December 23, 2017 archive

An “Appetizer” To Christmas Eve’s “Main Course…”

In general, northern ‘burbs picked up between 1″ to 3″ of wet snow earlier this morning before drier conditions arrived for the afternoon hours.  A couple of reports include Whitestown with 1.6″, Carmel with 2″, and Lebanon with 2.5″.  A sharp cut-off with slushy coatings to less than 1″ made it as far south as the city, itself.  Today’s event will be viewed as the “appetizer” to Christmas Eve’s “main course.”

Vigorous upper level energy will track through the Ohio Valley Christmas Eve afternoon into the evening, itself.

Snow will begin to overspread the state, especially north of the I-70 corridor during the mid-to-late morning hours and we expect a steady snow to fall across the northern half of the state throughout the majority of the day.  A period of moderate to heavy snow should develop during the mid-to-late afternoon, continuing into the evening hours across central Indiana.  Road conditions will begin to really deteriorate during this time frame as surface temperatures fall into the 20s.

Eventually, snow will end from west (around 8p) to east (around midnight) tomorrow night, but not before depositing a widespread swath of 3″-5″ for areas generally north of I-70.  For the city, itself, we think 2″ to 3″ is a good call, with generally an inch, or less across far southern portions of the state.

Don’t be surprised if enough Christmas “magic” results in localized heavier totals with potential banding that develops tomorrow afternoon into the evening hours.  All in all, this will be a classic, picturesque snow event for Christmas Eve.  Hoosiers will wake up Christmas morning with a fresh blanket of white.

We have additional wintry fun and games to track later next week!

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2017/12/23/an-appetizer-to-christmas-eves-main-course/

“It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas…”

Highlights:

  • Wet snow today
  • New snow maker for Christmas Eve
  • Turning bitterly cold

Festive Forecast…Rain changed to wet snow for northwestern ‘burbs between 4a-5a and the transition from wet to white will continue to progress southeast through the morning.  A period of heavy, wet snow will fall through mid and late morning before precipitation begins to taper off.  Our going snowfall forecast from yesterday continues to work with this event (for most it’s a slushy coating to 1″ in and around Indianapolis, increasing to a couple inches north).  We experienced our high temperature for the day shortly after midnight.

Attention will then quickly shift to a new snow maker arriving Christmas Eve.  The day will start dry, but snow will quickly develop as we progress into the afternoon.  At times, snow will come down at a moderate clip and provide a classic setting for your festivities tomorrow evening.  (We’ll have a fresh discussion posted later this afternoon for this event).  Travel safely and leave extra time to reach your destination, as snow will accumulate on roadways.  Additionally, we’ll add wind into the mix tomorrow night into Christmas Day with fresh cold air advection.

Speaking of Christmas, if you’re anticipating Santa to deliver outdoor gifts, you’ll want to plan to bundle up as you head out to enjoy the new toys.  It’ll be a dry, but very cold Christmas.

Cold will remain the weather word to sum up next week and we’ll target the end of next week for the potential next winter event.  It’s a busy, fun pattern if you like winter!

Upcoming 7-Day Precipitation Forecast:

  • Snowfall: 3″ – 5″
  • Rainfall: 0.00″

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2017/12/23/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas/

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