Where are the 80s?

Confidence is growing over a warm-up for the end of the work week and weekend. And frankly, it's a long time coming. It seems as though it's been chiller than normal around here more often than not. Take the past weekend for example, with highs peaking around 55 degrees and a similar outcome today. Typically in Michiana, we hit 80 degrees around April 26th. Well, that was 17 days ago, and still no official 80 degree temperatures recorded. That could easily change by the weekend.

And the Climate Prediction Center agrees too. Better chances for above normal temperatures stay down to the south, with some chances exist for us. And with normal highs during this stretch around 71 to 73 degrees, high temps in the upper 70s and low 80s aren't out of the conversation. Of course, we'll be watching closely.

And UV radiation becomes more of a problem around this time of year, thanks to the increasing amount of sunlight we receive as the Northern Hemisphere turns closer towards the sun. The more direct exposure we have to the sun's rays, the greater the chances of getting burned, and that may have already been a problem for some prone to bad burns with a couple of days of warm sunshine we've had in the recent past. The UV index for today, tomorrow, and Thursday stays high with decreasing clouds and more sunshine with the only "low" day coming Wednesday with more clouds.

If you're one of those people who burn easily, remember to use sunscreen if you're planning on spending time outside. With a high UV index, it only takes as little as 15 minutes for a burn to start without protection. Even though temperatures won't be hot this week, the danger is still out there for some.