Category: Flooding

Active Thursday Ahead…

* Your complete 7-Day forecast can be found below this post.

We continue to monitor things closely Thursday as a busy day is on tap.  Thunderstorms will initially blow into the region Thursday morning as a warm front lifts north through central Indiana.  These storms will be capable of producing heavy rain and vivid lightning.

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We’ll then get into a much warmer south wind (gusting up to 30 MPH) and watch radar trends closely to our west.  We’re still very concerned for a squall line plowing east through the region Thursday evening.  Time of greatest concern lies between 5PM and 8PM for this line, but we caution timing may have to be adjusted after looking over evening data.  Damaging straight line winds are of the greatest concern Thursday evening, along with torrential rainfall.

ThrSeverThreatSIMRadarFollowing the squall line, we’re also concerned for strong and potentially damaging northwest winds Thursday night, gusting up to 50 MPH, as low pressure rapidly deepens moving into the Great Lakes.

Bullet Point Thoughts You Need To Know For Thursday

  • Morning round of heavy rain and thunderstorms
  • Severe squall line capable of wind gusts over 60 MPH Thursday evening- targeting 5pm to 11pm
  • Heavy rain totals around 1″
  • Strong northwest winds Thursday night that could gust up to 50 MPH

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2014/02/19/active-thursday-ahead/

Focus On Mid Week Flood/ Storm Threat…

Wed.

Thr.

Fri.

Sat.

Sun.

 Mon.

Tue.

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35/ 50

36/ 60

29/ 43

29/ 39

21/ 35

17/ 28

16/ 24 

0.00”

0.75″-1.00″

0.00”

Trace

Trace

0.00″

Accumulating snow?

Forecast Updated: 02.19.14 @ 8:00a

One More Calm Day…A weak front blew through early Wednesday and produced a light shower for southeast parts of the state.  Sunshine will return Wednesday along with a blustery northwest wind.  It’ll be another mild day.

Concern For Flooding And Severe…With continued melting of a deep snow pack, combined with around an inch of rain (most of which falls within a 3 hour time period Thursday) and the stage will certainly be set for flooding.  In fact, we remain very concerned for flooding Thursday. If you live in a flood prone area, please prepare to seek higher ground Thursday as flood waters rise.

The second concern is a severe potential Thursday evening.  While the greatest threat for severe weather will remain south and east of our immediate region, we’ll have to be mindful of the potential of damaging straight line wind gusts Thursday evening.  The greatest threat lies between 5PM and 8PM Thursday as a line of thunderstorms pushes east through the state.  Again, damaging straight line winds, in excess of 60 MPH, is our greatest concern at present time.  Stay tuned.  Drier and much colder air will roar in behind the front Thursday night on strong and gusty northwest winds.

Weak Weekend Disturbances…A couple of fast moving disturbances will pass through the region this weekend and could spark scattered snow showers in the much colder air.

Accumulating Snow Early Next Week…Model data continues to struggle in the mid range handling energy coming east before what continues to look like a big blast of arctic air to wrap up February.  As of now, we’re targeting Tuesday for best chances of accumulating snow, but stress this a low confidence forecast in regards to timing at present.  Stay tuned.

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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2014/02/18/focus-on-mid-week-flood-storm-threat/

Cold Today; Messy Monday Ahead.

Sun.

Mon.

Tue.

Wed.

Thr.

Fri.

Sat.

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16/ 25

15/ 33

20/ 39

24/ 42

35/ 57

28/ 45

28/ 50 

0.00”

1-3″ (and ice)

0.00”

Trace

0.50″-1.00″

0.00″

0.00”

Forecast Updated 02.16.14 @ 11:15a

Cold Sunday…Fresh off celebrating our snowiest winter on record (surpassed last night at IND at 51.6″ and the Record Event Report can be found here), we’ll enjoy a dry day, but blowing and drifting snow will remain an issue in the open country. A few breaks in the cloud cover can be expected this afternoon on what will otherwise be a rather cloudy day.  Highs will only climb into the lower to middle 20s (well below the average high of 40 and closer to the normal low of 24).  Yes, our cold, snowy winter just keeps on keepin’ on!

Snow And Ice Issues Monday…A storm system will move through the region Monday and deliver a mixture of precipitation types across central Indiana.  The way we see things unfolding as of this forecast update brings a wintry mix of sleet and snow into the city around noon with periods of moderate to even heavy wintry precipitation falling into the mid to late afternoon hours before we begin to see the shield of moisture push northeast.  This will be a “thump and go” type event.

As for precipitation type, this remains a challenge and will require much fine tuning later tonight and through the day tomorrow (another now cast scenario).  We’re thinking mostly snow is the dominant form of precipitation from the northern suburbs of Indianapolis and points north.  Here, 2-3″ of wet snow is possible, polished off with a light glaze of a freezing rain/sleet mixture before precipitation ends.  For the city, itself, we think around 1-2″ of snow is possible with a glaze of freezing rain of around a tenth of an inch. Farther south, to include the southern Indianapolis suburbs, an icy mixture of sleet and freezing rain will be the concern with glaze potential approaching one quarter inch.  Again, we caution this is our best idea at this point and we’ll post some fresh thoughts later this evening.

Needless to say, tomorrow stands to include treacherous driving conditions in and around central Indiana and the National Weather Service will likely issue Winter Weather/ Freezing Rain Advisories later this afternoon to account for the wintry conditions anticipated tomorrow afternoon.

Flooding Concerns On The Rise…With such a deep snowpack across central Indiana, combined with a frozen ground, flooding concerns will be on the rise as early as the middle to latter part of the week.  We think dry and chilly (albeit milder) conditions will be with us Tuesday, but low clouds, fog, and drizzle likely develop by Wednesday as milder air streams north over the snowpack locked in across the region.

By Thursday, our attention turns to the potential of heavy rain and a couple of thunderstorms as a cold front blows through the region.  Early ideas of Thursday rainfall numbers would suggest anywhere from .50-1″ of rain is laid down and when combined with the heavy snow pack and milder air, flooding concerns will certainly be present.  Needless to say, if you live in a flood prone area, please monitor the situation closely later this week.

Winter Blows Back In…As promised, the briefly milder shot of air would be just that- brief.  We continue to monitor data that suggests a colder, more wintry, pattern blows right back into the region to wrap up February.

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For weather updates and more “behind the scenes” data on the go, be sure to Follow Us on Twitter @indywx or become a Friend of IndyWx.com on Facebook!

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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2014/02/16/cold-today-messy-monday-ahead/

Saturday Morning Notes…

* Your full, updated, 7-Day Forecast will be published later tonight. 1.) In the long range, credit the Canadian model for being spot on with yesterday’s snow storm.  It was…

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Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2014/02/15/saturday-morning-notes/

Next Week’s Spring Tease Is Just That, A “Tease…”

There’s no doubt we’re looking at a brief pattern change next week that will result in air temperatures that will have many of you craving spring.  That said, the key word in that sentence is “brief” and a colder, more wintry pattern looks to return to wrap up February and head into March.

Before we discuss the return of the cold and potentially wintry regime for late month, let’s focus on the milder conditions.  Data suggests we may be looking at highs zooming all the way into the lower to middle 60s towards the 20th-23rd time period.  The spring tease is likely to come at a cost as the milder southerly breezes likely result in lots of dense fog and areas of drizzle as a deep snowpack remains locked in place.  Flooding concerns may also become a concern next week, especially if we inject moderate to heavy rain into the region.  10-day rainfall numbers do have to make us a little nervous as a blend of model data suggests 1″-1.5″ down between now and the 22nd.  We’ll continue to monitor things.

Finally, it should be noted that while a brief “relaxation” of the seemingly unending winter is on the way, the long term pattern continues to suggest a cold and wintry time of things continues overall.  Next week appears to be an “island of warmth in a sea of cold” type pattern.  Latest ensemble data continues to back this idea up.  That’s not saying we’re going to deal with the type of severe cold we’ve seen over the past several weeks, but instead means we’re going to go back below normal as we get set to wrap up February and head into March.

The latest GFS ensembles show the evolution of things well.  The “double secret probation” European model also shows something similar.

gefs_z500anom_nh_33gefs_z500anom_nh_49gefs_z500anom_nh_65

Note the ridge and associated spring “tease” is replaced with a cold and more wintry looking eastern trough rather quickly.  Circle the 24th on your calendar for the potential of a widespread storm system.  Far too early for details or questions, but the pattern looks to produce some busy times around this point.  Before that we have plenty of weather in front of us to deal with… weekend snow opportunities, foggy/ drizzly weather to accompany the initial surge of milder air next week, and a spring tease by late next week!

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2014/02/12/next-weeks-spring-tease-is-just-that-a-tease/

Dangerous Flood Event Developing

Widespread rainfall totals are approaching 1″-2″ since the rain begin Friday across central Indiana.  When you look at the big-scale radar picture (snapped shortly after 8 o’clock this morning), you can understand the concern that’s ahead later this evening into Sunday, from a flooding perspective.

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Latest projected rainfall numbers remain very consistent on the message we’ve been passing off  to you, the viewer, for a few days now…widespread 3″-4″ totals, with locally heavier amounts.

We think steady moderate to heavy rains continue for the better part of the day, but we note our short term, high-resolution, models targeting this afternoon and overnight for some extreme rainfall rates to develop.  Here’s a look at the simulated radar valid 7pm this evening:

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When you consider the snow melt and the rain that will have already fallen by this point, the stage is set for a very dangerous overnight flooding situation.  Flooding any time of the day is dangerous, but particularly so at night.  If you live in a flood prone area, PLEASE make sure to have a plan in place and consider perhaps spending the night with family or friends tonight as rapid water rise is certain to occur.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/2013/12/21/dangerous-flood-event-developing/

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