By: BSU News—
When Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog Day — an annual event that means six more weeks of cold weather — little did the animal now we were in for one of the warmest Februarys in 146 years, says David Call, who teaches meteorology at Ball State University.
And Call believes that even with a cold front ready to burst a streak of unseasonably warm weather, spring may be starting earlier than normal.
“While it has been warm, it doesn’t mean we will have an early spring. There are hints of cooler weather in mid-March. Overall, however, the spring season is expected to be warmer than normal.”
Call points out that typical temperature highs should be in the low 40s throughout most of the Indiana.
“This weather is exceptional,” he said. “Today is Indianapolis’ eighth consecutive day above 60 degrees and 10th this month — both of these are probably unprecedented — and we may reach 60 again on Tuesday.”
In central Indiana, February may go down as the third warmest in the last 146 years. Temperatures in the past week have been 24 degrees above average — or equivalent to late April and early May.
“Although temperatures on Saturday will be slightly colder than average, they will quickly return to above average readings on Sunday and stay that way for the remainder of the month,” Call said. “So, this is merely a very brief cold spell. Nightly temperatures should be in the mid-20s, but we may have only one more day this month where the temperature drops below freezing.”
