Rain overnight precedes pleasant streak of weather | WTHR Blog

Showers expand in central Indiana this evening and tonight before another string of mainly sunny days.

INDIANAPOLIS — We have sunshine, for now, with seasonably warm afternoon highs in the 80s today. While we still expect an area of showers to expand over central Indiana between evening and overnight, there will be ample dry time to enjoy what looks to be our warmest day of the week.

An approaching cool front triggers showers that will mainly be light but become more steady from west-to-east between sunset and midnight. The combination of rain and cooler temperatures in the wake of the front should make for pleasant sleeping weather overnight into Tuesday morning.

Unfortunately, rain amounts look on average, with the majority of locations getting around .10" or less. That's not going to cut it in putting a dent in the dry spell central Indiana's been in since Aug. 15. During that time, Indianapolis has had just .23" of rainfall, which is more than 2.50" below average. Sadly, this looks like our best chance of widespread showers for some time.

Morning showers on Tuesday give way to increasing sun in the afternoon and early evening as drier air eats away at the cloud deck. This sets the stage for a string of mainly sunny days and pleasant September air heading into the weekend. Expect seasonably cool lows in the 40s/lower 50s, with mild afternoon highs in the 70s.

While temperatures do warm to near 80 degrees over the weekend, the Muggy Meter remains comfortable throughout the period. The same upper level pattern that keeps our weather seasonably cool will eventually steer Hurricane Lee to the north. 

Over the weekend, whatever Lee is (tropical or extra-tropical) could make a direct hit into the New England or Nova Scotia. While Lee likely "weakens," it's wind-field is expected to expand so that high gust potential could be a problem well away from its center. Stay tuned for updates.