We are used to bizarre weather here in Indiana and it is one of the many reasons I love living and working here in the Lafayette area. Yesterday it was a meteorological mecca. The main thing was everybody stayed safe and sound. This picture says it all. The new 231 had sheets of rain on the east side of the road, while the west side stayed mainly dry with not enough rain to really wet the pavement.
In Frankfort, a business owner of the Sprint Store (Corner of S.R. 28 & 39) had his roof collapse on him due to heavy rain. Frankfort had an incredible .75" of rain in 20 minutes. This comes out to about a weeks worth of rainfall in just a few minutes. Since Thursday, Randy Rogers is reporting 2.75" of rain. He also said they had brief flash flooding in Frankfort. Here are more rainfall totals around the area showing the "haves" and "have-nots".
Mark in Monticello also had a blinding rain with over 1 inch of rain bringing his total up over 3 inches since last Thursday. We have gone from drought to deluge. But notice some areas were still desert dry like Boswell and Remington without a drop of rain. The good news is more widespread soaking rain is moving in on Thursday.
While some areas were basking in sunshine we also had a strong, renegade storm or two across the area. A few trees were reported down in Russiaville and large tree limbs down across northern Cass County. The blue squares below show where the wind damage took place. Wind estimates came in at close to 60 mph. I wrote at length about lightning safety tips here on the blog yesterday and how concerned I am that most people do not take them seriously. Unfortunately my fears came true in Fishers yesterday. A Fishers man was struck by lightning while talking on a corded phone. He luckily survived. But once again, all phones need to be avoided during thunderstorms unless it is an emergency. New research out shows cell phones have a high risk of attracting lightning strikes even though they are not corded.
The good news is that the severe weather was very isolated and compared to last year nature has really let us off the hook when it comes to severe weather. Ocean temperatures in the Pacific have really been more neutral than expected, instead of having more of a full-fledged La Nina or cooler than average temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. We watch this closely because the cooler the water, the more severe our weather usually is here in Indiana. We may go into a true La Nina by late summer, but right now you can even convince me another El Nino is on the way by time we head into our snowy winter later this year. What does this mean for Florida and the hurricane season? It is good news and would bring less hurricanes, but do not get too excited. I am still very worried about at least 2 hurricanes hitting Florida this year. Mom and Dad, I hope I am wrong.
Now on to what most of you are thinking about right now. That is right, the weekend! The good news is we will feel about 20 degrees cooler than the last couple of days and you will actually will be able to walk outside without feeling like you got slugged in the face. Say goodbye to the heat and humidity and hello fair weather in time for the Warren County Fair. The weather will just as sweet as the elephant ears and you can ride the ferris wheel in comfort. I am looking forward to trying something new at the Warren County Fair this year. Instead of being a goat milking judge I will be a baby judge. It should be interesting. My three daughters have trained me well, so I should be a pretty good judge. I will have more on this coming up and even a sneak peak at your 4th of July forecast that may turn hot as a firecracker. I will see you soon on the tube and make sure to check back with me here on the web. Have a great day!
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