Lows this morning ran 37-43 with some patches of shallow fog as cirrus & altostratus rapidly overspread the viewing area, dimming the rising sun.
Drought conditions, very dry air, strong winds & temperatures up to 17 degrees above normal led to high to critical field & grassland fire danger today. Multiple large fires were reported this late afternoon-evening. Swaths of smoke were seen in the skies looking west & southeast from Greater Lafayette. The odor of smoke was in the air in West Lafayette for a while this evening.
Looking at the plumes on radar & measuring the distance to the Indianapolis radar site, some of the smoke reached up to 3600'.
The relative humidity dropped to as low as 16% in the viewing area today.
This is the first time fires have closed a roadway to traffic since the 2012 drought. This is the greatest surge of fall fires since 2010.
Winds gusted to as high as 49 mph. Much of the area saw 32-42 mph gusts.
Highs reached 75-83.
A warm night is ahead with 60s to 70 much of the night as clouds increase. Southwest winds will gust +30 mph at times.
We fall just before dawn into the 50s with mostly cloudy skies & a wind shift to the west-northwest.
A few showers are possible tomorrow morning with 30% coverage, but totals will only run a trace to 0.05".
We should fall to 52-56, then with clearing, rise back to 56-61.
It will be a windy day with west-northwest winds 15-30 mph.
Very dry air will bleed in Thursday afternoon with relative humidity dropping to 20%!
So, despite any sort of rainfall, fire weather risk returns!
Lows of 27-31 are likely Thursday night as skies will be clear & winds will go light to calm. The dry air will also be a factor in the temperatures dropping so much. Some patches of shallow fog are possible with frost over the area.
Mostly sunny skies will become partly cloudy (high & mid cloudiness) Friday with southwest winds 15-25 mph & highs 56-61. Extremely dry air will bleed in Friday with the relative humidity down to 15% as dew points drop to 20!
Fire weather risk will return.
Even Saturday, with partly cloudy skies becoming mostly cloudy very late, dew points in the 30s with highs in the 60s will drop the humidity levels down to 32%.
As for Sunday, cold front should pass through with a few spotty showers/t'showers (30%) with any rainfall at less than 0.10". Highs in the 60s are likely, followed by falling temperatures in the later PM to the 50s. It looks windy to very windy with gusts 30-45 mph at times.
A few isolated showers are possible Monday-Tuesday with partly to mostly cloudy skies, breezy to windy conditions & highs upper 50s to lower 60s with 30s to 40s at night.
We turn dry, windy & much warmer next week with 66-72 Wednesday, 72-78 Thursday & 77-81 Friday.
To give you an idea of the upcoming trends:
Greater Lafayette: AM Low/PM High....Conditions:
Thursday, October 15: 68 at midnight, 57 by 7 a.m., 52 at 10 a.m., then 59 by 4 a.m......dropping to 38 at 11 p.m.....Mostly cloudy to cloudy with a few showers (30%) AM to midday with trace to less than 0.05" amounts. Clearing should follow with west-northwest winds 15-30 mph.
Friday, October 16: 31/59....AM Frost & Some Patchy Fog, Mostly Sunny Then Partly Cloudy, Breezy
Saturday, October 17: 37/65....Partly Cloudy & Windy
Sunday, October 18: 54/66 Falling to the 50s....Mostly Cloudy with a Few Showers/T'Showers (30%) Then Clearing Late, Windy to Very Windy
Monday, October 19: 40/60....25% Showers.....Partly to Mostly Cloudy & Windy
Tuesday, October 20: 41/60....25% Showers.....Partly to Mostly Cloudy & Windy
Wednesday, October : 45/70....Partly Cloudy & Windy
Thursday, October 22: 54/75....Mostly Sunny & Windy
Friday, October 23: 60/78....Partly Cloudy & Windy
Saturday, October 24: 60/78....Partly Cloudy & Windy
Sunday, October 25: 72 at Midnight, 65 AM, Then Falling to 58.....Down to 46 by 11 p.m.....35% Showers/T'Showers AM, Mostly Cloudy Skies Becoming Partly Cloudy......Windy.....Isolated Severe AM?
Monday, October 26: 37/64....Mostly Sunny
Tuesday, October 27: 36/68....Mostly Sunny
Wednesday, October: 28 41/68....Mostly Sunny
Thursday, October 29: 41/72....Partly Cloudy, Windy
Friday, October 30: 55/72....Mostly Cloudy, 45% Showers/Storms, Windy
Saturday, October 31: 47/56....Partly Cloudy, Windy
Sunday, November 1: 31/58....Mostly Sunny
Monday, November 2: 42/65....Increasing Clouds & Breezy
Tuesday, November 3: 56/71....50% Showers/Storms, Windy.....Isolated to Scattered Severe?
Wednesday, November 4: 45/54....30% Showers, Mostly Cloudy, Then Clearing.....Windy
Thursday, November 5: 34/60....Partly Cloudy & Breezy
Friday, November 6: 49/67....Becoming Mostly Cloudy, Windy
Saturday, November 7: 56/71....30% Showers/Storms, Mostly Cloudy, Windy
Sunday, November 8: 56/71....60% Showers/Storms, Windy.....Isolated to Scattered Severe?
Monday, November 9: 38/47....Mostly Cloudy, Windy
Tuesday, November 10: 42/62....30% Showers/Storms, Mostly Cloudy, Windy
