The warmest day of the year so far in central Indiana; Scattered showers and storms possible Thursday and Friday

Slow-moving showers and thunderstorms soaked central Indiana Wednesday morning. More than an inch of rain fell at the Indianapolis Airport. Some areas received 2 to 3 inches of rain and flood warnings and advisories were issued because of the downpours. Indianapolis has had 12.88″ of rain since March first, 2.63″ above average.

Skies cleared and Wednesday was a warm, humid day with highs right around 80°s. Forecast models are predicting a warm front will pass over the area tonight. The boundary may produce an isolated shower or storm. However, most areas will stay dry with skies becoming partly cloudy. Lows will fall into the low to mid-60s.

The record high for the Thursday is 88°, set in 2001. It is going to be a warm and humid day as dew points approach 70°. With high temperatures in the mid-80s, we’ll have heat index values in the lower 90s during peak heating hours. The storm threat late Thursday afternoon and evening is going to be conditional. If the cloud cover breaks and cells begin to fire up, storms will be capable of becoming strong and potentially severe. Damaging winds, large hail and rotating storms will be possible if storms initiate tomorrow evening. Stay tuned for updates and stay weather aware during tomorrow afternoon and night.

We’ll keep scattered showers and storms in the forecast through Friday but relief comes over the weekend. So far this year we’ve had 11 wet weekends and 9 dry weekends. This weekend will be dry. Expect a sunny, less humid and cooler Saturday and Sunday with highs in the 70s.

This has been a wet Spring so far.

The pollen count continues to rise.

Thursday will be a warm day at the Speedway.

Thursday will be the warmest day of the year so far.

We’ll have a slight risk for strong to severe storms Thursday afternoon and evening.

Temperatures will stay above average for the next four days.

The 6 to 10 day outlook is forecasting a mild, wet weather pattern.