Warm up arrives Thursday

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Our long awaited warm up finally settles in this afternoon. Several rain chances appear in the extended forecast heading into next week.

Thursday:

Upper level low that brought us the ugliness of clouds, rain and cold finally has broken down to our east. A big ridge of high pressure replaces it over much of the Midwest. The result means plenty of sunshine, quiet conditions, and most importantly, much warmer temperatures! Highs should hit the upper 60s/lower 70s, which is where we should be for early May. Just a few cumulus clouds popping up this afternoon.

Thursday night:

Mainly clear, quiet and not as chilly. Lows fall to the middle 40s.

Friday:

We’ll start the day off with sunshine. Clouds will build ahead of a system that should stay well to our south. A few showers will be possible in the southern third of the state Friday afternoon/evening.

Highs top out in the upper 60s/lower 70s.

Weekend:

Some models still hint at a few showers in southern parts of the state early Saturday morning. Here in the metro, cloudy skies look more likely. Should be a decent start to the day for runners of the Mini Marathon, with step off temperatures in the low/mid 50s.

Clouds should break through Saturday afternoon, making for a really nice start to the weekend. Highs top out in the mid 70s. Sunday looks pretty good as well. We may have a disturbance moving in Sunday, which could trigger a few showers and storms Sunday afternoon – but certainly not a washout situation. Much of the day should be dry and very warm, with highs in the upper 70s/lower 80s.

8 day forecast:

Active pattern settles in for the first half of the week. Chances for showers/storms Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. High temperatures should remain above average for much of next week.