Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Indianapolis, IN
Issued by NWS Indianapolis, IN
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005 FXUS63 KIND 150414 AFDIND Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 1214 AM EDT Wed May 15 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Widespread showers and isolated-widely scattered thunderstorms through tonight into Wednesday. - Widespread 1-2 inch rainfall likely, with highly localized 3-4+" amounts and flash flooding possible. - Rain and storm chances return at times late Thursday and beyond. - Above normal temperatures late week onward. && .FORECAST UPDATE... Issued at 1000 PM EDT Tue May 14 2024 The northern portions of a short wave disturbance will continue to slowly cross the Midwest tonight, as corresponding surface low pressure nudges eastward along the Ohio Valley. A moist adiabatic profile will feature a local precipitable water maximum of 1.25-1.50 inches over central Indiana overnight...promoting areas of numerous rain showers. Embedded heavier downpours, especially in isolated TRWs across the region`s southern zones will present the risk of localized flooding...although steady light to moderate rain over central/northern zones could also present this threat by later tonight for any locations with steady rain. Winds will be steady around 10 mph while slowly backing from ENE to NE. Dewpoints will guide temperatures dropping a couple degrees overnight...with lows expected to range from the upper 50s across the northern tier, to low 60s elsewhere. && .SHORT TERM (This evening through Wednesday)... Issued at 308 PM EDT Tue May 14 2024 A large, vertically-stacked low pressure system will very slowly drift eastward through the lower Ohio Valley through tonight and continuing into Wednesday. Light to moderate rain has gradually overspread much of the area today, and expect showers to become a bit more numerous overnight as the low slowly approaches in a very moist airmass. Though widespread cloud cover has significantly inhibited insolation and resultant destabilization, some convective development has been able to occur to our west/southwest today, and CAMs suggest development of additional showers and isolated-widely scattered thunderstorms over central Indiana later this afternoon and into tonight. Instability is very weak but at least minimally present to support this threat. While the coverage has been a bit aggressive at times, there is a consistent signal for localized heavy rainfall tonight. Precipitable water values are hovering around 1.2-1.4+" - which is 90th percentile or greater climatologically. While wet bulb zero heights/warm cloud depth is not incredibly deep, it is still in excess of 10kft across the area per ACARS data, and profiles are deeply saturated, with moist adiabatic lapse rates throughout the depth of the troposphere, suggesting fairly efficient rainfall rates, particularly in the presence of any convective enhancement. There is also the presence of a remnant stationary boundary to our north and the approaching frontal structures within the main low, and suggestion that associated frontogenetic forcing could enhance rainfall across some portion of the area this evening into tonight. Weak flow fields also are suggestive of slow cell/band motions tonight, contributing to potential for training/heavy rain amounts. There is signal in both global/parameterized models and high resolution/convective allowing models for locally enhanced rainfall amounts and an attendant flash flood threat. Local probability matched means suggest an isolated threat for 3-4+ inches, which would exceed flash flood guidance. Confidence is lower in placement of this heavy rain potential and this will depend significantly upon evolution of any convection over the next several hours, thus a Flash Flood Watch is likely a bit of overkill, but will message this threat through a variety of other available means for tonight. As the low begins to depart tomorrow, expect rainfall to come to an end from northwest to southeast. Some local thunder threat may exist during the midday/afternoon hours, also gradually diminishing from northwest to southeast. Diurnal cooling tonight will be inhibited by the widespread cloud cover and elevated surface dewpoints, and have leaned warmer than blend numbers with lows in the upper 50s to low 60s. Early rain and clouds on Wednesday will limit warming a bit, though some afternoon breaks in the clouds should allow highs to get into the upper 60s to low 70s. && .LONG TERM (Wednesday night through Tuesday)... Issued at 308 PM EDT Tue May 14 2024 A progressive upper-level pattern looks to bring a few rain/storm chances through the long range. SYNOPTIC OVERVIEW Our synoptic pattern is currently quite progressive, with an active polar and subtropical jet. Phasing between these two has not been regular, and each branch has remained largely separate. As a result, deep poleward moisture transport hasn`t been easy to come by. Still, embedded waves within the progressive flow have provided enough lift for rain today. This pattern should continue through at least the weekend. In fact, another wave very similar to the one we`re seeing today looks to arrive Thursday or Friday. Like the current system, rain and storms are possible with little threat for severe weather. A stronger thunderstorm is possible on Thursday, however, as a mid-level speed max passes nearby to our south. This feature may provide enough shear for storm-scale organization but the overall dynamics involved are not terribly impressive. Heavy rain may become the primary hazard as model soundings show deep moisture with a large LCL- Freezing Level spread, signifying the potential for efficient rainfall production. Guidance then transitions the overall flow pattern to something more akin to split flow. Global teleconnections generally trend negative going forward, so a more blocky/complicated flow pattern makes sense. Concurrently, ensemble guidance shows broad troughing taking shape over the western US with surface ridging over the Southeast. This may allow for more efficient moisture/instability transport northward over the Plains and Midwest. West coast troughing and associated fast southwesterly flow aloft may allow for multiple days of upstream convective activity. As such, our forecast may depend a bit on how this activity evolves and propagates downstream. There is a signal for enhanced precipitation during the 6 to 14 day time frame. FORECAST CONFIDENCE Overall forecast confidence remains average, with the greatest confidence now through the weekend. Thereafter, ensemble guidance loses coherency but retains a weak enough signal to say that west coast troughing is favored beginning next week. How this plays out, and how it affects Indiana remains to be seen...but the larger-scale pattern is beginning to reveal itself. Determining our day to day weather, especially when convection is involved, is quite difficult at this range. Temperatures look to remain around average this week, with a warm up next week as flow turns more southerly. && .AVIATION (06Z TAF Issuance)... Issued at 1214 AM EDT Wed May 15 2024 Impacts: - IFR to MVFR cigs through 20Z - MVFR vsbys through 16Z due to -RA Discussion: Periods of IFR to MVFR cigs are expected through the rest of the overnight hours as rain continues across central Indiana. Cigs should gradually improve to consistently MVFR after 12Z before scattering out around 20Z. Rain coverage will gradually decrease after 12Z but occasional showers are expected through the early afternoon. Winds will generally remain easterly to northeasterly at 5-10kts through the TAF period. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ UPDATE...AGM SHORT TERM...Nield LONG TERM...Eckhoff AVIATION...White