URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED FLOOD WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 337 PM EST THU DEC 19 2013
...HEAVY RAINFALL AND POTENTIAL FLOODING THIS WEEKEND...
.A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL ORGANIZE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS ON SATURDAY AND MOVE TOWARD THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES AND OHIO VALLEY REGIONS THROUGH LATE SUNDAY. RAIN IS EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD THE AREA SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY. RAINFALL WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY SATURDAY EVENING INTO SUNDAY MORNING. WHILE THE EXACT TRACK OF THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION IS STILL UNCERTAIN...THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL. IN ADDITION...WARMER AIR SURGING NORTHWARD WILL ALLOW FOR MELTING OF THE EXISTING SNOWPACK. THE COMBINATION OF RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL AND SNOWMELT MAY LEAD TO FLOODING OF STREAMS AND CREEKS ALONG WITH LOW LYING AREAS. RIVER LEVELS ACROSS THE MAUMEE AND WABASH BASINS WILL LIKELY SEE SIGNIFICANT RISES AND POTENTIAL FLOODING INTO NEXT WEEK.
INZ008-009-012>018-020-022>027-032>034-OHZ001-002-004-005-015-016- 024-025-200845- /O.NEW.KIWX.FA.A.0005.131221T1800Z-131222T1200Z/ /00000.0.RS.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/ NOBLE-DE KALB-STARKE-PULASKI-MARSHALL-FULTON IN-KOSCIUSKO-WHITLEY- ALLEN IN-WHITE-CASS IN-MIAMI-WABASH-HUNTINGTON-WELLS-ADAMS-GRANT- BLACKFORD-JAY-WILLIAMS-FULTON OH-DEFIANCE-HENRY-PAULDING-PUTNAM- VAN WERT-ALLEN OH- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...KENDALLVILLE...LIGONIER...ALBION... AUBURN...GARRETT...KNOX...NORTH JUDSON...BASS LAKE...WINAMAC... FRANCESVILLE...MEDARYVILLE...PLYMOUTH...BREMEN...CULVER... ROCHESTER...AKRON...WARSAW...WINONA LAKE...SYRACUSE...MENTONE... COLUMBIA CITY...TRI-LAKES...SOUTH WHITLEY...FORT WAYNE... NEW HAVEN...MONTICELLO...BROOKSTON...MONON...LOGANSPORT... ROYAL CENTER...PERU...GRISSOM AFB...MEXICO...WABASH... NORTH MANCHESTER...HUNTINGTON...ROANOKE...BLUFFTON...OSSIAN... DECATUR...BERNE...MARION...GAS CITY...UPLAND...HARTFORD CITY... MONTPELIER...PORTLAND...DUNKIRK...BRYAN...WAUSEON...ARCHBOLD... FAYETTE...SWANTON...DEFIANCE...SHERWOOD...HICKSVILLE...NAPOLEON... DESHLER...LIBERTY CENTER...PAULDING...ANTWERP...MELROSE... OTTAWA...PANDORA...KALIDA...FORT JENNINGS...VAN WERT...DELPHOS... OHIO CITY...LIMA...SPENCERVILLE 337 PM EST THU DEC 19 2013 /237 PM CST THU DEC 19 2013/
...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A
* FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN INDIANA AND NORTHWEST OHIO...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN NORTHERN INDIANA... ADAMS...ALLEN IN...BLACKFORD...CASS IN...DE KALB...FULTON IN... GRANT...HUNTINGTON...JAY...KOSCIUSKO...MARSHALL...MIAMI... NOBLE...PULASKI...STARKE...WABASH...WELLS...WHITE AND WHITLEY. IN NORTHWEST OHIO...ALLEN OH...DEFIANCE...FULTON OH...HENRY... PAULDING...PUTNAM...VAN WERT AND WILLIAMS.
* FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING
* RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL AND SNOWMELT WILL INCREASE THE THREAT FOR FLOODING. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE WITH HIGHEST AMOUNTS SOUTH OF US 24. THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WILL OCCUR SATURDAY EVENING INTO SUNDAY MORNING.
* IMPACTS INCLUDE FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AS WELL AS STREAMS AND CREEKS. MAIN STEM RIVER LEVELS WILL SEE SIGNIFICANT RISES AND POTENTIAL FLOODING INTO NEXT WEEK.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING BASED ON CURRENT FORECASTS.
YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE FLOOD WARNINGS. THOSE LIVING IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLOODING DEVELOP.
In case you didn’t see it, the northern Indiana National Weather Service office emailed the following briefing to SKYWARN storm spotters late this morning:
Widespread light rain Friday and Friday night with rainfall amounts generally 0.10-0.25 inches.
Some snowmelt Friday-Friday night but hydro impacts are expected to be none to minimal through Saturday morning.
Rain expected to increase from south to north Saturday afternoon to Saturday evening, and rain will become heavy late Saturday afternoon and especially Saturday night.
Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches possible Saturday through early Sunday morning, with localized heavier amounts possible, especially south of Route 24.Heavy rain combined with rapid snowmelt during this period will lead to heightened flooding risk.
Confidence – Increasing confidence in heavy rain affecting portions of the forecast area, but still medium confidence on exactly where axis of heaviest rainfall sets up which will be refined in future updates/forecasts.
Latest forecast for position of weekend system by Sun AM. This would keep the area w/ rain thru Sun aftn pic.twitter.com/KWednmKEwz — NWS Northern Indiana (@NWSIWX) December 19, 2013
See the infographic below, issued this morning by the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service. Note especially the chance of freezing rain Saturday morning and the statement that the forecast might still change.
See also the Hazardous Weather Outlook below, which the northern Indiana NWS office issued at 5:15 this morning:
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST OHIO... SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN AND NORTHERN INDIANA.
.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
THERE IS A CHANCE OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OVER NORTHWEST PORTIONS OF THE AREA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING.
HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA LATER SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT AS A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. THE COMBINATION OF HEAVY RAINFALL AND SNOW MELT MAY CAUSE SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IN THE AREA BY SUNDAY. ACCUMULATING SNOW IS ALSO POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTHWEST PORTIONS OF THE AREA ON SUNDAY.
Another storm this weekend could bring winter weather and travel problems to the nation’s mid section. pic.twitter.com/BYgBYoSElT — NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) December 16, 2013
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 326 PM EST TUE DEC 17 2013
...BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW MAY TO LEAD TO TRAVEL CONCERNS THROUGH THIS EVENING...
AROUND AN INCH OF DRY SNOW FELL AS THE FRONT PASSED TODAY. THIS NEW SNOW IN ADDITION TO WHAT IS ALREADY ON THE GROUND WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING CONCERNS AS WINDS BECOME WESTERLY AND INCREASE TO 10 TO 20 MPH WITH A FEW GUSTS APPROACHING 30 MPH. SECONDARY AND SOME PRIMARY ROADS COULD BECOME SNOW COVERED AND ICY IN SPOTS DUE TO THE DRIFTING SNOW AS WELL AS LOCALLY REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN STRONGER WIND GUSTS DUE TO BLOWING. THIS WILL ESPECIALLY BE A CONCERN ON ANY NORTH TO SOUTH ROADWAYS...ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AND RURAL AREAS. WINDS WILL SLOWLY SUBSIDE LATE THIS EVENING...BUT SOME DRIFTING SNOW COULD LINGER INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.
INZ003>009-012-014-016>018-MIZ077>081-OHZ001-002-004-005-015-016- 180300- /O.CON.KIWX.WW.Y.0013.000000T0000Z-131218T0300Z/ LA PORTE-ST. JOSEPH IN-ELKHART-LAGRANGE-STEUBEN-NOBLE-DE KALB- STARKE-MARSHALL-KOSCIUSKO-WHITLEY-ALLEN IN-BERRIEN-CASS MI- ST. JOSEPH MI-BRANCH-HILLSDALE-WILLIAMS-FULTON OH-DEFIANCE-HENRY- PAULDING-PUTNAM- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MICHIGAN CITY...LA PORTE...SOUTH BEND... MISHAWAKA...NEW CARLISLE...WALKERTON...ELKHART...GOSHEN... NAPPANEE...LAGRANGE...TOPEKA...SHIPSHEWANA...ANGOLA...FREMONT... KENDALLVILLE...LIGONIER...ALBION...AUBURN...GARRETT...KNOX... NORTH JUDSON...BASS LAKE...PLYMOUTH...BREMEN...CULVER...WARSAW... WINONA LAKE...SYRACUSE...MENTONE...COLUMBIA CITY...TRI-LAKES... SOUTH WHITLEY...FORT WAYNE...NEW HAVEN...NILES...BENTON HARBOR... ST. JOSEPH...BUCHANAN...DOWAGIAC...CASSOPOLIS...MARCELLUS... STURGIS...THREE RIVERS...WHITE PIGEON...MENDON...COLDWATER... BRONSON...HILLSDALE...LITCHFIELD...JONESVILLE...BRYAN... MONTPELIER...WAUSEON...ARCHBOLD...FAYETTE...SWANTON...DEFIANCE... SHERWOOD...HICKSVILLE...NAPOLEON...DESHLER...LIBERTY CENTER... PAULDING...ANTWERP...MELROSE...OTTAWA...PANDORA...KALIDA... FORT JENNINGS 326 PM EST TUE DEC 17 2013 /226 PM CST TUE DEC 17 2013/
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST /9 PM CST/ THIS EVENING...
HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
* NORTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 20 MPH WITH A FEW GUSTS TO 30 MPH WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...MAINLY IN RURAL AREAS.
IMPACTS...
* ROADS WILL BE SNOW COVERED...SLICK AND HAZARDOUS IN PLACES.
* VISIBILITIES MAY BE REDUCED QUICKLY OVER A SHORT DISTANCE WHERE BLOWING SNOW CROSSES THE ROAD.
* DRIFTING SNOW MAY CAUSE SECONDARY AND SOME PRIMARY ROADS TO BECOME SNOW COVERED AND ICY FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW...BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING...ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AREAS.
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 1149 AM EST TUE DEC 17 2013
...LIGHT SNOW AND BREEZY CONDITIONS TO LEAD TO TRAVEL CONCERNS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...
.A FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS MOVING THROUGH THE REGION TODAY...BRINGING A QUICK BURST OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW TO NORTHERN INDIANA...LOWER MICHIGAN...AND NORTHWEST OHIO. OVERALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL AVERAGE BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES IN MOST AREAS...MAINLY NORTH OF ROUTE 6. AS THE FRONT PASSES...WINDS WILL BECOME NORTHWEST AND INCREASE TO 10 TO 20 MPH WITH A FEW GUSTS APPROACHING 30 MPH. THIS WILL CAUSE WIDESPREAD BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE FRESHLY FALLEN SNOW AND ALREADY EXISTING SNOW PACK IN MAINLY RURAL AREAS. SECONDARY AND SOME PRIMARY ROADS COULD BECOME PARTIALLY IMPASSABLE IN SPOTS DUE TO THE DRIFTING SNOW AS WELL AS LOCALLY REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN STRONGER WIND GUSTS DUE TO BLOWING. WINDS WILL SLOWLY SUBSIDE THIS EVENING...BUT SOME DRIFTING SNOW COULD LINGER INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.
INZ003>009-012-014-016>018-MIZ077>081-OHZ001-002-004-005-015-016- 180100- /O.CON.KIWX.WW.Y.0013.131217T1800Z-131218T0300Z/ LA PORTE-ST. JOSEPH IN-ELKHART-LAGRANGE-STEUBEN-NOBLE-DE KALB- STARKE-MARSHALL-KOSCIUSKO-WHITLEY-ALLEN IN-BERRIEN-CASS MI- ST. JOSEPH MI-BRANCH-HILLSDALE-WILLIAMS-FULTON OH-DEFIANCE-HENRY- PAULDING-PUTNAM- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MICHIGAN CITY...LA PORTE...SOUTH BEND... MISHAWAKA...NEW CARLISLE...WALKERTON...ELKHART...GOSHEN... NAPPANEE...LAGRANGE...TOPEKA...SHIPSHEWANA...ANGOLA...FREMONT... KENDALLVILLE...LIGONIER...ALBION...AUBURN...GARRETT...KNOX... NORTH JUDSON...BASS LAKE...PLYMOUTH...BREMEN...CULVER...WARSAW... WINONA LAKE...SYRACUSE...MENTONE...COLUMBIA CITY...TRI-LAKES... SOUTH WHITLEY...FORT WAYNE...NEW HAVEN...NILES...BENTON HARBOR... ST. JOSEPH...BUCHANAN...DOWAGIAC...CASSOPOLIS...MARCELLUS... STURGIS...THREE RIVERS...WHITE PIGEON...MENDON...COLDWATER... BRONSON...HILLSDALE...LITCHFIELD...JONESVILLE...BRYAN... MONTPELIER...WAUSEON...ARCHBOLD...FAYETTE...SWANTON...DEFIANCE... SHERWOOD...HICKSVILLE...NAPOLEON...DESHLER...LIBERTY CENTER... PAULDING...ANTWERP...MELROSE...OTTAWA...PANDORA...KALIDA... FORT JENNINGS 1149 AM EST TUE DEC 17 2013 /1049 AM CST TUE DEC 17 2013/
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST /9 PM CST/ THIS EVENING...
HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
* 1 TO POSSIBLY 2 INCHES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON...MAINLY NORTH OF ROUTE 6.
* NORTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 20 MPH WITH A FEW GUSTS TO 30 MPH WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...MAINLY IN RURAL AREAS.
IMPACTS...
* ROADS WILL BE SNOW COVERED...SLICK AND HAZARDOUS.
* VISIBILITIES WILL BE REDUCED TO ONE HALF MILE OR LESS BOTH IN HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS AND BLOWING SNOW.
* DRIFTING SNOW MAY CAUSE SECONDARY AND SOME PRIMARY ROADS TO BECOME PARTIALLY IMPASSABLE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW...BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING...ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AREAS.
The weather forecast turns “extremely dicey” over the weekend, according to a forecast discussion the northern Indiana National Weather Service office issued early this morning. Forecasters say “significant winter storm” will develop across Texas and turn northeast into the Ohio valley. “This system will wreck many a Christmas travel plan,” forecasters wrote.
I suggest that readers keep an eye on the forecast as the weekend approaches. The closer it gets, the more specific the forecast will be.
