Category Archives: ClientBrief

Client Brief: Heavy, Wet Snow Arrives Saturday Evening…

Updated: 01.29.21 @ 7:38a

Type: Impactful wintry weather

What: Accumulating snow

When: 4p Saturday – 4a Sunday

Temperatures: 29° to 32°

Wind: SE 10 – 20 MPH and gusty

Blowing/ Drifting: Considerable

Pavement Impacts: Plowing and salting will be required

Summary: Saturday will likely start off with early morning sunshine before a lowering and thickening cloud canopy rolls in through late morning. By early afternoon, the sky across most of central IN will have that classic look of a snowstorm brewing, and rightfully so. The initial band of snow will arrive mid to late afternoon (we bracket 4p to 5p into Indianapolis, itself) and will hit like a wall. The combination of evaporative cooling, strong lift, and embedded banding features will likely result in S+ (heavy snow) throughout the evening hours across central Indiana. This will be a wet, heavy snow. Most of central Indiana should remain snow throughout the night, the exception being areas on the south side of the city (line from Greencastle to Greenwood to Greensburg) and points south where temperatures may creep just above 32° and result in a brief mix before transitioning over to rain. Drizzle or mixed rain and snow showers Sunday will transition back to snow showers throughout the afternoon, but the majority of accumulating snow across our region will fall in that 12 hour period from 4p to 4a Sunday.

Confidence: High

Next Update: This afternoon (video)

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Client Brief: Snowy Open To Sunday…

Type: Impactful wintry weather

What: Accumulating snow

When: 10p Saturday – 10a Sunday

Temperatures: Lower 30s

Wind: E shifting to the NW Sunday morning 5-15 MPH

Blowing/ Drifting: Minimal

Pavement Impacts: Plowing and salting will be required

Summary: A cold core upper level disturbance will move directly over Indiana tonight and Sunday morning. After a dry period of weather through the daytime Saturday, a mix of rain and snow will overspread central IN by late evening. As the upper level disturbance moves overhead, the column of air should become just cold enough to allow the wintry mix to transition to all snow during the overnight. Embedded bands of moderate to heavy snow will develop early Sunday morning along and just north of the I-70 corridor. Today’s high resolution guidance has “honed in” on the heavier snow zone being located from Vermillion county northeast to Randolph county and points north. The system will pull east of the state Sunday afternoon, allowing the snow to come to an end through the morning (prior to dawn across western IN, shortly after sunrise immediate central, and mid-morning east-central).

Confidence: High

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Client Brief: Thump Of Wet Snow Saturday Night – Sunday Morning…

Type: Impactful wintry weather

What: Accumulating snow

When: 11p Saturday – 11a Sunday

Temperatures: Lower 30s

Wind: E shifting to the NW Sunday morning 5-15 MPH

Blowing/ Drifting: Minimal

Pavement Impacts: Plowing and salting will be required

Summary: A cold core upper level disturbance will lift northeast out of north-central Texas tonight and directly over Indiana Saturday night and Sunday morning. After a dry period of weather through the daytime Saturday, a mix of rain and snow will overspread central IN by late evening. As the upper level disturbance moves overhead, the column of air should become just cold enough to allow the wintry mix to transition to all snow during the overnight. Embedded bands of moderate to heavy snow may develop early Sunday morning. The system will pull east of the state Sunday afternoon, allowing the snow to come to an end by mid to late morning.

Confidence: Medium – high

Next Update: Saturday morning

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Client Brief: Freezing Rain Arrives Pre-Dawn Friday…

Type: Impactful wintry weather

What: Freezing rain/ icy glaze

When: 2a – 1p Friday

Temperatures: 25° to 30° (location dependent, please see below)

Wind: East 5-15 MPH

Blowing/ Drifting: Non-existent

Pavement Impacts: Salting will be required

Summary: After a dry New Year’s Eve, moisture will advance north as a surface low tracks from the northwestern Gulf Coast into the Ohio Valley. As the precipitation arrives (around or just after midnight for far southwestern IN before spreading north, reaching Indianapolis by 4a, and north-central Indiana by 6a), it’ll encounter a shallow layer of cold air entrenched at the surface. Several hours of freezing rain can be expected north of a line from Terre Haute, Bloomington, and Cincinnati Friday morning where temperatures will remain below freezing the longest. South of that line, only a brief period of icing is expected before a transition to a cold rain. Further north, especially along and north of the I-70 corridor, temperatures will fall into the middle to upper 20s tonight and slowly rise into the lower 30s by late morning. All of the state will “warm” above freezing by Friday afternoon with any lingering moisture falling as a plain ole rain. Beforehand, an icy glaze is expected to develop predawn Friday and travel will be difficult in places- especially from central IN and points north. If at all possible, we recommend delaying travel until afternoon as conditions should slowly begin to improve by that point.

Confidence: High

Next Update: This afternoon

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Client Brief: Widespread Snow Builds In Overnight Tuesday – Wednesday; Slippery Travel Expected Wednesday AM…

Type: Impactful wintry weather

What: Accumulating snow

When: Late Tuesday night & Wednesday

Temperatures: Upper 20s – lower 30s

Wind: NE 10-20 MPH early in the event, shifting to the NW and decreasing to 5-10 MPH Wednesday

Blowing/ Drifting: Minimal 

Pavement Impacts: Salting and plowing required

Summary: We don’t see any need to change our early stand on this event (originally issued Saturday morning). Data over the weekend trended away from the heavier snowfall amounts falling across our area only to have moved back to the snowy idea over the past 12-24 hours. Though while never expected to be a blockbuster event here, we always felt this was a classic setup to produce widespread accumulating snows across the region. The snow shield will lift northeast across the region overnight Tuesday into predawn Wednesday. We expect an arrival into the Indy metro and surrounding ‘burbs between 1a (southwest) and 3a (northeast). Once the snow arrives, it’ll settle in for the long haul, continuing (light to moderate intensity) for the better part of the daytime hours. Unfortunately, we fully expect slick roadways for the Wednesday morning rush. The snow will eventually end (southwest to northeast) between 3p and 7p Wednesday. We have no changes to our initial snowfall map below, first issued Saturday morning.

Confidence: High

Next Update: Tuesday morning (video package)

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