Stable atmosphere might inhibit severe weather

An Area Forecast Discussion issued by the National Weather Service northern Indiana weather forecast office (WFO) at 1:56 p.m. EDT indicated that the atmosphere remained stable in in that office’s county warning area (CWA), thus inhibiting development of severe storms. Much depends on how many breaks in cloud cover allow the sun to heat the earth’s surface, which would allow the air above to become unstable. For the moment, the WFO seems most concerned about the northwestern parts of its CWA (IMO SKYWARN Quadrant 4) from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT. The primary threat remains straight-line winds but the WFO writes that it can’t rule out an isolated tornado. As of 2:30 p.m. EDT, no mesoscale discussions or watches were in effect. Keep an eye on the situation as things warm up this afternoon!