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NOUS43 KIND 021445
PNSIND
INZ047-022130-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1045 AM EDT THU MAY 2 2013

...APRIL 2013 CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR CENTRAL INDIANA...

APRIL 2013 TIED FOR 74TH COOLEST ON RECORD AT INDIANAPOLIS. IT WAS
ALSO THE 2ND WETTEST.

TEMPERATURES...

THE COOL TEMPERATURES THAT EXPERIENCED ACROSS CENTRAL INDIANA IN
MARCH CONTINUED INTO THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF APRIL AS MUCH OF THE AREA
REMAINED BELOW 50 DEGREES THROUGH THE 3RD. A WARM UP COMMENCED ON
THE 4TH AS UPPER RIDGING EXPANDED INTO THE OHIO VALLEY. MANY
LOCATIONS REACHED 70 DEGREES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2013 ON THE 6TH
AND 7TH WITH THE WARM TEMPERATURES CONTINUING UNTIL A STRONG COLD
FRONT ARRIVED ON THE 11TH. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LAFAYETTE...ALL OF
THE MAIN CLIMATE OBSERVATION LOCATIONS IN CENTRAL INDIANA
EXPERIENCED HIGH TEMPERATURES ABOVE 80 DEGREES ON THE 9TH AND OR
10TH AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. FOR INDIANAPOLIS...APRIL 9TH WAS THE
FIRST 80 DEGREE DAY SINCE SEPTEMBER 13TH OF LAST YEAR. THIS WAS A
STRETCH OF 207 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH HIGHS BELOW 80 DEGREES. THIS
MADE FOR THE LONGEST CONSECUTIVE STRETCH OF HIGHS BELOW 80 DEGREES
SINCE 1995-1996 WHEN THE FIRST 80 DEGREE DAY WAS NOT RECORDED UNTIL
EARLY MAY.

TEMPERATURES TUMBLED IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE ON THE
11TH WITH HIGHS FALLING BACK INTO THE 40S AND LOWER 50S ON THE 12TH
AND 13TH. THE COOL -DOWN WAS BRIEF HOWEVER,,,AS WARMER AIR RETURNED
BY THE AFTERNOON OF THE 14TH. A FRONTAL BOUNDARY BECAME NEARLY
STATIONARY ACROSS THE REGION WITH HIGHS IN THE 60S AND 70S THROUGH
THE 18TH. THE FRONT FINALLY SHIFTED SOUTH AND EAST OF CENTRAL
INDIANA EARLY ON THE 19TH WHICH BROUGHT A RETURN TO COOLER
WEATHER THROUGH THE 21ST AS HIGHS FELL BACK MAINLY INTO THE UPPER
40S AND LOWER 50S. WARMER AIR BRIEFLY RETURNED FOR A COUPLE DAYS
BEFORE YET ANOTHER FRONT BROUGHT TEMPERATURES BACK DOWN ON THE 24TH
AND 25TH. THE LAST FEW DAYS OF THE MONTH SAW A GRADUAL WARMING TREND
AS HIGH PRESSURE AND AN UPPER RIDGE BUILT INTO THE OHIO VALLEY. THE
MONTH ENDED ON A WARM NOTE AS HIGHS ROSE INTO THE UPPER 70S AND
LOWER 80S ON THE 30TH.

THE LAST HARD FREEZE FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL INDIANA OCCURRED ON THE
MORNINGS OF THE 2ND AND 3RD WITH LOWS FALLING INTO THE LOWER AND
MIDDLE 20S. LOWS FOR MOST OF THE AREA NEVER FELL BACK BELOW 30
DEGREES FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH ALTHOUGH COOLER AIR IN THE WAKE OF
THE NUMBER OF FRONTAL PASSAGES IN APRIL MADE FOR SEVERAL FROSTY
MORNINGS WHERE LOWS ROUTINELY FELL INTO THE 30S. FIFTEEN OF THE 30
DAYS IN APRIL SAW LOWS BELOW 40 DEGREES IN INDIANAPOLIS...THE MOST
SINCE APRIL 2007 WHICH ALSO EXPERIENCED 15 DAYS WITH LOWS BELOW 40.

AT INDIANAPOLIS...THERE WERE 14 DAYS WITH ABOVE NORMAL AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES...15 DAYS WITH BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND 1
DAY WITH NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES.

PRECIPITATION...

RECORD TO NEAR RECORD RAINFALL FOR APRIL FELL IN MUCH OF WEST
CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA. THIS INCLUDED LOCATIONS NORTH AND
WEST OF INDIANAPOLIS WHERE MONTHLY RAINFALL TOTALS RANGED FROM 8 TO
MORE THAN 12 INCHES. ACROSS INDIANA OVERALL...THERE WAS A RATHER
SHARP CUTOFF FOR THE HEAVY RAINFALL DURING APRIL. AREAS SOUTH AND
EAST OF A LINE FROM VINCENNES TO RICHMOND WERE RELATIVELY DRY AND
RECEIVED ONLY 3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAINFALL IN APRIL. AREAS NORTH AND
WEST OF THIS LINE RECEIVED EXCESSIVE RAINFALL RANGING FROM 6 TO MORE
THAN 12 INCHES. FOR INDIANAPOLIS...8.59 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
OCCURRED IN APRIL MAKING IT THE SECOND WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD. THIS
WAS JUST 0.01 INCHES SHORT OF THE RECORD IN APRIL 1893 WHEN 8.60
INCHES OCCURRED. SERIOUS LOCAL FLOODING OCCURRED IN MUCH OF THE AREA
DESCRIBED ABOVE. SOME OF THE WORST FLOODING IN CENTRAL INDIANA
STRUCK THE COMMUNITIES OF TIPTON...ELWOOD...ZIONSVILLE...KOKOMO AND
MARION. FLOOD LEVELS ALONG WILDCAT CREEK AND SUGAR CREEK IN WEST
CENTRAL INDIANA WERE THE HIGHEST IN 100 YEARS. OTHER SMALL
STREAMS...WITH PERIODS OF RECORD ONLY FROM THE 1950S OR LATER...SET
RECORD LEVELS.

INDIANA WAS ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF SERIOUS MIDWEST FLOODING THAT
DEVELOPED DURING APRIL. RIVER FLOODING IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
INDIANA WAS THE MOST WIDESPREAD SINCE THE GREAT MISSISSIPPI RIVER
FLOOD OF MAY 2011. THE WORST RIVER FLOODING WAS ALONG THE WABASH
RIVER FROM LAFAYETTE TO VINCENNES. FLOOD CRESTS WERE THE HIGHEST IN
55 TO 70 YEARS FOR MUCH OF THIS STRETCH OF THE RIVER. SIGNIFICANT
FLOODING DEVELOPED ALONG THE WHITE RIVER SOUTHWEST OF INDIANA AND
EXTENDED THROUGH THE LOWER WABASH RIVER. FLOODING FROM CENTERTON TO
EDWARDSPORT WAS THE HIGHEST SINCE JUNE 2008. FLOODING ALONG THE
LOWER PORTIONS OF THE WHITE AND WABASH RIVERS WAS THE HIGHEST SINCE
MAY 2011. FLOODING CONTINUED INTO MAY ALONG THE WABASH RIVER IN
WESTERN INDIANA AND THE WHITE RIVER IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA.  LITTLE OR
NO FLOODING OCCURRED IN THE EAST FORK WHITE RIVER WATERSHED IN
EASTERN AND SOUTHERN INDIANA.


SEVERE WEATHER...

STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING
COLD FRONT DURING AFTERNOON AND EVENING OF THE 10TH. THE STORMS THAT
DEVELOPED DURING THE AFTERNOON PRIMARILY PRODUCED LARGE HAIL. IN
PARTICULAR...ONE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVED FROM HENDRICKS COUNTY
ACROSS THE NORTH SIDE OF THE INDIANAPOLIS METRO AREA PRODUCING A
SWATH OF 1.75 TO 2 INCH HAIL FROM EAST OF BROWNSBURG...THROUGH
CARMEL AND FISHERS...WHICH CAUSED EXTENSIVE HAIL DAMAGE TO HOMES AND
VEHICLES. AFTER MIDNIGHT ON THE 11TH...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS
TRACKED OUT OF ILLINOIS PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE IN LOCATIONS TO THE
NORTHWEST OF INDIANAPOLIS.

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED LARGE HAIL
DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENINGS OF THE 16TH AND 17TH ACROSS
CENTRAL INDIANA. A PARTICULARLY INTENSE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPED OVER
LAWRENCE COUNTY ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 17TH...MOVING NORTHEAST
ACROSS BROWN...JACKSON...AND SOUTHEAST MARION AND WESTERN HANCOCK
COUNTIES AND PRODUCED HAIL FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER. THE
LARGEST HAIL OF 2 INCHES WAS REPORTED IN NASHVILLE...WITH GOLF BALL
SIZED HAIL OCCURRING FROM NASHVILLE TO FRANKLIN AND JUST EAST OF
WHITELAND AND GREENWOOD.

FOR INFORMATION ON SEVERE WEATHER IN OTHER AREAS DURING
APRIL...VISIT THE STORM PREDICTION CENTERS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT
SUMMARIES WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/CLIMO/ONLINE/.

MISCELLANEOUS...

THE MAXIMUM WIND GUST AT INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 41
MPH OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST ON THE EVENING OF THE 18TH AS HEAVY RAIN
AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVED INTO THE AREA. FOG OR HAZE WAS REPORTED AT
INDIANAPOLIS ON 13 DAYS DURING THE MONTH. THUNDER WAS REPORTED ON 6
DAYS DURING THE MONTH.

MAY 2013 OUTLOOK...

THE OFFICIAL OUTLOOK FOR MAY 2013 FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER
INDICATES AN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL...NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL
TEMPERATURES FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. AT INDIANAPOLIS...THE AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH IS 62.7 DEGREES. THE OUTLOOK CALLS FOR AN
EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE NORMAL...NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION.
THE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION FOR MAY AT INDIANAPOLIS IS 5.05 INCHES.

$$

LEE