The northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service issued the following statement at 9:12 a.m. EST:
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS CANCELLED THE WIND CHILL ADVISORY. TEMPERATURES WILL SLOWLY RISE TO AROUND 10 DEGREES BY LATE MORNING. WIND CHILLS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN THE 5 BELOW TO 10 BELOW RANGE THIS MORNING. THEREFORE…THE WIND CHILL ADVISORY HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
A significant winter storm remains possible in northeastern Indiana and northwestern Ohio this weekend, according to statements issued this morning by the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service.
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| White area indicates county warning area of the northern Indiana NWS office |
“Accumulating snow is likely in the area from Saturday night through Sunday night,” the NWS wrote in its daily Hazardous Weather Outlook at 5:12 a.m. today. “At this time, heaviest accumulations are expected across southeastern portions of the area.” The “area” to which the outlook refers above is the 37-county area served by the northern Indiana office (see map at right). So, the outlook is indicating that the current forecast track of the storm would bring, for example, more snow to Fort Wayne than to South Bend.
Meteorologists put additional information in the Area Forecast Discussion the office issued at 4:15 a.m., in which they indicated that a “more significant snow event” is possible Saturday night through Sunday with the “potential for significant snow accumulations,” especially across the southeastern portion of the office’s forecast area (see note above). However, there are still substantial differences in model forecasts regarding where the band of heaviest precipitation will fall.
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| Flood water begins to cover park land along Tillman Road in southern Fort Wayne at midday Tuesday, Feb. 25. (W9LW photo) |
At 9:11 p.m. yesterday, the National Weather Service extended its flood warning for the St. Mary’s River, as measured at Muldoon Bridge (South Anthony Blvd. Extended), just upstream from Fort Wayne. The warning now remains in effect until 6 a.m. Friday.
At 7:30 a.m. today, the river level was 14.92 feet, which is .92 feet above flood stage, causing minor flooding. That level is the forecast crest, so the river should begin falling today.
At 15.0 feet, flooding occurs on the lowest, unprotected city streets, park drives and county roads.
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
209 PM EST TUE FEB 25 2014
...BITTERLY COLD CONDITIONS TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...
.AN ARCTIC FRONT WILL TRACK ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT BRINGING
ANOTHER ARCTIC AIRMASS TO THE REGION.
LA PORTE-ST. JOSEPH IN-ELKHART-NOBLE-STARKE-PULASKI-MARSHALL-
FULTON IN-KOSCIUSKO-WHITLEY-ALLEN IN-WHITE-CASS IN-MIAMI-WABASH-
HUNTINGTON-WELLS-ADAMS-GRANT-BLACKFORD-JAY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MICHIGAN CITY...LA PORTE...SOUTH BEND...
MISHAWAKA...NEW CARLISLE...WALKERTON...ELKHART...GOSHEN...
NAPPANEE...KENDALLVILLE...LIGONIER...ALBION...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
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT EST /11 PM CST/
TONIGHT TO NOON EST /11 AM CST/ WEDNESDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A
WIND CHILL ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT EST /11 PM
CST/ TONIGHT TO NOON EST /11 AM CST/ WEDNESDAY.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
* FALLING TEMPERATURES OVERNIGHT COMBINED WITH BRISK WEST WINDS
WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILLS DROPPING TO 10 BELOW TO 20 BELOW
OVERNIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING.
IMPACTS...
* WIND CHILLS THIS LOW CAN RESULT IN FROSTBITE TO EXPOSED SKIN
IN AS LITTLE AS 30 MINUTES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS
WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. THIS WILL RESULT IN
FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.
IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS...MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND
GLOVES.
Meteorologists are begin to see indications of a winter storm over the coming weekend. The northern Indiana National Weather Service (NWS) office issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook at 4:31 a.m. today that reads, in part:
“A developing winter storm will bring the potential for accumulating snow to the area from Saturday night through Sunday night.”
The office issued an Area Forecast Discussion at 3:50 a.m. that indcates that details are still to be resolved but a period of “impactful” winter weather looks “increasingly likely” in the Saturday night to Sunday night time frame.
That’s just a hint but this far in advance, it’s all we get. Keep your eye on NWS forecasts for the next several days!
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| The green box encloses the flood warning area. |
The National Weather Service (NWS) has extended a flood warning for the St. Mary’s River in Fort Wayne until 9 a.m. tomorrow. As of this morning, minor flooding was occurring and is forecast to continue.
At 7:30 a.m., the river level at the flood gauge at Muldoon Bridge (South Anthony Blvd. Extended) was 14.39 feet, which is .39 feet above flood stage.
As of the most recent NWS statement at 9:59 p.m. last night, the river was forecast to crest near 14.8 feet at around 7 p.m. today and remain above flood stage until 9 a.m. tomorrow.
At 15.0 feet (just 2.4 inches above the forecast crest), flooding occurs on the lowest unprotected city streets, park drives and county roads.
SKYWARN spotters should continue to report any flooding they see while in the area of the St. Mary’s River in Fort Wayne.
Below is a photo I took at lunchtime today that show the St. Mary’s river rising near its banks in southern Ft. Wayne. At left, you can see the river greenway just above water level. The Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department had already gated off the greenway along Tillman Road, just south of Lower Huntington Road.
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| St. Mary’s River, looking south from Lower Huntington Road |
The latest flood warning for the St. Mary’s River in Fort Wayne increases the forecast crest from 14.1 feet to 15.3 feet. The National Weather Service forecasts that crest to occur at around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
At 15.0 feet, flooding occurs on the lowest unprotected city streets, park drives and county roads.
The river is forecast to rise above flood stage of 14.0 feet early Tuesday morning.
Here’s a link to the latest NWS flood warning.
Here’s a link to an interactive map, on which you can see river levels at various flood gauges.
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| Approximate location of the Muldoon Bridge flood gauge, along South Anthony Blvd extended, south of Ferguson Road. Muldoon Road is the diagonal road in the lower left corner. |
At 7:40 EST this morning, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the “St. Mary’s River at Muldoon Bridge, affecting Allen County.”
“Muldoon Bridge” is the location name the NWS gave to the flood gauge at the St. Mary’s River near the site of the former South Anthony Blvd. Extended bridge. That bridge has been gone for years, but the former bridge is near the intersection of South Anthony Extended and Muldoon Road.
Because that gauge is where NWS measures the level of the St. Mary’s River just before it enters Fort Wayne, that’s the location it gives in its flood warning. Of course, high water at that gauge also means high water downstream. The Muldoon Bridge flood gauge is the only NWS gauge on the St. Mary’s River near Fort Wayne. The next gauge downstream is on the Maumee River (after the confluence of the St. Mary’s and St. Joe forms the Maumee), on the North end of the Anthony Blvd. bridge.
At 7:30 a.m. EST, the river level at the Muldoon Bridge gauge was 13.67 feet.
Flood stage at that gauge is 14.0 feet, which is when parks and farmland throughout southern Allen County begin to flood. Also at 14.0 feet, the City of Fort Wayne usually begins 24-hour flood fighting procedures. The NWS considers 14.1 feet to be “minor flooding.” “Moderate flooding” wouldn’t begin until 17 feet, which is much higher than the river is forecast to rise.
The NWS forecasts the St. Mary’s river to rise above flood stage (at the Muldoon Bridge gauge) this evening and crest near 14.1 feet at around 7 a.m. EST tomorrow. Meteorologists forecast the river to remain above flood stage until around 10 a.m. EST Tuesday.
SKYWARN Spotters: The NWS is looking for “ground truth” flooding reports along the St. Mary’s River in and near Fort Wayne. If you see such flooding, please contact the NWS via telephone (using the unlisted spotter toll-free number), Twitter (@NWSIWX), Facebook or email. Ham radio-equipped spotters might be able to relay reports by calling a SKYWARN net control station (NCS), who can relay the report via NWSChat. Although NCS do not plan to stand up a net at this time, they will monitor local ham frequencies as time allows.
Here’s a link to the latest NWS flood warning.
Here’s a link to an interactive map, on which you can see river levels at various flood gauges.