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 about First Time Indiana is Drought Free Since Early June 2020[Read More]
Beth Hall
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 about Storm Tracks Favor Some Parts of Indiana Skipping Others[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 about How Likely will Drought Develop or Worsen in Indiana?[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 about Updated Climate Normals Led to a Cooler May[Read More]
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 precipitation (in addition to above-normal temperatures), so hopefully any dry periods will be short lived….Read more about Growing Degree-day Accumulations Still Lag While Dry Conditions Linger[Read More]
It seems the weather pattern may have shifted toward wetter conditions. Over the past week, Indiana has received over an inch of rain and the 7-day forecast is predicting at least another inch (Figure 1) in the central and southern parts of the state. The northern counties of Indiana, that have been in the Abnormally…Read more about More Observers Needed to Monitor Precipitation Across Indiana[Read More]
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 so cold. The start of my answer is pointing out…Read more about Does Snow in April Mean Global Warming is not Happening?[Read More]
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 seemed to be partial to the southern part of the…Read more about April Showers or Lingering Drought?[Read More]
The rain events northern Indiana saw last week may be the last significant precipitation seen in Indiana for the next several weeks. The US Drought Monitor has already place most of the state in abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions and there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight. South-central Indiana’s precipitation amounts so…Read more about Dry Conditions Expected for the Rest of September[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 (Figure 1). Hurricane Laura will definitely help the precipitation side of that prediction with current tracks having the strongest rainfall amounts in…Read more about Cooler, Wetter Conditions Expected Over Next Several Weeks[Read More]