Indiana Extreme Heat Warning Extended

STATEWIDE — The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has extended a heat warning across the state through Friday, with forecasters also warning of the potential for severe storms heading into the Fourth of July weekend.

Forecaster Andrew White said the dangerous heat will remain in place statewide through Thursday, with conditions expected to improve slightly Friday as storms begin to develop, especially across northern Indiana.

“It’ll be occurring through the entire state today and then for all the northeastern portions through the day tomorrow,” White said. “We will start to see some improvement as we get into the day as we get some thunderstorms moving in the northern half of the state.”

White said heat index values have been consistently running between 100 and 110 degrees across Indiana.

“We’ve been seeing values generally between about 100 and 110 across the state and it’s been pretty even north or south,” he said.

He warned that even short periods outside can become dangerous in these conditions.

“That time can be as short as 10 to 15 minutes before you start feeling that need to either take a break or get some water,” White said. “So if you’re gonna spend time outside, we really just recommend that you take plenty of breaks, drink water and try and get time in the shade.”

Looking ahead, White said the best chance for severe weather Friday will be across northwestern Indiana, with storms increasing after midday and peaking in the late afternoon and evening.

“We think that the greatest chance for severe weather is gonna be across the northwestern portion of the state and those chances will start to increase around the noon timeframe, but really peaking more during the late afternoon evening hours kind of between about 4 and 9 p.m. looking towards the Indianapolis area,” he said. “It may not get here until around sunset to potentially a little bit after.”

White said Indianapolis may not see much relief from the heat before storms arrive, while northern Indiana could see earlier storm activity.

He added that the weekend pattern will remain active as the high-pressure system shifts east, increasing storm chances during peak heating hours.

“We’re looking at the peak chances is going to be during the afternoon evenings between about 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. is where we have the highest chances,” White said. “We do have a lot of confidence that we are going to get thunderstorms during the day on Saturday. It’s just a question of what the coverage is going to look like and how widespread it is.”