Slight risk of severe thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon and evening

Convective outlook map
Convective outlook issued at 3:06 a.m. EDT. Yellow area: slight risk of severe thunderstorms between 8 a.m. EDT Wednesday and 8 a.m. EDT Thursday. Green area: non-severe thunderstorms.

All but extreme northern Indiana has a slight risk of severe thunderstorms Wednesday, according to the “Day 3 Convective Outlook” that the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued at 3:06 a.m. EDT. As you can see on the map at right, the slight risk area also includes all put a tiny part of northwestern Ohio and large parts of West Virginia, Kentucky and Illinois. The slight risk area includes all counties in IMO SKYWARN quadrant two, although northern Whitley County is not in the slight risk area.

If severe thunderstorms develop in the slight risk area, meteorologists expect it to happen Wednesday afternoon and/or evening, after daytime heating destabilizes the atmosphere. They indicate that damaging straight-line winds and large hail will be the greatest risks Wednesday.

We’ll know more about Wednesday’s severe weather risk when the SPC issues its first “Day 2 Convective Outlook” for the period, early tomorrow morning (the link above won’t work until after the SPC issues the outlook at about 2 a.m.).