Category: Heavy Rain

May 04

Heavy Rain And Flooding Update…

Unfortunately, we don’t have any changes to our ongoing forecast.  Widespread rain will continue through Friday, occasionally heavy.  By the time all is said and done, many local rain gauges will check in between 3″-4″.  Lets break it down:

This morning’s radar shows rain intensifying across central and western portions of the state this morning, especially west of I-65.

7:30a radar snap shot.

Plan on steady rains to continue today, periodically heavy.  If you live near a body of water, remain aware of current water levels.  Significant rises will begin to take place this afternoon as the periodically heavy rains add up.

12p forecast radar.

Widespread rain will continue overnight into Friday morning.  As low pressure slowly tracks northeast, we think a “deformation zone” will set-up shop across central Indiana Friday.  Within this large band of rain, multiple intense rain bands will pivot through central Indiana.  Flood concerns will remain high through Friday.

We should finally get into drier air Friday night before one last round of showers pushes southeast across the state Saturday morning.  As of this update, we bracket the 4a-10a timeframe for renewed wet weather.  By Saturday afternoon, drier air should win out and result in a much more favorable forecast Saturday night into Sunday.

By the time all is said and done, widespread 3″-4″ storm totals are expected, and will most certainly lead to flooding.  Even localized 4″+ amounts can be expected within areas where the heaviest rain bands persist.

In closing, as drier air begins to arrive on the scene Saturday evening, much cooler conditions will result in areas of frost into early next week.  Lows in the lower to middle 30s will be common Sunday and Monday mornings across central Indiana.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/heavy-rain-and-flooding-update/

May 03

Flooding Concerns Return…

Highlights:

  • Heavy rain returns
  • Unseasonably cool
  • Drier weather returns late in the weekend

Live Near A Body Of Water? Keep An Eye On The Level…Central Indiana will deal with an extended period of rain, occasionally heavy, tonight through Friday afternoon.  With saturated soils in place, an additional widespread 2.5″-3.5″ (with locally heavier amounts) between now and Saturday morning, flooding concerns are very high.  As the lead off states, please remain aware of water levels if you live near a creek, stream, or river.  The other aspect of this storm will be unseasonably chilly air and gusty easterly winds that will shift to the north Friday night into Saturday.

The weekend will provide a drier trend, but the improvements will be slow to occur.  Showers remain in our Saturday forecast before drier air finally wins out Sunday with sunshine.  The worry once to Sunday and Monday mornings will be the potential of frost and freeze conditions- especially in communities away from downtown.  Remember, no planting around these parts until after Mother’s Day!  😉

Shower chances return by the middle of next week!

Upcoming 7-Day Precipitation Forecast:

  • Snowfall: 0.00″
  • Rainfall:  3″ – 4″

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/flooding-concerns-return/

May 02

Unseasonably Chilly; Another Heavy Rain Maker Blows Into Town…

Clouds will lower and thicken Wednesday morning and give way to an expanding rain shield late morning into the early afternoon hours.  Initially this rain won’t be heavy, but will begin to increase in overall coverage and intensity as we progress into the nighttime hours.

Forecast radar around lunchtime shows rain increasing across central IN.

Rain becomes heavy Wednesday night.

The culprit behind this new heavy rain maker is a deepening surface low pressure system that will slowly track from Arkansas (Wednesday night) northeast along the Ohio River (Thursday) and into Ohio (Friday).  Not only will this spread heavy rain across central Indiana, but will also result in strong and gusty easterly winds Thursday into Friday, and unseasonably cold air.  In fact, temperatures Friday will likely remain in the 40s across central IN with wind chills in the 30s.  Add in that wind-driven rain and we have the makings for an UGLY day.

Periods of heavy rain will fall on the region Wednesday night into Friday and by the time all is said and done (Saturday night) widespread rainfall of 3″ is likely across most of central Indiana.  Locally heavier totals will be possible where the most persistent heavy rain bands set-up shop.

We’ll begin to dry things out Saturday night into Sunday, but unseasonably chilly air will remain.  Lows over the weekend into early next week will grow cold enough to allow patchy frost to develop in outlying communities.  We think low to mid 30s will be common across the region Sunday and Monday mornings.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/unseasonably-chilly-another-heavy-rain-maker-blows-into-town/

May 01

Another Big Rain Maker; Unseasonably Chilly…

Highlights:

  • Limited sunshine
  • Another big rain event awaits
  • Prolonged period of chilly weather

Jackets And Rain Gear Needed…Without question, Tuesday appears to be the “pick of the week” across central Indiana as we get into some briefly drier air.  Enjoy it, as a new storm system will deliver heavy, wind-driven rain and unseasonably chilly air as we progress through mid and late week.

Clouds will lower and thicken Wednesday morning and give way to an expanding shield of rain as morning wears into afternoon and evening.  As the surface low tracks closer to the region, an increasingly strong and gusty easterly wind will develop and combine with the chilly rain to lead to a truly “raw” period of weather to close the work week.  It’ll feel more like early-March than early-May around these parts.  Unfortunately, it still appears as if this next storm will deliver hefty rainfall totals on our already water-logged landscape.  Data paints a widespread swath of 2″-3″ totals with locally heavier amounts.  Flooding, once again, appears likely and if you live near a body of water, it’ll be important to keep a close eye on water levels Thursday into the weekend.

Widespread rain Friday should slowly give way to improving weather conditions over the weekend: scattered showers Saturday and dry, cool weather Sunday.  Speaking of cool, temperatures will continue to run well below average, and lows Saturday through Monday mornings’ may result in patchy frost in outlying areas…

Upcoming 7-Day Precipitation Forecast:

  • Snowfall: 0.00″
  • Rainfall: 2.50″ – 3.50″

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/another-big-rain-maker-unseasonably-chilly/

Apr 30

Keeping A Close Eye On Midweek…

For the purpose of this post, we’ll focus on our next storm system that, at the very least, promises to deal more wet weather to central Indiana come Wednesday night into Friday.  Additionally, this will be a much cooler storm with temperatures struggling to get out of the 40s during the day Thursday, as gusty easterly winds reach 30+ MPH.  At the extreme, this could be another event that deposits widespread 2″+ rainfall totals across central Indiana…

The latest 7-day precipitation anomaly off this afternoon’s GEFS shows the wet pattern that will remain intact over the upcoming (7) day period.

The individual GFS ensemble members are truly concerning, especially given just how wet we currently are.  We note some members suggest additional 3″-4″ totals- with over 50% of that coming from our midweek storm.

We’ll keep a close eye on model data over the next couple of days, but as of now, we suggest planning for additional hefty rain totals in the Wednesday night through Friday time frame.  Also of interest will be the extreme cool associated with this storm.  As previously mentioned, the majority of the day Thursday will be spent in the 40s (more like early-March than early-May).  Factor in a gusty easterly breeze and we’ll have the makings for a truly “raw” weather day across the region.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/keeping-a-close-eye-on-midweek/