Strongest October Storm Since 2001 Moving Our Way

The last time we had this high of a severe weather risk in October I only had 2 kids and much less in the way of gray hairs. Now many moons, marathons, and another beautiful daughter later, nature is reminding us that things can become quite volatile in October. The graphic above shows that tornadoes are even possible in large numbers in October. On October 24, 2001 we had dozens of severe weather reports across our area with wind gusts as high as 65 mph and hail almost to golf-ball size. Tomorrow our main threats will once again be damaging wind and large hail, but we have to watch out for an isolated tornado or two. I remember 8 tornadoes were confirmed back in October of 2001 in Indiana, including 3 in La Porte County that killed one person. Now this is still a developing storm so we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed our area in a moderate risk of severe weather by Thurday afternoon and Thursday night. This means a significant severe weather outbreak is possible with at least 5 to 10 percent of our area receiving wind gusts of 58 mph or greater, hail nickel size or larger, and possible tornadoes. The culprit for this is certainly our warm, tropical pattern meeting a strong jet stream that we have not seen much of since April.



When you have 105 mph wind speeds at 35,000 feet and even 60 mph wind speeds at 5,000 feet a tremendous amount of wind shear is added to the atmosphere. Tomorrow our storms could actually race across our area at more than 60 mph with these high wind speeds. The problem is that these thunderstorms like to capture this wind energy and focus it all the way to the ground with strong damaging downdrafts called downbursts in this type of set-up. I think this will be our main threat on Thursday. Now if we get a couple of isolated cells out ahead of the main squall line, we will certainly have to watch out for tornadoes. It should be interesting. Since I have 3 girls at home that do not like any bad weather...make that 4 including my wife, I will be very careful to keep everybody calm and to pass word on about where any dangerous storms are and where they are moving. I will also do plenty of cut-ins and be in touch with emergency management throughout our viewing area. So make sure to tune in and you can check out our Live Doppler 18, 24 hours a day on wlfi.com. It will be a team effort with everybody in the newsroom and the community. Together we can stay safe.

Keep this in mind and stay alert and ready to act. This will be possible by thinking of your kids and family and making sure everybody knows what to do and where to go if the weather threatens. Do not go about your routine as normal tomorrow. Have a plan B and actually use it to ensure everybody stays safe. I want to make sure nobody is caught offguard and this can really make a huge difference. Our weather team is all geared up and ready!



The big thing is teamwork and the National Weather Service in Indianapolis held a conference call today at 2 p.m. Usually conference calls are held when something big is coming. I remember we had one before the blizzard and the great flood a few years back. The main points are above and you have to remember that a moderate risk of severe weather usually only happens a few times a year. This means dozens of severe weather reports are likely. You also have to realize that this moderate risk was issued a couple days ago which is also rare. So now we are aware of the potential for severe weather. Tomorrow stay aware, alert, and it is up to you to take action with any weather warnings. Keep checking back on the blog for storm stories and pictures from where you live.