mexico: “An attempt to control the leaking well using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was not successful, and the well continues to leak.”

Heavy Rain Likely

2010-04-30T21:06:00.003-05:00

This is the predicted rainfall totals from May 1 through May 5. It appears that areas of western Tennessee will see up to 7 inches (18cm). Southern Indiana will see up to 6 inches (15cm). A flash flood watch has been issued for areas south of Interstate 70. Rainfall rates of up to 1.25 inches per hour are possible at the height of the storm.

This afternoon, severe weather has been affecting the Mississippi river valley from Minnesota all the way down to Louisiana. At the moment (10:20pm) there are ten tornado warnings in effect across Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. Earlier in the evening, there were a dozen simultaneous active warnings. No reports of damage yet though.

Strong Storms Strike the Deep South

2010-04-24T21:35:00.002-05:00

Although I hate to say it, but I was right about the death and destruction across the south this afternoon. Some very long track tornadoes traveled across the deep south this afternoon with the worst in Yazoo county Mississippi. Reports are indicating that the tornado that struck this area was nearly 1 mile wide. Up to ten people were killed, three of which were children, while dozens of others were injured from the storm. I'm sure the NWS in Jackson, MS will be sending folks out to examine the damage on Sunday if they haven't already.
So far, there have been no storms across southeastern Indiana. A tornado watch has been issued for parts of western Indiana, but looking at radar there's nothing happening at this time. A watch only indicates though that conditions are favorable for storm development. Total rainfall for the day has only been 0.39". A far cry from the 1-2 inches forecast.

Severe Weather Potential South

2010-04-23T20:01:00.003-05:00

Look for big tornadoes with a lot of damage and even some deaths on the late news Saturday. A strong area of low pressure will be moving across the lower Ohio Valley beginning tomorrow. Severe weather will move ahead of the front. Here in southeast Indiana, I don't anticipate any severe weather, but there may be some gusty winds and brief heavy downpours. Earlier in the week, up to two inches of rain was forecast for the weekend, but I just don't see that happening. Once this storm moves out of the area by Tuesday, much cooler air will filter in behind and highs will likely be back into the low 50's (11C). This will only last for a day though and by the weekend of May 1, temperatures may be close to 80F (27C) As always though, time will tell.

April: Warm and Dry

2010-04-20T19:43:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since my last post. It seems this time of year I tend to post less since the weather is much less interesting. Instead of big extremes from week to week, the weather this time of year seems to settle into long boring patterns with little change. A perfect example has been the warm and dry weather over the last few weeks. So far this month, the temperature has been running about 13 degrees above normal and precipitation has only been 1.64".

Severe Weather Rumbles Through Area

2010-04-05T21:09:00.003-05:00

It turned out to be an interesting afternoon and early evening. The first severe weather threat impacted the area late this afternoon and evening. As a warm front moved north across the state, severe weather developed prompting the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma to issue a Tornado Watch. Temperatures reached 79F (26C) this afternoon with dew points near 64F (18C). The air was thick with moisture which lead to the severe weather. Here's a bit about the storms from a news report I found online...

Storms fired up before 6 p.m. south and west of Indianapolis. The storms grew in size and intensity, prompting numerous severe thunderstorm warnings and a couple of tornado warnings.Hail up to 3 inches in diameter fell near Gosport. Nearby, storm spotters reported seeing a funnel cloud about three miles north of Spencer at about 6:40 p.m.A National Weather Service automated weather station recorded a 68 mph wind gust in Seymour just before 6 p.m.There were numerous additional reports of large hail, primarily south and west of Indianapolis.Golf-ball sized hail was reported by police in Owen County. There were other reports of large hail in Marion, Johnson, Brown, Monroe, Jackson, Hendricks, Bartholomew and Vigo counties.Sirens were sounded a couple of times in Indianapolis when severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in the county, as is standard when a warning coincides with a tornado watch.Storms generally moved from southwest to northeast across the area and began to wane as the evening wore on.

More Rain

2010-03-27T17:57:00.002-05:00

Looks like we could see another 3/4 to an inch of rain over the next 24 hours. The HPC has the entire state, nearly, in bulls eye for another soaking rain. This time though, it won't be ending with any snow.

Thursday night was quite interesting as the heavy rain pushed across the area, the cold air was able to catch up and change the rain to sleet and snow. It was quite heavy too. Snow accumulated to about 1.5 inches on most surfaces. The snow was wet too. Although it had been 60F at 3:30pm Thursday afternoon, the snow was still heavy enough and the temperature low enough to cause some slippery roads. School was delayed 2 hours on Friday morning due to the icy roads.

Earth Hour?

2010-03-27T17:39:00.002-05:00

Tonight at 8:30, everyone is supposed to turn off their lights for one hour. According to this Associated Press article, the idea is to "... put pressure on global lawmakers to push for clear progress on agreeing a binding international pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." How the heck is that supposed to persuade politicians to agree? Sixty minutes is the blink of an eye. Who's going to remember the lights were turned off once they are turned back on? Personally, I think the whole idea is silly. If you want to conserve energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions, then turn the lights off for good. Why do bridges and office building exteriors need to be lit like Christmas trees? I won't be turning off any lights tonight. I never have more than I need on anyway.

Springing Forward

2010-03-13T15:35:00.006-05:00

This article came from Yahoo and can be found here in it's entirety.

This Sunday most U.S. residents will gain an hour of daylight as it's time to spring forward.

Few people will likely wake up exactly at 2:00 a.m. local time to move the clock hand, or dial, forward an hour. But that's when daylight saving time officially begins on the second Sunday in March. It ends on the first Sunday in November, when clocks are turned back at 2:00 a.m. local time to read 1:00 a.m. That is, for everyone except those who live in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and by most of Arizona, with the exception of the Navajo Nation.

Why two o'clock? The thinking goes it's late enough that most people would be at home, with few bars and restaurants being affected. In addition, it prevented the date from switching to yesterday; it would be confusing if, say, we changed the clocks at midnight back to 11 p.m. The time is also early enough that the clock-hand change occurs before early shift workers and early churchgoers might be impacted, according to the WebExhibits, an online museum.

Turning clocks back in the fall could mean an extra hour at bars, which tend to close at 2 a.m., right? Not so, according to the California Energy Commission. Bars actually close at 1:59 a.m., so they are already closed when daylight saving time begins.

When it began

Daylight saving time has a rocky past. Established in the United States in 1918, daylight saving time was a contentious matter and was repealed in 1919. The standardized clock changes, however, were re-established nationally early in World War II and observed from Feb. 9, 1942 through Sept. 30, 1945.

After the war, U.S. states were free to choose whether to observe daylight saving time, and if they did, the calendar start dates of the time change. The result was time confusion for travelers and newscasters. In 1966, Congress enacted the Uniform Time Act, which stated that if any state observed daylight saving time, it had to follow a uniform protocol, beginning and ending on the same dates throughout the country.

The start and end dates have changed over the years, with the most recent change in 2007 setting the start date on the second Sunday in March and end date on the first Sunday in November - adding four weeks to the total stint compared with years prior.