Our Freaky February Continues, Get Out the Layers, Hot Chocolate, & Snow Shovels!

It is great to check in with you. I am just finishing cleaning up lunch with Lauren. We had chicken noodle soup and chicken nuggets. I made sure to have some cheerios with frozen blueberries so I can run my 5 miles today with some extra kick. The dog has been acting strange. He may sense the big weather change on the way. He has been running around the house wild and nature is about to go wild with our nice Spring-like temperatures early this afternoon about to come crashing down. Our computers went down last night at WLFI so my middle of the night sandwhich weather update was delayed but it has allowed me to look at more data and give you the first real sneak peak as to how much snow is on the way for this weekend and next weeks big Spring push of warm air.

February is known for its big temperature swings and it will live up to its name. We will go from temperatures in the middle to upper 40s early this afternoon and drop about 2 degrees per hour or 20 degrees by 11 p.m. If you add in the wind chill it will feel even colder and feel like the single digits by time you get ready for our 11 p.m. newscast. Make sure to stay warm with your one and only local station tonight and have a nice warm cup of hot chocolate with us. I have hoisted hot chocolate advisories for our area. By morning lows will be in the upper teens with wind chills from 5 below zero to near zero across the area. Actual lows will be in the middle to upper teens. Make sure to have the layers ready.

The good news with this system is that we will not have the hurricane force wind gusts with it as the cold front pushes through the area but unlike last week we will have to be ready for some slippery roads developing. I expect rain showers to change over to a few heavier bursts of snow between 8 p.m. and midnight and we could easily see a half-inch of snow to an inch of snow before it tapers off to flurries after midnight. Wind gusts will be near 35 mph causing reduced visibilites around the area.

Wabash River Update: Cold weather tends to slow down the falling river levels which means our Wabash will stay near flood stage through the weekend. We can be excited about most areas receiving less than .20" of rain so far which means we will not have to worry about another flood crest or more significant flooding this weekend. Tonight we will only have another .10" to .20" of precipitation which is welcome news.

Last but not least our weekend snow update: This system is interesting in that it is forming in Sasketchewan and not in Alberta. So it is not a true Alberta clipper and since it is forming closer to the Midwest it will have a better chance to hold together as it moves our way. We will talk more about this on the newscasts tonight. Last night most of the model data had us in the 4 to 5 inch range for snowfall. As of 1:27 p.m. EST amounts have trended more in the 3 to 4 inch range with 5 inches possible across the northern tier of the Lafayette viewing area and lesser amounts the farther south you go. The heaviest snow will be between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday. Do not put away the sleds or shovels just yet. Blowing and drifting snow will also become a concern Saturday with northwest winds at 15 to 25 mph and gusty. Much more on specifics here on the blog and newscasts tonight!

Spring Weather Tidbit of the Day: Highs should have no trouble reaching the 50s next week and I still like highs reaching into the 70s sometime between March 4th and March 9th. We could see an April Fools' downturn in temperatures but overall our original forecast of an early Spring is right on track.

Bonus Summer Tidbit: Our summer could actually turn hot and drier than normal here in the Midwest as the stormy weather will be suppressed to the southern portions of the USA. Hurricane season looks LESS ACTIVE than last year.

I will make sure to post your precipitation map for the next 30 days, incredible rainbows captured across the area, rainfall totals, and the latest on tonight's big winter chill and slick roads on the way. Now I am off and running!! I will have an evening blog update for you between the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. shows and once again by 7 p.m. Now get ready for another wild night!