178 FXUS63 KIND 120929 AFDINDArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 529 AM EDT Fri Sep 12 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Progressively hotter weather for the weekend and into early next week with multiple days with highs above 90
- A small threat for showers and thunderstorms exists Saturday night and early Sunday, otherwise continued dry weather supports further expansion of drought conditions into next week
- Dry fuels and low RH values each afternoon may lead to an elevated fire threat, but light winds should limit overall concerns
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.SHORT TERM (Today and Tonight)... Issued at 304 AM EDT Fri Sep 12 2025
Clear skies and light winds were prevalent across the Ohio Valley early this morning. With ideal radiational cooling conditions... temperatures at 06Z ranged from the lower 50s in our typical cool locations to the mid 60s in the Indy metro.
A broad surface ridge covering much of the eastern half of the country combined with an expanding ridge aloft centered over the southern Plains will produce a continuation of the dry and increasingly warmer pattern through tonight and into the weekend and beyond.
Dewpoints early this morning are highest across southern portions of the forecast area and hint at just enough moisture in the near surface layer to potentially produce localized fog through daybreak. Any fog that does develop will diminish rapidly once the sun rises. The rest of the day will be mostly sunny with a few cirrus drifting down the eastern flank of the upper ridge and perhaps a few higher based cu in the afternoon. Light E/SE winds are expected before winds diminish again tonight to near calm.
RH values will drop to minimum levels around 25-30% this afternoon which support steadily increasing fire danger concerns despite lighter winds. Will touch on this in greater detail in the Fire Weather section below.
Temps...low level thermals are supportive of highs in the mid and upper 80s this afternoon with warmest temperatures in the Wabash Valley in closest proximity to the upper level ridge. Incorporated MOS guidance into lows for tonight as suspect the blended model data is not capturing the variance in overnight lows due to excellent radiational cooling well. This led to lows being nudged down a few degrees...particularly over the eastern half of the forecast area.
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.LONG TERM (Saturday through Thursday)... Issued at 304 AM EDT Fri Sep 12 2025
The primary focus through the long term period will be on the increasing heat and potential for exacerbating drought conditions. The upper level ridge will continue building into the Central US this weekend with light and calm winds near the surface. Despite being just a few days away, forecast confidence remains low for portions of this weekend`s weather. The general synoptic pattern is consistent across ensemble output, but the variance is associated with the potential for for ridge-riding shortwaves. The main difference is on where the bulk of the 850-700mb WAA will occur through Saturday, of which will have a direct correlation on where any shortwave ridge develops and if the subgeostrophic flow beneath the passing wave over eastern Canada will pass through the Great Lakes region. While there will be some moisture return into the Ohio Valley by Saturday, instability values will be fairly meager. That said, in the case of a strengthening jet across the Upper Midwest, increase shear could create a favorable environment for thunderstorm organization. At this point, confidence is fairly high in at least some thunderstorms across the Great Lakes region, but confidence is on the lower end if much of it reaches as far south as central Indiana. Beneath the ridge, much different conditions are expected, with weak tropospheric winds and building PBL temperatures. Highs will likely be in the mid 80s to near 90.
The lack of confidence in Saturday to Early Sunday`s forecast provides cascading impacts for the rest of the long term, and therefore forecast confidence continues to decrease Sunday into Monday. General consensus in the overall airmass will remain warmer than normal, with the potential caveat of lingering upper level cloud cover. Currently leaning towards a more persistent pattern with the upper level ridge helping to push the aforementioned low pressure further east into the Northeastern states, but will have to continue to monitor forecast trends. Temperatures Sunday through at least midweek should see highs in the low 90s for most of the area with lows in the 60s. Meanwhile, afternoon RH values should generally be in the 30-40% range but could see lower amounts with days that get ample mixing.
Outside of locations that see any spotty precipitation this weekend, it`ll be another dry 7 days for much of central Indiana which puts many locations as seeing little to no rain for the last 3 weeks. This combined with the stretch of much above normal weather is expected to lead to the expansion of drought conditions across the state and could cause additional fire weather concerns.
Models are hinting at the chance of more widespread rain just beyond the long term period so will continue to monitor the potential for much needed rain as it gets closer.
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.AVIATION (12Z TAF Issuance)... Issued at 529 AM EDT Fri Sep 12 2025
Impacts: None
Discussion:
VFR conditions will continue into Saturday. Ridging aloft and at the surface will maintain mostly clear skies through the forecast period with just a few thin cirrus passing through the region. Expect light east to southeast flow today before diminishing near sunset.
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.FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 304 AM EDT Fri Sep 12 2025
The lack of any significant rainfall since late August has resulted in abnormally dry and minor drought conditions to develop across Indiana. With little rain in the forecast for the next 7 days, confidence continues to increase in slightly elevated fire weather conditions each afternoon as daily min RH values fall into the 25 to 35% range.
The major factor keeping the fire weather threat lower is the lack of wind. Despite deep mixing, very weak low level flow should keep winds under 10 mph through the period. If no appreciable rainfall is observed this weekend, the fire weather threat will likely persist into mid month. Will continue to monitor the extended forecast for increasing fire weather concerns.
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.IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...None.
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SHORT TERM...Ryan LONG TERM...KF AVIATION...Ryan FIRE WEATHER...Ryan
NWS IND Office Area Forecast Discussion