Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Northern Indiana
Issued by NWS Northern Indiana
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472 FXUS63 KIWX 180515 AFDIWX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Northern Indiana 115 AM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - The next chance of rain arrives tonight and persists through Wednesday. - Severe weather is not expected but a few strong storms may be possible in far NW IN/SW MI late this evening. Heavy rain is also not expected. - After pleasant conditions Thursday and Friday, more light rain is expected on Saturday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 115 AM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026 Overall a pleasant day today as high pressure and theta-e trough remain over Indiana. After a cool start, highs top out around 80F with dewpoints in the low/mid 60s. Attention then turns to an upper low across northern Ontario with embedded vort max crossing the northern Great Lakes that will send a cold front through the area late tonight into Wed. Ahead of this front, a weak shortwave currently seen on water vapor exiting the Black Hills will move into our area this evening. A modest low level theta-e surge is noted as westerly 850mb flow increases to 25-30 kts. Best midlevel lapse rates remain locked well to our west though and MUCAPE values remain meager this far east (only 1000-1500 j/kg in our far NW). 0-6km bulk shear is of course impressive given 50+ kt midlevel jet at the base of the Canadian trough but both instability and forcing appear too meager to support an organized severe weather threat this far east. Thunderstorms will no doubt enter our NW zones right around 00z and may carry an isolated threat for gusty winds there in the 00-03Z window but severe weather chances appear very low in our area. Further, diurnally-driven stabilization expected after 03Z and the primary cold front becomes increasingly orphaned from parent trough by Wed morning. Vast majority of 00Z CAM`s end all precip by 06-09Z and indicate only widely scattered redevelopment Wed afternoon given extremely limited instability and poor mid/upper level support. Kept some low chance PoP`s going through Wed morning but suffice it to say not expecting any heavy rain or severe weather late tonight or on Wed. Precip exits by Wed evening and Canadian high pressure returns to the Great Lakes through Fri. Thu and Fri will be very pleasant with highs in the upper 70s, low humidity and mostly sunny skies. The next midlevel trough and associated cold front then cross late Fri night into Sat. Healthy CVA forcing will likely result in numerous showers on Sat but moisture and instability appear very limited and severe wx/heavy rain is not expected. This will be followed by strong northerly flow and even cooler air early next week resulting in highs only in the mid 70s. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY/... Issued at 115 AM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026 VFR conditions expected to persist through the bulk of this period. There is some low chance for patchy ground fog/BR this morning but latest guidance came in drier and high clouds are also helping to limit its development. Cold front approaches the region late in the period. Thunderstorms possible at KSBN after 00Z but confidence in coverage remains low so will hold with just a PROB30 for now. && .IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IN...None. OH...None. MI...None. MARINE...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...AGD AVIATION...AGD