Confidence remains high on a strong winter storm in the Midwest and Great Lakes region next week, but the important details on storm track, precipitation type and snow amounts remain quite uncertain, according to an “Area Forecast Discussion” that the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service (NWS) issued early this morning.

Computer forecast models continue to “jump around with potential solutions,” writes meteorologist Sam Lashley.

As of this morning, Lashley expects mostly rain Monday night through Tuesday in his forecast area (northern Indiana, southern Lower Michigan and northwestern Ohio). Meteorologists remain uncertain about when and where that rain might change to snow and how much snow might fall, but as of this morning, snow is most likely Wednesday and Christmas Eve.

The “Hazardous Weather Outlook” that the northern Indiana NWS office issued this morning advises readers that the storm could impact holiday travel and that they should “pay attention to later forecasts as details become more clear.”

Good advice. You can always get information directly from the NWS website (www.weather.gov) and as my personal time permits, I’ll continue to keep readers of this blog updated.