Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Indianapolis, IN
Issued by NWS Indianapolis, IN
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472 FXUS63 KIND 191955 AFDIND Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 255 PM EST Wed Nov 19 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Gloomy conditions through Thursday with a persistent low stratus deck; areas of fog tonight, potential for locally dense fog. - Seasonable temperatures through the weekend with the next round of rain Thursday night through Friday. - Dry Sunday and Monday, Rain chances return Tuesday. && .SHORT TERM (This evening through Thursday)... Issued at 253 PM EST Wed Nov 19 2025 Current satellite and surface observations depict extensive low clouds across the region. This stratus deck has kept temperatures nearly stagnant through the day and has helped fog linger in most spots. Most locations are still seeing marginal visibility reductions around 4-7 miles. Marginal solar insolation may help to briefly clear out the fog in spots before sunset. Visibilities have improved across portions of the area. Model guidance and forecast soundings suggest weather conditions remain fairly unchanged through early Thursday within a stagnant airmass. A subsidence inversion promoted by surface high pressure will continue to trap lower tropospheric moisture resulting in a persistent stratus deck during the period. Winds becoming very light or even calm at times tonight is expected to promote redevelopment of fog with the potential for locally dense fog. The stratus deck will also greatly limit diurnal temperature swings. Look for temperatures to only cool into the low 40s tonight. Increasing warm air advection ahead of an approaching system Thursday should help to clear out fog through the morning and help lift the aforementioned stratus deck some. Mostly cloudy skies are still expected during the day though. Look for low rain chances, primarily late in the day, due to increasing warm-moist advection in addition to strengthening mid-upper level forcing. While rain chances do begin to increase on Thursday, latest guidance shows the bulk of precipitation will fall after the short term period. Most high resolution guidance keeps much of central Indiana as lingering dry air delays top-down saturation. Any rainfall amounts will likely be very light. && .LONG TERM (Thursday night through Wednesday)... Issued at 253 PM EST Wed Nov 19 2025 Thursday night through Saturday... Zonal flow aloft is expected on Thursday night as a weak, stalled surface frontal boundary will be lingering across southern Indiana. Abundant lower level moisture appears to remain in place on the north side of the this front across Central Indiana, which will lead to cloudy skies for much of the night. Late Overnight and on Friday, a surge of warm air advection from the southwest is expected ahead of developing low pressure over the plains. This will result in a tightening of the temperature gradient across central Indiana and overruning from the south along with isentropic lift. Forecast soundings through the day on Friday show a deeply saturation column, with a surge of warm air advection within the lower levels. Pwats are suggested to reach near 1.30 inches and remain there through the day as the surface low approaches. Thus confidence is high for a dry Thursday evening, but also high for the arrival of rain late Thursday night through Friday. The warm air advection will allow temperatures to reach the 50s. On Friday Night night and early Saturday, the surface low will be pushing across southern Indiana, continuing to provide a source of forcing and cyclonic flow along the frontal boundary which will, at this time, be reaching southern Indiana as a cold front. Forecast soundings here suggest a gradual drying through Saturday afternoon as strong high pressure begins to build across Indiana from the northwest. Forecast soundings here show a top down drying through the day, suggesting the arrival of the surface high and associated subsidence. Thus some lingering chances for rain in the morning, but dry weather returns in the afternoon on Saturday. Sunday and Monday... The large surface high will be in control of our weather on Sunday and Monday as a quick NW flow will be in place aloft. Little in the way of forcing dynamics will pass, thus dry weather will be expected with partly cloudy skies. Of note here, an upper low, cut off from the NW flow will be lingering across the American southwest. This will be our weather maker for Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday and Wednesday... The previously mentioned upper low will drift into the quick upper flow and quickly push across the plains states toward Indiana. Strong forcing ahead of the low is suggested to arrive over Indiana late Monday through Tuesday. A surface low accompanying this system is expected to track northwest of Indiana, placing our area within the warm sector, which will also have ample moisture available. Thus Tuesday again looks like another wet but mild day. Models suggest the upper low will quickly exit on Tuesday night before another, weaker upper trough along with a cold front passes on Wednesday. Once again precipitation will be possible as this secondary system passes on Wednesday. && .AVIATION (18Z TAF Issuance)... Issued at 1238 PM EST Wed Nov 19 2025 Impacts: - Widespread IFR ceilings ongoing, expected to gradually improve to low end MVFR later today or into tonight for most sites - Ceilings may bounce back down to IFR overnight for some sites, potential for fog redevelopment Discussion: Cool and stable northeasterly flow across the area has allowed for the persistence of widespread IFR ceilings across the area around 400-800 feet. These will gradually improve to low end MVFR this afternoon, but may build back down to IFR tonight, though this remains uncertain. Have brought ceilings back down to 900 feet for a few sites after sunset tonight to account for the potential. Ceilings should return to low end VFR during the day Thursday, but confidence on exact timing for this remains uncertain as well. Visibilities are generally still ranging from 2-6SM midday. Expect these visibilities to gradually improve to VFR later this afternoon. Fog is expected to redevelop with the potential for MVFR or worse visibilities at some sites again tonight. There is an outside shot at IFR visibilities as winds go calm at some sites, but for now will leave MVFR. Winds will become more easterly as the day goes on then southeasterly this evening. Late tonight, where winds are not calm to light and variable, winds will become more southerly or southwesterly. At all times, winds will be less than 10KT. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Melo LONG TERM...Puma AVIATION...Melo