Video (6:00):
Good Monday afternoon!
We are watching a system push off to the east that could produce a mix of rain and snow for portions of the area late this evening and into the overnight hours. Here’s a look at the current radar:
The rain and snow showers will slowly push off to the north and east this afternoon and into the evening. Temperatures will warm up above freezing for the majority of the state today… this will help keep pavements primarily wet when the changeover from rain to snow begins in Northern Indiana. Here’s a look at temperatures throughout the next 18 hours.
Note, temperatures will warm up quite a bit, but we will start to drop close to freezing by later this evening. As of now, it looks like the best chance for temperatures to fall below freezing and brief snow accumulations will be in far Northeast Indiana. Precipitation will begin to work into western portions of the area around 7 PM EST and will work into places such as Fort Wayne and Goshen by 9/10 PM EST. Precipitation will likely start as rain and quickly change to a wet snow for far northern counties in Indiana. As of now it looks like the best chance for snow to fall will be between about ~11 PM EST and ending around ~5AM EST (closer to 3AM for Western Indiana) for eastern portions of the area. Here’s a look at the latest simulated radar from the hi-res NAM:
With near freezing surface temperatures and lack of saturation at times in the snow growth zone, we would not rule out a mix of rain and very isolated freezing drizzle (for far northern areas that fall below freezing) at times especially after the initial thump of snow. Any freezing drizzle that falls will likely only glaze elevated surfaces like decks and cars with warm pavement temperatures. As far as snow accumulations, snow could fall heavy enough at times to briefly coat side roads and overpasses, but with marginal surfaces temperatures, most highways should remain wet. Here’s a look at the latest snow accumulation forecast from the hi-res NAM:
Overall, an isolated slushy half inch of accumulations on grassy and elevated surfaces cannot be ruled out. Many areas will drop slightly below freezing tonight, so isolated slick spots due to refreezing of roadways is possible, but likely not widespread.
Winds will be fairly strong with this line of precipitation, which will help dry things out a bit after showers end. Winds will calm down as we approach tomorrow morning.
We will have additional rain and snow showers/squalls that could provide a better chance at scattered snow accumulations tomorrow evening/night. Some of these snow squalls could have moderate to heavy snow at times, but will likely be short-lived.
We’ll provide further updates on tomorrow afternoon’s snow potential throughout tomorrow. Have a great rest of your Monday!