February 5th is the last time our temperature reached the freezing mark. That's nearly two weeks of frigid temperatures. With about eight inches of snow on the ground in Indy, we have our work cut out for us in raising the temperature.
From Lake Michigan to the Ohio River, all of Central Indiana is covered in snow. And we aren't alone! You'll find snow in just about every state in the U.S.!
Go ahead! You can blame the cold temperatures on the snow too! Snow has a high albedo, which is a fancy way of saying it's highly reflective. Because the snow reflects most of the sun's radiation - our temperatures stay colder during the afternoon than they would be if we had no snow on the ground.
This has a compounding effect at night. What little heat was absorbed during the day is released, and temperatures can really drop if skies clear out. Overnight lows return to the single digits for the next couple of nights.
We may be nearing the end of this arctic blast though. High temperatures are expected to climb above freezing this weekend. But be patient. It's going to take some time to melt the nearly ten inches of snow that's fallen on the city in the last four days!
