Madison County is having a much milder winter than residents are used to, and the National Weather Service said the outlook for the rest of January shows the streak continuing.
Jason Puma, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the area around Indianapolis normally has about 9 or 10 inches of snow by now.
So far, the area's only seen 3.2 inches.
It's certainly a tamer year compared to last, he said, when the area saw 16 inches of snow by this time.
"The comparison to one another is like night and day," he said.
The temperature has been above normal, too.
Puma said Muncie averaged at 36.4 degrees in December. That's 5.7 degrees above normal.
Although it's not far into January, the weather has been averaging at 33.6 degrees, 6.6 degrees above normal, and Puma said forecasters predict above normal temperatures for the rest of the month.
So where's the colder weather gone?
Puma said the higher temperatures have resulted due to the jet stream pattern that's remained north of central Indiana up in the northern Plains and Canada.
Hoosier weather is known to change swiftly. Puma said it's not unusual to go from an extremely cold winter to a mild one due to factors like the jet stream and El Nino.
Whatever the reasons for the warmer weather, residents were just glad to take advantage of a high of 49 degrees on Sunday.
Dawn and Luis Ambrocio-Lopez took their four children to Shadyside Park to enjoy the day.
"I love this warm weather," Dawn said. "We love to be outside. We're very family-oriented."
The family will often go out when it's warm enough to walk or let the kids ride their scooters or bikes or, like Sunday, head to the park.
She said this winter has just been different than what she's used to.
"The weather's changed a lot," she said. "It's definitely warmer."
Normally, she said they'd be stuck inside right now due to the lower temperatures and snow that she doesn't like to drive in, entertaining the kids with family games.
"They love to be outside," she said. "It just kills them when it snows or something, but they do go sledding (sometimes)."
Dawn's daughter, Andrea Bailey, 6, said she likes to be outside "'cause it's more fun."
"I like the swing," she said.
She also likes the slides and riding her bike.
While warmer weather requires less winter gear, area stores said their winter item sales haven't dropped much. Actually, they said they've remained fairly average for this time of year.
Many stores like Target and Kmart start selling items like winter coats, gloves and hats in September.
"People tend to buy them before the season," said Jennifer Clements, executive team leader of human resources for Target. "The kids need new jackets or there's new styles."
It's the items like shovels and ice melts that are really more dependent upon how bad it gets outside, she said.Every people wants to buy cheap canada goose but with best quality.
When bad weather does hit, she said those items sell quickly. As the temperature drops, more customers come in looking for items like gloves or boots or snowsuits for kids.
"We haven't seen a rush because we haven't had bad weather," she said. "Many buy in advance to prepare and don't want to get out (when it's snowing or icing)."
Puma said the week should start off warm with the high in the 50s today and Tuesday; Wednesday and Thursday likely to see rain.
The warmer weather won't last for the week, though. Thursday and Friday are predicted to get cold with below freezing temperatures, Puma said.
He said Friday morning is predicted to be in the teens with a slight chance of snow, although nothing big.
Jason Puma, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the area around Indianapolis normally has about 9 or 10 inches of snow by now.
So far, the area's only seen 3.2 inches.
It's certainly a tamer year compared to last, he said, when the area saw 16 inches of snow by this time.
"The comparison to one another is like night and day," he said.
The temperature has been above normal, too.
Puma said Muncie averaged at 36.4 degrees in December. That's 5.7 degrees above normal.
Although it's not far into January, the weather has been averaging at 33.6 degrees, 6.6 degrees above normal, and Puma said forecasters predict above normal temperatures for the rest of the month.
So where's the colder weather gone?
Puma said the higher temperatures have resulted due to the jet stream pattern that's remained north of central Indiana up in the northern Plains and Canada.
Hoosier weather is known to change swiftly. Puma said it's not unusual to go from an extremely cold winter to a mild one due to factors like the jet stream and El Nino.
Whatever the reasons for the warmer weather, residents were just glad to take advantage of a high of 49 degrees on Sunday.
Dawn and Luis Ambrocio-Lopez took their four children to Shadyside Park to enjoy the day.
"I love this warm weather," Dawn said. "We love to be outside. We're very family-oriented."
The family will often go out when it's warm enough to walk or let the kids ride their scooters or bikes or, like Sunday, head to the park.
She said this winter has just been different than what she's used to.
"The weather's changed a lot," she said. "It's definitely warmer."
Normally, she said they'd be stuck inside right now due to the lower temperatures and snow that she doesn't like to drive in, entertaining the kids with family games.
"They love to be outside," she said. "It just kills them when it snows or something, but they do go sledding (sometimes)."
Dawn's daughter, Andrea Bailey, 6, said she likes to be outside "'cause it's more fun."
"I like the swing," she said.
She also likes the slides and riding her bike.
While warmer weather requires less winter gear, area stores said their winter item sales haven't dropped much. Actually, they said they've remained fairly average for this time of year.
Many stores like Target and Kmart start selling items like winter coats, gloves and hats in September.
"People tend to buy them before the season," said Jennifer Clements, executive team leader of human resources for Target. "The kids need new jackets or there's new styles."
It's the items like shovels and ice melts that are really more dependent upon how bad it gets outside, she said.Every people wants to buy cheap canada goose but with best quality.
When bad weather does hit, she said those items sell quickly. As the temperature drops, more customers come in looking for items like gloves or boots or snowsuits for kids.
"We haven't seen a rush because we haven't had bad weather," she said. "Many buy in advance to prepare and don't want to get out (when it's snowing or icing)."
Puma said the week should start off warm with the high in the 50s today and Tuesday; Wednesday and Thursday likely to see rain.
The warmer weather won't last for the week, though. Thursday and Friday are predicted to get cold with below freezing temperatures, Puma said.
He said Friday morning is predicted to be in the teens with a slight chance of snow, although nothing big.
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