Storm Fitzgerald Steams Our Way With Wind & Rain

It has been a beautiful autumn when it comes to our weather but as all of us Hoosiers know it can go from nasty to nice in a hurry. It is one of life's realities of living in the Midwest and we have a big reality check on the way. We have named our fourth major autumn weather system to impact the Lafayette viewing area Fitzgerald after the famous Edmund Fitzgerald iron ore ship that sunk in a huge storm on Lake Superior back on November 10, 1975. The song you clicked on above is certainly one of my favorites. It is a fitting name since that infamous weather anniversary is coming up in a few days. I will never forget overlooking that beautiful lake for nearly 2 years after marrying Julie. The best things in life are free! We had each other and free heating in a very small apartment in Duluth. But that is all I needed. To me it was like living in a fairy tale in a distant place far, far away from everybody and I was in a castle with a princess. The scenery was breath-taking and I am not just talking about Julie. We had a front row seat to one of the world's most beautiful lakes and the majestic iron ore ships that sailed in and out of port. Those ships look invincible and effortlessly cruise across a lake that is rougher than many places in the Atlantic Ocean. I will never forget the fog horns that would awake us out of a deep sleep sometimes at 2 a.m. The weather was surreal and it seemed like that lake whipped up a new storm every 36 hours. Wind gusts of 50 mph were quite common in the downtown area on the hill where we lived that overlooked the mighty Superior. Ah, the memories! Now today our autumn storm Fitzgerald will have plenty of rain and wind. Gusts could easily reach 35 mph this afternoon outside of thunderstorms. We were certainly due. I cannot rule out a wind gust of 50 mph if we can get some thunderstorms to pop. Also be on the outlook for pea-size hail. Indiana weather can whip up some wild weather in a hurry just like Lake Superior.

I think we are ready for a new Hoosier Proverb to help keep up with this crazy November weather at least for this year!

"November flowers bring rain showers and cloud towers and 3 seasons all within a few hours."

This means to be ready for thunderstorms by late today and this evening along with crashing temperatures! You see Kandy in Chalmers with her famous flowering fern. It is the bloom after the freeze as she likes to say. She protected it from the hard freeze last week and it is thriving.You are right, something has to give in this weather pattern and even though we have not set any record high temperatures so far this month a record has fallen by the wayside or in fact smashed. As of yesterday we have set a record for the most 70 degree days in a row in the month of November. Not even 1964 can touch this one and today we will add another one to the record-setting warm streak.


The plants are not the only things confused. It has been so warm that morel mushrooms think it is Spring. That was a short winter! Check out the morel mushroom that was spotted in Logansport by Brian Graves. Unfortunately it may be the last of our flowering plants for quite some time and for you mushroom hunters I think it is safe to say today is your last day. But remember no trespassing! As of last night Fitzgerald was causing plenty of severe weather as our Spring weather is fighting off autumn and winter weather which is always a losing battle this time of year. Look at all those dots as we had over 7 dozen reports of severe weather that included winds of over 70 mph and 5 tornado warnings.

As this powerful front moves our way I will have updates as needed on the air and here on the blog. At least most of today will still be warm and rain-free. Be safe and Happy Birthday to our chief weather blogger Justin New. Thanks for all you do Justin and I know I am not the only one thankful for all your great weather observations and reports on a daily basis. Nature I am sure will come through with some fun weather for you to track today. I better get some rest and it will be hard to get that song out of my head now! LOL