2 days Ago
INDIANA, USA — Sunday will likely be a stormy day across Indiana as a cold front approaches. We are expect a few severe storms during the afternoon, followed by a line of wind storms with gusts up to 70-75 MPH. Wind is our primary threat.
There may also be a few tornadoes and some hail. 13News meteorologists will be keeping you updated throughout the day on WTHR+. Tap HERE for instructions on how to download the WTHR+ app for your Smart TV.
Tap HERE to track the incoming storm to the west with our interactive radar. Storms with the highest impact are most likely from 2 p.m.
to 11 p.m . While severe weather chances are high, not every Hoosier will get a severe storm .
Some of us will just get some rain and thunder. However there is a chance of strong thunderstorms the second half of Sunday. Wind is our highest risk across the state.
There is a low-to-medium chance for tornadoes and hail , especially south of Indianapolis. The Level 3 severe threat from the Storm Prediction Center has been slightly expanded north to now cover about 95% of Indiana . The coverage of thunderstorms will likely be "scattered to numerous", but that does not guarantee every county get's something strong, but a lot of us will.
There a few things helping to enhance our severe threat, but also a few inhibiting factors that could decrease the intensity of storms. Trying to make storm threat stronger Intense cold front coming in — will drop us to the 40s by Monday Stiff southwesterly winds are feeding warmth and humidity for storm creation Winds are increasing in height, which can help storms organize Trying to make the storm threat weaker Morning rain showers across Indiana, especially south and east of Indianapolis, could linger longer than expecting, reducing how much fuel is available to thunderstorms Most of the winds are fairly directionally aligned, which can sometimes lead to waterlogging, slowly weakening a storm We will be watching how severe weather evolves tonight across the Plains. The positioning of the front and existing rain and storms will help us continue to fine tune the forecast for Sunday.
There are two main storm modes to watch: Scattered afternoon storms (very hit-or-miss, and not sure how strong they will be): 2-5 p.m. Line of wind storms in the evening: 4-10 p.
m. This map shows the main storm time window for various regions of Indiana. The storms will start to the south and west, gradually expanding north and east.
There may be a storm before or after this, but these time windows highlight 90% of the action. We think the stormiest time for central Indiana will be 4 p.m.
to 8 p .m. Severe weather and the possible modes (wind, hail, and tornadoes) are not distributed equally across the state.
We are breaking down which areas of the state are most likely to get each type of severe weather. This is a best guess and can change as the environment changes. Wind is our biggest threat.
Many of the storms will probably bring wind gusts of 60-68 MPH. However some of the strong parts of the line of storms could have gusts up to 75 MPH. That would be about the same as an EF-0 tornado.
The highest wind threat is in western and southwestern Indiana. We think the storms will slowly weaken to the east, but still pack a punch with high winds in spots. The wind along a line of storms is not completely uniform.
There are areas where you have wind surges and others where the wind collapses. Tornadoes are not our primary threat, but there may be some rotation that develops in the storms, especially along the leading edge of the evening line of storms. Most of the state has a low chance for tornadoes, but not a zero chance.
Parts of southern Indiana have a medium chance for tornadoes where the rotation in the atmosphere may be a bit stronger. A line of storms doesn't typically bring the most hail, but some hail stones are still possible. Up to golf ball sized hail is possible in some of the storms.
Not everyone will get hail, or at least large hail. In fact hail is a more localized threat for Sunday. We think the scattered storm threat is done by the early evening hours.
There is a chance the line of storms moves in faster with a faster cold front. That could bring the worst of the line of severe storms to central Indiana between 4PM to 8PM. It will take eastern and southeastern Indiana a bit longer to clear out from the storms, but we think the state of Indiana may be mostly done by 11 p.
m.. Don't be surprised if they linger another hour to the south, but we should be about done.
RELATED: Indiana Severe Weather Preparedness Week | What you need to know Sunday will not be out stormiest day in history. However we are expecting some good wind inside these thunderstorms, and there may be a few tornadoes that touchdown. Your 13News Weather Team will be tracking all the storms through the afternoon and evening.
Tune into WTHR+ for storm coverage. Tornado warnings will be broadcasted onto NBC Channel 13. Then watch for the cooler air to rush into Indiana by Monday morning.
Northern areas may even see a snow flurry. — 13News Meteorologist Matt Standridge.
