It is amazing to think that some part of Indiana has been in at least the Abnormally Dry category of drought on the US Drought Monitor for over a year. While it has not always been the same parts of the state, certainly northern Indiana has been the most consistently dry. Recently, however, the state[Read More…]
Climate and Weather
As we welcome July, Indiana seems to be in a very wet phase. Or, at least part of the state has been. The jet stream – a narrow band of fast-flowing air near the altitudes where commercial jets fly – naturally meanders in a north-south-north ribbon around the hemispheres. Typically, these “ribbons” also shift eastward[Read More…]
The news of the disastrous drought and extreme heat in the western United States (US) have local folks wondering if Indiana might be next. The latest release of the US Drought Monitor map (Figure 1) shows the exceptional drought in the western states as well as the expansion of extreme and exceptional drought in the[Read More…]
The month of May in Indiana was 2°F-4°F below normal across the state, based upon the new 1991-2020 climatological normals that were released last month. Climatological normals are roughly the 30-year average of weather variables and are updated every 10 years. Prior to the new normals being released, climatologists were using the 1981-2010 period for[Read More…]
Growing degree-day accumulations still lag while dry conditions linger Beth Hall Indiana State Climate Office Abnormally dry conditions are still lingering in parts of Indiana (Figure 1) with interest growing on how much the warmer weather might exacerbate the situation. Fortunately, the climate outlooks for the next several weeks and through June are favoring above-normal[Read More…]
Does snow in April mean global warming is not happening? This week, much of Indiana got to see some snow falling as we were hoping that winter weather was behind us. It is not unusual for some to ask when this sort of event happens how “global warming” could be real when things are feeling[Read More…]
April Showers or Lingering Drought? Beth Hall, Indiana State Climatologist March wrapped up as one of Indiana’s wettest (44th wettest out of 126 years) and warmest (16th warmest). It was marked by unusually warm days and then cool days. Was it ever just average? Certainly, most days fell within the climatological range of temperatures. Precipitation[Read More…]
The old adage says that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. The first few days of March started off quite normal and then quickly transitioned to lamb-like (not an official meteorological term) conditions. Then the roller coaster ride began with above-normal temperatures, followed by cooler, stormier conditions, followed by milder[Read More…]
For those keeping track of my articles over the last few weeks, the outlooks of wetter and cooler than normal conditions have been the theme. The cooler temperatures never really came to fruition. In fact, most of Indiana was 1°F to 3°F above normal over the past two weeks (Figure 1)! Regarding the wetter-than-normal precipitation[Read More…]
After the last several weeks of predominantly dry conditions, the national climate outlooks are finally showing confidence that temperatures should start shifting to cooler than normal and precipitation will be wetter than normal (see figure). Hurricane Laura will definitely help the precipitation side of that prediction with current tracks having the strongest rainfall amounts in[Read More…]