From Spring-Like To Wintry Later This Week!

It has been yet another unusual December day across the Ohio Valley. Parts of southeast Indiana and much of Kentucky had strong storms with hail this afternoon. In fact, some areas had so much hail it covered the ground. We're supposed to have snow on the ground in December, not HAIL! What a weird December its been!


In the short term, we have scattered showers still working their way across the state. Those should come to an end overnight. The next couple days look great weather-wise. Partly sunny skies and highs very mild, upper 40's tomorrow with 50's Wednesday. The average high is in the 30's.

Enjoy those days, because MAJOR changes work in by Wednesday night. A dynamic and powerful storm is going to develop across the southern Plains and track northeast, with storms and warm temps on one side, and a major snowstorm on the other.


For us, rain will be the much bigger story than snow. Rain and thunder should move in Wednesday night, with temperatures warming up to the lower 50's by Thursday morning. A WILD temperature swing will occur during the day, going from 50's late morning, to near freezing by the evening rush! Rain showers will quickly transition to snow showers by the afternoon, and howling winds will create bitter wind chills. Some slick spots would be possible for the evening commute Thursday, so keep that it mind. You can see the transition to wraparound snow showers on the GFS for Thursday afternoon and evening...

Accumulations however look very light locally. This will be one of those set-ups where, by time the cold air reaches the precipitation, the heaviest precipitation will have already moved through. I think we could see a coating to half inch in central Indiana, with perhaps 1-2" of snow for much of northern Indiana. Southern Indiana should not see any accumulation out of this. Check out the HEAVY snow band to our northwest with this storm, with 6"+ for many from Iowa to southern Wisconsin, and Michigan. Only if this could shift about 300 miles, then it would be game on for us.

Behind the storm, a colder weather pattern takes hold for the weekend into Christmas. Highs mainly in the 30's are expected during this time-frame. The models are already showing the potential for another powerful storm system on the 26th. Way to early to tell where it will track. I think it will most likely be another rain to snow shower set-up. The end of the month will likely be very interesting, and December looks to end on a much colder note. Stay tuned.