Frigid for Christmas weekend; more snow possible with a temperature rebound next week
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — We had the coldest day here in central Indiana in over 25 to 30 years to end the workweek. Howling winds and life-threatening wind chills that fell to -35 to -40 degrees made for unbearable conditions.
Indianapolis’s high temperature of negative one degree made it the coldest day in the city since December 1989. It also marks the coldest high temperature for December 23rd on record here.
Expect very cold air to stay with us through Christmas Day before we track more snow and a deserving warm-up.
Winter Storm Warnings have been extended until 7 AM EST Saturday morning.
Friday night: Dangerous cold hangs around through tonight with wind gusts up to 35-40 MPH. These winds will cause feels like temperatures to be in the range of -20 to -30 degrees. Blowing and drifting snow is also expected. Overall, travel impacts will remain heightened for Friday night.
Lows will bottom out around zero degrees.
Christmas Eve: Do not expect much improvement with the conditions for your Saturday. We’re still talking bitter cold, gusty winds up to 30-35 MPH, and blowing/drifting snow. Highs will only manage to sneak into the low teens. Wind chill values are set to be -20 to -25 degrees in the morning hours, then, they will slightly improve to -10 to -15 degrees for the remainder of the day.
Christmas Day: Expect one of the coldest Christmas Days on record as temperatures get into the mid teens. Winds will start off breezy, but they will gradually die down throughout the day. Wind chill values stay below zero for much of the daytime hours as well.
8-Day Forecast: We could have another chance for accumulating snow on Monday, but it is too early to tell specifics on where and how much. By midweek next week, we’ll finally break away from chilly air with a nice warmup going into the final few days of 2022. This warmup, however, will bring rain chances by the end of the workweek next week with highs getting into the 50s.
