Abundant rainfall has eliminated any drought across the Hoosier State, and we have April showers to thank for that. Fort Wayne had its wettest April on record with a whopping 7.39 inches of precipitation, over 3 inches above the normal 3.74 inches for April. In Indianapolis, it was the 8th wettest April on record with…Read more about Indiana is Drought Free, but Long-Term Precipitation Deficits Remain[Read More]
Climate and Weather
There is some very exciting news this week for Indiana with respect to the U.S. Drought Monitor. For the first time since April 25, 2023, the entire state is void of any Abnormally Dry (D0) or Drought (D1-D4) conditions. I would include the map but … drumroll, please … there’s nothing to show! This is…Read more about Indiana is entirely free of drought (Climate & Weather)[Read More]
Something exciting happened this past Monday that many of you might be glad is over and no longer filling your news feed – the total solar eclipse. The Indiana State Climate Office, however, is now getting a chance to dig into the data collected from the Purdue Mesonet – a collection of 14 weather stations…Read more about Weather impacts from eclipse[Read More]
The 2023-2024 meteorological winter (December, January, and February) has concluded, but it seems as if we only experienced a couple weeks of winter-like weather this season. Indiana’s average temperature was 35.8°F, which was 5.3°F above normal. This was good for Indiana’s second warmest winter since records began in 1895. The warmest winter on record was…Read more about Climate & Weather[Read More]
The fall crisp was in the air this morning (9/13), so cool that I had to grab that sweatshirt I bought in mid-August while getting my kiddo on the bus. It was actually refreshing, in a sense. Minimum temperatures in Crawfordsville (Montgomery County) and Rensselaer (Jasper County) dropped to 44F this morning, which were the…Read more about Cool weather has arrived, but will it last?[Read More]
Over the last 30 days (July 18-August 15), the state average temperature was 73.5◦F, which was essentially normal. Average temperatures ranged from 0.9◦F below normal in northwestern Indiana to 0.5◦F above normal in southern Indiana (Figure 1). The heat was not missing, though, as July 26 through 28 was rather warm across the Midwest. Minimum…Read more about Short-term Drought Relief, Forecast Turning Hot, Dry Again[Read More]
Recent precipitation events have allowed periodic rainfall to hit most places across Indiana. Over the last few weeks, at least half an inch of rain has fallen with some areas in central and northern Indiana receiving two to four inches! This has meant that Abnormally Dry (D0) and Moderate Drought (D1) conditions have not be…Read more about Drought continues gradual improvement with no hazards of concern in near future[Read More]
For the past seven weeks, abnormally dry conditions gradually spread and intensified across Indiana to eventually cover over 98% of the state. Conditions were looking dire, those with late-planted crops may have started getting worried, and water supply managers may have started expressing quiet concerns for those reliant upon groundwater. Then the rain came. Over…Read more about Lots of rain. Is the drought over?[Read More]
Below-normal temperatures continued through the first 21 days of June as the state average temperature was 68.3°F, which was 1.8°F below the 1991-2020 climatological normal. Temperature departures were 1-5°F below normal across the state, with larger departures in eastern and southern Indiana (Figure 1, Left). Maximum temperatures were near normal for the entire state, and…Read more about Drought Expands and Expected to Continue[Read More]
The last several weeks have seen very little precipitation across Indiana. Figure 1 illustrates how much was received compared to the climatological normal amount from May 9 through June 7. The entire state received amounts less than normal (where normal would be 100 percent on the map) with central and northeastern Indiana having received less…Read more about How serious is this drought and will it continue?[Read More]