Thunderstorms Roll In....Main Threat Heavy Rain & Lightning

We have a lot of flashing in the sky over Tippecanoe County at 7:00 p.m. so remember your lightning safety rules. The good news is our severe weather threat will remain low through the remainder of tonight. While we could see a couple thunderstorms tonight the atmosphere is primed for heavy rain rather than damaging storms. So at this time our main threats will be lightning and heavy rain. We have a small chance of pea-size hail and maybe a wind gust near 30 mph. The strongest storm corridor will be from West Lafayette through Delphi and Logansport. By 8 p.m. we will watch mainly a rain event with some downpours at times.

Severe thunderstorms will become more likely on Sunday afternoon in the Lafayette area between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. as a cold front moves through the area and a strong jet stream enters the state. This could add some spin and extra lift to developing thunderstorms. Our main threats will be damaging wind gusts near 60 mph and large hail here at home. Areas from Indianapolis southward could even see an isolated tornado or two. A wind advisory will be possible with wind gusts outside of thunderstorms of 40 to 50 mph between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Sunday in Lafayette.

I do not expect widespread severe weather in the Lafayette area tomorrow since we will wake up with heavy rainfall keeping our atmosphere more stable. But areas south of Interstate 70 and areas farther south will have a much more unstable atmophere to work with. On Tuesday I think Lafayette will have a much better chance of more widespread severe weather but we just need to take it a day at a time and in this pattern an hour at a time. We will certainly have to monitor things closely on Sunday. Be safe and I will check in as needed.

The latest rainfall forecast for most of our area will be near two inches of rain. Another soggy and stormy day on Tuesday of next week could bring another inch of rain so a Flood Warning has been issued on the Wabash River Tuesday morning through late Wednesday night with a flood crest of close to 12 feet or one foot above normal. This could still change based on how much rain we actually receive. So keep checking back for updates.

A Flash Flood Watch is also in effect for Newton, Jasper, and Benton Counties through Sunday evening which means to be ready to move to higher ground especially along rivers, creeks, and lowland areas. Do not cross roads covered by water and avoid driving at night when washed out roads are hard to see.

A Flood Watch continues until Sunday evening for Miami, Cass, White, Pulaski, and Fultong Counties. Lowland flooding will be the main threat.