False fall is seeing itself out as summer reemerges this weekend with temperatures expected to spike into the 90s going into next week.
Along with hot temperatures after a relative cool down, “rapid onset drought” is also a concern, National Weather Service Indianapolis predicts. The dry weather is leading to concerns of increased fire potential.
Meteorologist Jason Puma said temperatures are gradually getting warmer going into the weekend and next week.
“There was a brief fire in Hancock County recently,” Puma told IndyStar. “Plants can dry out, and that lack of moisture makes favorable conditions for wildfires. You’ll notice that corn stalks are ready for harvest, but that can be a trigger for fires say if someone were burning on their land near it.”
Puma said even for lawns that are no longer lush and green, fires are easily started and spread on dry grass.
‘Rapid onset drought’ explained
An onset rapid drought is caused by extremely dry conditions due to a lack of rainfall, according to Puma. It’s typical this time of year, going into the fall. Dry conditions are enhanced by longer periods of lack of rain and lower humidity.
There’s an onset rapid drought risk across the country set for next week, and Central Indiana is in the 70-80% chance of the risk.
Drought can have far-reaching consequences, including harm to agriculture.
IndyStar’s U.S. Drought Monitor map that shows the location and intensity of drought across the country.
When is the first day of fall 2025?
Meteorological fall always starts Sept. 1 and lasts three months.
“Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle as well as our calendar,” the National Weather Services explains on its website. “We generally think of winter as the coldest time of the year and summer as the warmest time of the year, with spring and fall being the transition seasons, and that is what the meteorological seasons are based on.”
Sept. 22 is the first day of astronomical fall, a date that changes based on the Earth’s tilt and rotation, among other factors.
“The natural rotation of Earth around the sun forms the basis for the astronomical calendar, in which we define seasons with two solstices and two equinoxes. Earth’s tilt and the sun’s alignment over the equator determine both the solstices and equinoxes,” NWS explained.
National Weather Service forecast
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Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 59. Light east wind.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 85. Light east wind.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 85. Light southeast wind.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60. East southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: A 20% chance of showers after 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. South wind 3 to 6 mph.
Sunday: A 10% chance of showers before 8am. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. West wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 90.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis forecast shows temps in the 90s, drought possible