BEDFORD — A relief-bearing cold front pushing across Indiana has brought an end to an intense late-summer heat wave, bringing crisp, sunny weather and significantly lower humidity just in time for Labor Day.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Indianapolis, Canadian high pressure pushing south into the Great Lakes is driving dew points down by 8 to 15 degrees across central and southern Indiana. The result was a clear, sunny forecast for Sunday and Labor Day Monday, with afternoon high temperatures resting comfortably in the low-to-mid 80s.
The comfortable holiday weather follows the state’s third major heat wave of 2026, which shattered multiple seasonal climate records between September 1 and September 5:
- Warmest Night on Record: On September 4, Indianapolis logged a low of 77°F, setting a new daily warm low record and an all-time record warm low for the month of September.
- Second-Warmest September Day: The high of 97°F recorded in Indianapolis on September 4 was the second-warmest September temperature on record and the city’s hottest single day since July 5, 2022.
- Unprecedented Streak: Indianapolis registered five consecutive days of 95°F+ temperatures (Sept. 1–5), a streak never before recorded in September. The streak tied 1922 for the second-most 95°F+ September days on record, marking the highest occurrence in 87 years.
- Historical Frequency: Marking the 18th September heat wave since 1871 and the first in eight years, 2026 becomes only the 21st year on record—and the first since 2012—in which Indianapolis experienced three separate heat waves in a single calendar year.
Extreme humidity levels pushed heat indices well past 110°F across several Indiana communities during the peak of the spell:
| Location | County | Highest Reported Heat Index | Date(s) |
| Loogootee | Martin County | 113°F | Sept. 4 |
| Carmel | Hamilton County | 111°F | Sept. 4 |
| Mount Comfort | Hancock County | 111°F | Sept. 2 |
| Danville | Hendricks County | 111°F | Sept. 4 |
| Stones Crossing | Johnson County | 111°F | Sept. 4 |
| Oolitic | Lawrence County | 110°F | Sept. 3 & 4 |
| Hardin Ridge | Monroe County | 110°F | Sept. 1 & 4 |
The holiday cool-down will be short-lived. NWS long-range guidance indicates a quick ridge of high pressure will return heat and humidity to the region by Tuesday and Wednesday. Highs in Lawrence County and central Indiana are expected to reach the lower-to-mid 90s midweek.
September typically averages just two days with 90°F-plus temperatures. Having already logged five 90-degree days this month, additional 90-degree afternoons on Tuesday and Wednesday would mark the highest total of September 90°F days in central Indiana since 2015.
However, forecasters emphasize that the midweek heat will be brief. It will be hotter today with sun and hazy skies. A progressive cold front pushing into the region mid-to-late week is expected to bring a round of showers and thunderstorms, returning temperatures to seasonal normals with on-and-off rain and thunder Wednesday and Thursday. The highest chance of rain will be early Thursday morning.
