028
FXUS63 KIWX 180734
AFDIWX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
334 AM EDT Sat Apr 18 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Tonight, the risk for severe weather has ended for tonight.

- Periods of rain overnight into Saturday morning, but then no
  additional significant rain chances are expected until
  Thursday night into Friday.

- Much cooler temperatures arrive and persist into early next
  week with chances for near or below freezing temps Sunday and
  Monday morning.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 252 AM EDT Sat Apr 18 2026

Tonight and Saturday:
The risk for severe weather has ended for tonight. Storms have
lost the instability as evident by the latest lightning trends,
and are now reduced to mainly rain showers. These rain showers
will persist overnight into Saturday morning as an upper level
trough to the west will still provide widespread forcing for
ascent, but precipitation chances end from west to east on
Saturday as cooler and drier air move across the region in the
wake of a cold front.

One change to the forecast was to add some sprinkles to the
forecast for areas along and inland from the lakeshore. Forecast
soudnings show stratus with a narrow area of instability, so
could have some of the clouds produce light precipitation.

Sunday through Friday:
Seasonably cool temperatures will last through the weekend, with
highs on Sunday struggling to reach 50. A weak shortwave will
move across the region, and bring small chances (20 percent) for
a few rain showers. On Sunday night high pressure will build in,
leading to clear skies and light winds, with overnight lows
falling below freezing by Monday morning. Mondays highs will
rebound to near 50s.

Looking ahead, high pressure will move eastward, and return flow
will bring spring-like temperatures back across the area. Highs
on Tuesday will be in the low 70s, mid 70s Wednesday, and near
80 by Thursday.

As for precipitation chances, there is a small chance (15 to 20
percent) a boundary could spark a few showers and thunderstorms
Tuesday into Wednesday. More widespread rain chances (50 to 60
percent) return late Thursday into Friday and a larger storm
system approaches from the west. The long range machine learning
guidance does indicate this system could produce severe weather
across the central CONUS, but that is too far out in the future
to have much confidence in when or where.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SUNDAY/...
Issued at 149 AM EDT Sat Apr 18 2026

Main change to the TAFs was to narrow down the timing of
thunder based on the current trends. Once the line of storms
moves through, the chance for thunder decreases, so tried to
time this line, and then have a prolonged period of showers
after that. Otherwise expect MVFR ceilings with west winds
becoming northwest Saturday morning, with ceilings starting to
lift to VFR levels Saturday afternoon. One other change was to
add a Prob30 for some light rain showers Saturday evening.

&&

.IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IN...None.
OH...None.
MI...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 2 AM EDT Sunday for LMZ043-046.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...NWS
AVIATION...NWS