WHAT TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT:

Heavy amounts of snow (for some)

Friday morning and evening rush hours will be a complete mess

 

WHAT NOT TO BE CONCERNED OUT:

Wind (won’t be a factor)

Bitter cold (doesn’t exist with this storm)

 

THE TIMELINE:

THE SETUP OF THIS STORM:

The storm system moving into the Region doesn’t have the average “look” to it.

It’s not a strong low pressure system we’re tracking from the southern Plains…

It doesn’t have a lot of wind with it…

It’s not “ominous” looking on radar…

Instead, it’s the battle-zone between cold air to the north, warmer air to the south, and a steady stream of moisture working northward out of the Gulf that gets thrown into the boundary between the cold and warm air. Right over NWI.

So the “storm” will look like a rather narrow, but potent stripe of snow that extends from Montana through northern Iowa, southern Wisconsin, and through Indiana over to Ohio. Outside of this stripe of snow–there will be NO snow. Inside of this stripe of snow–a narrow corridor of 4…8…12…even 16 inches of snow before it’s all said and done! Let’s take a look at where this snow will fall and just how narrow this band of snow will be:

Here are all of the different model runs as of 3pm CT showing potential accumulation forecasts. Each color is another inch of snow–any red indicates 10 inches or more of snow.

SLIDESHOW OF REGIONAL ACCUMULATION POTENTIAL:

Let’s take a closer look at some of the model runs:

Rather than focus on exact amounts, notice the TRENDS. Newton and Jasper counties will see a noticeably sharp cutoff between heavy amounts and light amounts. Lake, Porter, La Porte, and Starke counties will see the heaviest amounts of snow–ranging anywhere from 5 to 12 inches depending on how long the band sits in one place.

Let’s get to OUR forecast. As far as accumulations are concerned, you’ve seen the options at this point that everyone sees. It’s just a matter of which one you trust. As for us, I agree with this one the most with a few adjustments. Instead of 8-10 inch totals, we’ll likely see some totals exceed a foot in Lake, Porter, La Porte, and northern Starke counties by Saturday–not due to lake effect–just due to the fact this band will be sitting over those areas the longest.

As always, we’ll be with you throughout this storm sending you updates as needed without clogging your Facebook newsfeed!