Synopsis: Good Tuesday afternoon. We’re tracking the potential for heavy lake effect snow to begin tomorrow evening. An arctic front will cause a shift in wind direction which will allow for the lake effect snow machine to ramp back up. As of now, snow looks to begin for La Porte and St. Joseph’s counties around 5 PM EST Wednesday. Snow will continue to fall at a solid pace into the weekend. Note, however, our current forecast is only for snow that falls on Wednesday and Thursday. Additional updates and snowfall maps will be necessary for the second half of this event (Friday into Saturday).
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Winds will begin to shift from the northwest around 1PM EST on Wednesday which will allow for a favorable fetch over the lake. Lake effect bands will start to ramp up between 1PM and 4PM and begin accumulating in Northern Indiana around 5PM EST. Some snow showers associated with the arctic front could put down a dusting before the lake effect snow begins.
Temperatures will remain in the teens for areas receiving the lake effect snow due to the northwest winds blowing warmer air off the lake. Surrounding areas will linger in the lower teens and single digits most of Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday night.
Early Wednesday winds will be out of the southwest and begin to shift out of the west and eventually northwest by Wednesday evening. This wind shift allows for moisture to be picked up over the lake and carried onto land and produce heavy snow. During the snowfall winds could be sustained at up to 20 MPH. Expect some blowing snow and whiteout conditions at times.
With warm lake temperatures and cold mid-level temperatures, conditions are very favorable for heavy lake effect snow especially near the South Bend area. With this in mind, here is a look at our snowfall forecast for Wednesday and Thursday:
