Rare late season freeze possible late week

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Just days after coming off our first 80° day, we’re looking at the possibility of another night of freezing temperatures and possible record-breaking cold.

You can thank a lobe of the polar vortex ejecting from the northern latitudes for this next wave of chilly air to invade the eastern half of the country.

Projections call for temperatures to run about 20° or more colder than average Friday into Saturday.

Most importantly, we’re looking at the possibility of a late-season freeze. Widespread temperatures near 32° should be plenty cold enough for frost across central Indiana Saturday morning.

The record low for Saturday morning is 31° – very much in jeopardy of being broken. In case you were curious, the coldest temperatures ever recorded in May is 28°.

This type of cold is quite rare. In nearly 150 years of record keeping, we’ve only hit 32° or colder 17 times during the month. Back in 2005, we did it three times. It’s also the most recent time we’ve hit 32° in the month of May.

If there some good news, it does appear that we get out of the freezer after Mother’s Day weekend. Highs return back to the 60s and 70s heading into next week.