I Love You All Too!! Now Let's Get Ready for A Wild Week!

I wanted to settle everybody down on here! Your wonderful e-mails of concern over the weekend did draw me to tears. I have to admit that. But remember this blog has never been about me. It really is about all of you and most of all our wonderful Indiana weather. So let's keep it that way. I just cannot comment on any of the rumors nor do I address rumors on this blog unless they are about weather. Life is too short and besides we have too much weather to be concerned about. Just remember I am not going anywhere anytime soon.

Now for our weather...the latest models have three to six inches of snow for Lafayette between now and next Sunday morning with another half-inch to one inch of rain on the way. The rivers need to be watched closely and the big thing is that none of the models are agreeing on anything because the main storm coming our way is still over the Pacific Ocean and there is a lack of data. This means we could have forecast issues not just with the timing of the rain, snow, and mixed bag of precipitation but amounts which has a huge bearing on the Wabash River. I will do my best as always to keep you ready for everything nature throws our way, but this is certainly one forecast that could still change. Stay logged on and stay tuned!

Next Week's Storm Looks Like Mainly Rain

I hope everybody had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I am checking in really quickly because I have a big gymnastics meet to get to. Our latest models are doing some back-flips but I think when all is said and done the Wednesday storm looks like it will be mainly rain. I am concerned about the storm track based on the latest trends. If it keeps coming farther north our chances of heavier rain and thunderstorms increase. We do not need heavy rain that is for sure with the river levels still a good 6 feet above flood stage here in Lafayette as of this afternoon. The river will likely fall to near bankfull on Wednesday before another crest above flood stage on the way by Friday into next weekend. The latest ensemble averages keep most of our rainfall in the .50" to 1" category which woud keep our flooding on the minor side. But right now we are just too far out and all interests by the Wabash River and near the flood plain need to monitor the situation carefully as we head through the work week. Our weather team will be here for you.

Sports Fans Weather Update: Things are not looking too good at the race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. The heavier rain is moving in between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. without much of a break expected until after 8 p.m. They could even have a thunderstorm. So expect long delays and maybe even a cancellation. Spring training in Arizona is well underway for the Cubs. Temperatures will be in the 70s out in the desert for most of the week and push 80 by next weekend. A lot of folks do have Spring on their minds here at home and I think we could hit 70 degrees our higher before the official first day of Spring on March 20th. It is all related to a blossoming La Nina. I will have more on this here on the blog on Monday. Have a great finish to your weekend and go Abbey!!

Nature Shows Us Some Love for Valentine's Day!

Two years ago on Valentine's Day many folks spent it in igloos around the area. This year we can head to the Igloo for some frozen custard but we certainly will not have enough snow to build one!

Happy Valentine's Day weather wise and otherwise! My girls and wife are spoiling me as usual and do not worry I am taking good care of my wonderful family too! Nature will also show us some love today, especially if you like some sunshine. We will not be snowed in like we were two years ago with the blizzard as a weak disturbance along the jet stream moves out of the area today in a blink of an eye. Our weak weather-maker ran into too much dry air and did not wrap in any Gulf moisture up our way like classic snowstorms do here in Indiana. As a result, snow amounts quickly dwindled from 5 inches in west-central Iowa to closer to 2 inches by time it reached western and northern Illinois. Here at home there will be no surprises as the weakening trend continues. We will see our light snow showers come to an end early and get ready for some sunshine this afternoon. Snow accumulations will generally be from a dusting to a half-inch but it will quickly melt in afternoon sunshine and above freezing temperatures in the middle to upper 30s. Roads should be in good shape outside of a few slick spots early this morning. The good news about this being a weak storm and warmer temperatures is that it will allow our river levels to continue to drop fairly rapidly. If we were in a very cold pattern that tends to slow down the receding river levels but we should be warm enough and plenty dry through at least Tuesday to help ease all flooding concerns. Here are approximately river level forecasts and notice the Wabash River in Lafayette will be below flood stage by the middle of next week!


State road 43 should re-open today as water levels go below that critical 19 foot level and state road 225 near Battle Ground will likely be shut down until later Sunday so if you are traveling in that area or going to TJ's for your big Valentine's date make sure to open the door for your loved-one and have an alternate route.


I know there are a lot of warm weather lovers that read this blog too so I wanted to share some love with them too in the form of sandhill crane reports in the area over the past couple of days. They are usually one of our first signs of Spring here in Lafayette along with red-winged blackbirds and we have had a few reports of those as well. The good news is that I agree with our feathered friends. The worst part of our winter is in fact over. I still think one more snow of 4 or more inches is likely and we will have to watch out for an ice event as well before we really warm up nicely by the middle of March. Daylight saving time begins March 8th this year which is the earliest we have experienced this in Indiana since the early 1970s. So things are looking up with warmer days ahead becoming more common. You can also see meteorological spring and astronomical spring will be here before you know it! Speaking of Spring...it is well underway now in Florida with blooming azaleas and high pollen counts. I told my Mom I would wash her car for her if I lived closer. Now I wish I was flying in for the weekend like some other Hoosiers I know for the big NASCAR race.


Here is the latest Daytona 500 forecast. I think a stationary front draped across north-central Florida could make it interesting with a chance of a few rain showers. The good news is I think they will get the race as the bigger rains hold off until after 10 p.m. Yes, start those engines! Have a great Valentine's Weekend. Now I better go take care of my wife and daughters. Thanks for another great week here on the weather blog. We will have some weather reports from Australia, Turkey, and Siberia next week. Stay connected for that and much more! It was another week for the record books and one we will always remember. Here are a couple pictures that really sum it up!

Misty Russell sends us this picture from Stockwell which had estimated wind speeds at 75 mph or what you would see in a category one hurricane. That explains the shed that was tossed like a toy.

Rebecca Colby shows us the shingle damage that occurred in West Lafayette. Wind gusts were estimated near 60 to 65 mph in much of Tippecanoe County or what you could typically see from a weak EF-0 tornado.


Here is a huge evergreen down in Joyce Dresch's yard in West Lafayette. She is very thankful it missed her house.



Flying debris and yards that looked like war zones was common across the Lafayette area. Here is what was left of a trampoline that flew farther than a Peyton Manning pass, which was quite impressive. Two weather watchers I know had their weather stations blow away. Luckily, we do not have any more "AUNTIE EM ALERTS" out for this weekend with more good clean-up weather on the way.


While we did not have any confirmed tornadoes in the Lafayette area that was not the case in Munice. Here is a picture and a re-cap of what happened from the National Weather Service survey crew that checked out the damage.

Muncie Area Tornado Feb. 11

...Tornado Touches Down in Central Indiana...

A National Weather Service survey team has determined that a small tornado touched down on Wednesday February 11 near 3:40 PM. The tornado touched down in Delaware county...near county roads 300 East and 550 South...which is about 5 miles southeast of Muncie...near the town of Medford.

The tornado was rated an EF-1 with approximately 100 mph winds. The tornado was approximately 100 feet wide and was on the ground for about two tenths of a mile.

This tornado dislodged a barn roof and damaged the roof of a single family home across the street.

This tornado is the first tornado of the year in Central Indiana.

With all the wind we had here at home it created a lot of debris on land and in the water. Here is what it looked like on the South Fork of the Wildcat Creek. This big log jam caused enough flooding to close down portions of Haggerty Lane and 200 South. The crews did a great job removing those monster-sized trees.

Take Care and brace yourself for another week of weather in Indiana on the way!

We Remember the Blizzard of 2007 & Prepare for Light Snow this Weekend

This is the two year anniversary of the blizzard of 2007 and it will always be a special day for me. I remember February 13th like I would a close friend's birthday. You can see Stanley Knight's car buried in the snow. This blizzard was our second biggest snowstorm of all-time in Lafayette with 17 inches of snow and snow drifts up to 4 feet high. Our weather staff did not go home for 3 days. We had 26 consecutive hours of snow with 5 hours of wind gusts of 35 mph or greater and and 8 hours of visibilities reduced to a quarter mile or less. The official definition of a blizzard is when you have 3 hours of reduced visibilities of a quarter mile or less and/or wind gusts of 35 mph or greater. We met the blizzard criteria and then some. West Point had the highest snow total in the area at 18 inches. Frankfort and WLFI both had 17 inches of snow. Monticello and Brookston checked in with 14 inches of snow while Logansport, Monon, and Remington had 12 inches of snow.

Jackie Vukobratovitch wrote a nice passage to sum up the mood around Lafayette.

Jackie wrote: "There is nothing more beautiful than to see a community come together and help get each other out after this historic storm. Some of my other neighbors went out this morning and started to shovel down the street trying to get people out. They have agreed to go back out when the plow pushes the snow back in our driveways."

Yes we live in a great community and it showed during the snowstorm. Everybody pitched in and helped each other and it is that Hoosier hospitality that always comes through when things get rough.

The horses around the area apparently loved galloping in our biggest snowstorm since 1929. This blizzard was officially our snowiest on record and outdid the blizzard of 1978 when we had 11 inches of snow in Lafayette. Some called it the Valentine's blizzard of 2007 since the snow did not stop into very early in the morning on Valentine's Day. Legend has it that many blizzard babies were born 9 months later. This was the biggest baby boom we had seen since the late 1970s blizzards. No wonder we are building all these new schools. It all goes back to the blizzard. :) This is a storm I will tell my grand kids about. Yes! Our weather team was the first to predict this blizzard and confirm blizzard conditions for the National Weather Service in Indianapolis before they issued the blizzard warning! It will go down as one of the biggest highlights of my meteorological career, especially when people thought we were crazy calling for more than a foot of snow while other media outlets had flurries in the forecast. I will not name any names, but I still have the newspaper in my closet. LOL

Now how much snow is on the way this weekend for our Valentine's Day? I will post the latest maps here for you shortly. It does not look like a big snowstorm that is for sure. So do not cancel any plans. Nature is showing us some love this time around. The bulleye still looks like it stays up near Chicago. A first estimate would be in the one to two inch range for Lafayette and two to three inches along and north of Highway 24. Extreme northern Indiana and Chicagoland I would put in the three to six inch range. This weekend's weather-maker will be a walk in the park compared to what we just experienced that is for sure. Have a nice day and I will see you and talk to you soon. Happy Anniversary Lafayette and an early Happy Valentine's Day! Also tune in tonight for the latest river levels which should be receding by late this afternoon.

Midwest Mauler Moves East! Good Clean-Up Weather Today!

We see storms come and go all the time here in Indiana, but last night will be one storm that we will never forget! I spoke with many folks that cannot remember a storm like it. The only think I could compare it to was a tropical storm I covered while in Gainesville, Florida back in 1995. That storm broke my umbrella with gusts near 60 mph. Heck, the storm we had last night was way more impressive than Erin. We did have the remnants of Ike move through our area in September but remember we missed out on the damaging winds that hit the Indianapolis area and those gusts took place in short period of time. The only weather we really do not experience here in Indiana are hurricanes and tropical storms since we are so far from the ocean but last night nature had a mind of its own and we all got a taste of what it would be like to live through one. We had tropical storm force gusts begin around 4 p.m. and this relentless wind did not settle down until midnight. It was like a 6 to 8 hour severe thunderstorm that would not go away. Severe thunderstorms are issued with 58 mph winds or greater and we certainly met that criteria for several hours. The High Wind Warning did not seem to even begin to cover what we went through. All I can say is wow! This beast of a storm even sounded like a tropical storm with a roaring wind that sounded more like a 747 taking off in our backyards. On our satellite and radar composite it even looked like a tropical storm as you can see the eye of the storm above! The big question everybody had was how could it be so violently windy for so long?

The eye you see on the picture above holds some clues. This low pressure really exploded over our area and intensified. Its pressure fell rapidly to 29.14" which is very impressive and is comparable to what you sometimes see with strong tropical storms or category one hurricanes. This is lower than the air pressure was over Lafayette with the Great Blizzard of 1978. We will go more in-depth on this comparison later on. The air flow in the atmosphere was severely disturbed and this big pressure drop created a suction effect that caused our damaging winds. Remember air flows from high pressure to low pressure and think of high pressure as a hill and low pressure as the bottom of a hill with air flow rolling down the hill from high pressure to low pressure. Last night our air flow was going down more of a mountain than a hill and like a skier on an expert course our wind had no trouble clocking hurricane force speeds. Take another look at those incredible gusts!

Today as high pressure moves in this freakish low pressure moves East things will quickly stabilize! We will enjoy some nice sunshine with a light west wind near 10 mph by this afternoon and more importantly I see no big storms our heavy precipitation producers in the near future. This will not keep the Wabash River from seeing a moderate flood crest close to 20 feet on Friday. Be very careful and secure your property in these areas. The Oakdale and Norway Dam areas of Carroll and White Counties are breathing a sigh of relief as they have dodged the flooding this time around. They deserve a break after last year's historic and unprecedented flood. You can see what made the big difference below.


The highest rainfall totals fell mainly south of these areas. You are looking at what happened in Frankfort as backyards became lakes and there were actually reports of boat rescues. Frankfort high school let out school early at 11:30 a.m. due to extensive flooding on state road 28. Make sure you check our web-site this morning as I am anticipating some delays from all of the wild wind and rain from last night. When was the last time that happened. This winter is one for the books! But again things will settle down today and still be careful of a lot of debris on area roadways. The clean-up will certainly take at least a couple weeks. I will have more of your great pictures coming up and talk about what would have happened if this storm would have been all snow. Could it have been our worst blizzard ever? Something to think about today! It of course would not have been a real storm without Dena Flanagan's play by play account or should I say picture by picture. What a gift she has. Let's just soak it all in and enjoy her montage of pictures. I will try to salvage a little rest before my body pump class this morning! See you soon and thanks again for all your help!

Hey Mike, Well you called this "hurricane" correctly! My Goodness at the winds, I think we have lost about 30-40 shingles, and that is what we have picked up in the yard, who knows what the roof actually looks like. I have taken some pictures throughout the day and Wow, I wish we had more daylight because I think the pictures will be amazing tomorrow when the sun comes up. We ended up losing power around 7 this evening and it was off for about two hours, but we are all good right now, I sure hope everyone has had a safe day, but I have already heard of some trucks being blown over.....bummer. we did have some incredible gusts of wind that even threw a shingle into our bathroom window upstairs and destroyed the screen....at the our damage is minimal and we can thank God that we still have a house standing, things could be much worse.

Here are some pictures for you, I don't have an accurate amount for the rain because my rain gauge blew down and broke....oops!

Take Care and be Safe!!!!!!

Dena Flanagan

New Castle & Wyandotte Road

This is actually a field and not a lake......located on New Castle Road (1 pm)

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Wait a minute......this is the sun showing its shiny face this afternoon about 3:45pm

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The sun is about to disappear with the second round of thunderstorms moving in..3:45pm

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There goes the sun..................

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I have to admit.....it was a pretty sight................................

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Now I am heading into town........this is old Co. Rd 350 South....check out the rain!

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This was starting to get UGLY!!!!!!!!!...........about 4pm

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This was at 350 South and US 52..........looking HORRIBLE now.......about 4:03pm

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my son Kyle snapped this picture as we were turning onto US 52.....UGLY!

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This was pulling out of Fairfield Manufacturing about 4:10pm....UNREAL at the wind

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Another picture waiting to pull out of Fairfield MFG....the Rain and Wind is UNREAL at this time...

Really scary!!!!!!!

It was too dark when I got home to take anymore pictures......I'll see if there is anything but shingles laying around tomorrow......but my neighbors have called me tonight and they have lost shingles, basketball goals....you name it....and it was blown down or away......But don't worry Mike.........I listened to you and I put everything in the garage....so we had NO missles!!!!!! ;-)

Take Care!

You are amazing Dena. I am glad everybody is safe and sound. Our thoughts and prayers are with those that lost their lives in Oklahoma from this same storm that will never be forgotten. The power of nature always trumps everything else and always teaches many us many lessons if you look closely. Every storm is different. Even though we were helpless to all the wind and water here at home we all came together as a team to help keep people safe.

There are good people no matter where you live but this teamwork and genuine concern for others is what I call the "Midwest Way". This attitude is unique to this part of the country and of course there are good, caring people no matter where you live, but there is a different level of helping your neighbor I have rarely seen elsewhere. I am convinced this Midwest Way is handed down from generation to generation and came about from the necessity to survive and endure the incredible weather that is experienced in this part of the country that you can find nowhere else in the world. This indelible spirit and the Midwest Way of doing things is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life which is not bad for an East Coast guy from Maryland.

I was very smart when I married a beautiful girl from Wisconsin and I count my blessings every day. She embodies all of this and more. This is a special place and it starts with the people that live here. Thank you! I guess Mark Twain was wrong after all, when he said everybody complains about the weather, yet they can do nothing about it. Here in Indiana people are doing something about the weather with the Midwest Way that does make a huge difference no matter what nature throws at us. Just take some time to read through this weather blog. There is a whole lot more than just weather going on here.

Good News Along the Oakdale and Norway Dams!

Here is the latest from emergency management from White and Carroll Counties....the Norway Dam water level is approximately 8,400 cfs and the Oakdale Dam is close to 9,901 cfs. The flood watch continues but the rising water has slowed down dramatically and a flood warning is not anticipated at this time. Still make sure to monitor the water levels overnight just in case and have a plan B to get to higher ground. At this time homes are not expected to be impacted by flood waters in these areas and we are done with the rain!

Latest from Tippecanoe County Emergency Management

The Wabash River: News not so good

River level is up to 15.47 feet and rising rapidly. A flood crest close to 20 feet is still anticipated on Friday afternoon which would cause moderate flooding. This will impact Indiana 25 and State Road 225 in the Battle Ground area. State Road 43 should remain open as long as the water stays below 22 feet. This will be monitored on an hourly basis until Friday.

There are tons of reports of debris and trees down on county roads and it is very hard to see out there at night. This is dangerous and a level 3 travel advisory will continue through the rest of the night. Power outages continue in many areas and with colder temperatures now ready to move in make sure you have a warm place to stay. The wind has made it very tough on utility crews trying to fix the problem.

The winds are still howling but the worst is over! I am going to get ready for the 11 p.m. Thanks for all your reports. They have given me my second wind!!

Fiercest Wind Since 2004 Rips Area

Mobile home that was destroyed in Tippecanoe County late this afternoon by high wind gusts.
Just a few quick notes...it is insanely busy here but I did not forget about you.

Flood situation:

Waters are rapidly rising near the Oakdale and Norway Dams because NIPSCO has dumped 8,000 to 9,000 cfs of water into the Tippecanoe River. A flood watch has been issued in these areas but a large-scale flood warning is not anticipated at this time. But all residents are urged to monitor the water levels closely with isolated flooding possible. Be prepared to seek higher ground. Here is the latest from Carroll County Emergency management just in at 7:30 p.m.

At current rate of increase, roads in the Oakdale area (1200 and 1225 West) will be under water by 9 pm.

Dave McDowell Carroll County Emergency Manager

Flood Safety Tips courtesy of the Indiana State Police

Don’t Drive Through Flood Waters

The threat of heavy rain makes flooding a real threat in north central Indiana. Floods occur as streams and rivers overflow their banks. This can occur from deep snow run off or during heavy rainfall. Flash floods can come rapidly and unexpectedly. Flash flooding can occur after a few minutes of heavy rain fall or after hours of significant precipitation. Hoosiers who live in flood prone areas should always be conscious of the threat of flash floods when receiving significant rainfall. The Indiana State Police offers a few flood safety tips.

• Don’t travel unless absolutely necessary. If you have to travel carry a cell phone with a car charger.

• Purchase a weather scanner and heed all flood and flash flood warnings issued by the National Weather Service.

• Do not drive around barricades at water crossings.

• Be especially vigilant at night. Many drowning deaths occur at night when it is difficult to see water crossings.

• Do not cross or enter flowing water. Driving fast through high water on the road is not a solution. Faster speeds create less tire contact with the road surface and increase your chance of crashing.

• Driving through standing water may affect your brakes. Test your brakes at low speeds as soon as you exit the water.

• If you choose to abandon your vehicle, respect the force of the water flow, you may be swept off your feet. After you exit the vehicle seek higher ground.

• Be aware that road erosion may occur when there is running or standing water.

• Remember that six inches of water will reach the bottoms of most car doors.

One foot of water will float many vehicles, and two feet of moving water can carry

away most vehicles.

If you find yourself stranded in flood waters remain calm and call 911. If you can do so safely move to higher ground.

Wind Update: Damaging wind gusts will continue between now and 10 p.m. before the wind slowly eases up. This means wind gusts in the 50 to 60 mph still cannot be ruled out until then. Even at midnight wind gusts near 40 mph will be possible. It does look like we have a long night ahead. I have advised folks to stay home if at all possible. We are being hit with what amounts to a severe thunderstorm that is taking place over a 6 to 8 hour period. Here are some preliminary wind reports around the area.

It sounds like a freight train out there but no tornadoes are expected. You see the big tree that took a tumble in West Lafayette as 60 mph winds tore through the area. This is all taking place outside of thunderstorms and is due to a tight pressure gradient caused by an unusually strong low pressure area. We have been comparing this to an inland hurricane and you can see why with hurricane force gusts reported in Stockwell and Romney. Numerous power outages have been reported around the area and transformers are blowing and they look like lightning flashes. There are tons of reports of debris on area roadways and level 3 travel advisories have been issued for Benton and Tippecanoe Counties. Here is what this means for you.

Due to high water, rising water, and soft roads,

BENTON COUNTY IS AT LEVEL 3 ADVISORY, effective Wednesday, February 11 14:00 ET until noon on Saturday, February 14. The Level 3 Advisory means that there is, or expected to be hazardous conditions in our area. All persons, businesses and organizations should make preparations to deal with the situation. Emergency Action Plans should be readied for implementation should conditions require. Travel plans should account for potential difficulties and delays.

There is high water in various locations throughout the county. As more rain comes and as the water moves, water covered roads will continue through the next few days. Motorists should avoid driving through high water. Very soft roads, especially gravel roads resuting from the recent thaw, coupled with the current rains, exist throughout the area. Some locations may become very difficult to travel.

Also a reminder, the Frost Law remains in effect on most county roads. Vehicles over 5 tons gross weight are prohibited without a special permit from the County Highway Department. This includes farm equipment and trucks.

David Pitstick
Director, Benton Emergency Management Agency

Keep up the great work bloggers. At this rate I think we should all be on Letterman soon! You all are beyond terrific! Thanks so much!! I will have updates on the Oakdale and Norway Dams by 10 p.m. and much more!!