Consistent warmth tough to come by this month
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — With the month of April wrapping up later this week, we’re looking back at the ups and downs that this month’s temperatures provided across central Indiana.
To date, April 2020 ranks as the 44th coolest on record (out of nearly 150 years). While that might not be eye popping, something to consider is the brief warm start we had to the beginning of the month, where two days in a row provided near 80° heat. That was negated by the longer stretch of chilly air that provided several frosty overnights for the middle of the month. The cold snap was enough to send us down to the top 3rd of coldest April’s on record.
April is a month where we typically start seeing more warmth. By the end of the month, our average temperatures should hit the upper 60s, and by this point of the month we should have hit 70° more than a handful of times.
To date, we’ve only had four days with 70°+ heat. We average around nine days for the month. Last year we hit that mark 10 times.
So why so cool? You can thank the upper level pattern that has been for the most part, stagnant for the last few weeks. A big trough for the eastern half of the country has kept things cool. On the flip side, a large ridge has kept the western half of the country very warm, with record setting heat in many communities along the Pacific coast.
Signs show this trend to continue well into May. The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day and 8-14 day outlooks both show a high probability of cooler than normal temperatures for most of the Midwest, including central Indiana.
The National Blend of Models (NBM), which is combination of numerical guidance that meteorologists use to help determine the temperature forecast shows the cooler temperatures. If there is any good news here, it isn’t a significant cold snap, as temperatures appear to only be around 5°-8° below average for the most part. Most importantly, none of the projections show temperatures getting cold enough for frosty or freezing temps. We are officially past the average date for our last frost, but it’s important to note that we have had frosts as late as the end of May before.
