Flooding and Tornadoes in Illinois and Indiana
A rough night continues for central Illinois and western Indiana. The line of thunderstorms has begun to become enhanced by an 850 MB low level jet and old meso-boundaries just to the south of the storms. Meanwhile, upper level winds and the jet maximum is running paralle to the showers and thunderstorms, which is supporting the training of the strong thunderstorms over the same area. As a result, heavy rainfall amounts estimated around 1 to 3 inches via the doppler radar has been seen. Meanwhile, the thunderstorms on the southern edge of this complex have spawn several tornadoes, large hail, and very strong wind gusts over 65 mph. In short, not a pretty night!
These storms are also redeveloping to the west off the out flow boundaries of storms pulling off to the east. Expect a continuation of these severe thunderstorms through the night.
By the way, some may be wondering why we in the New York City and Philadelphia metro areas should pay attention to what is happening to these storms. Well, one important leasson in forecasting is that no region stands alone and what happened in areas down stream from your forecast area can give a forecaster or a weather enthuseist clues on what to expect down the road. In this case, we’ve seen tonight that the disturbance associated with this thunderstorm complex is slightly stronger than forecasted. Further, the ability of the low level jet at 850 MB to enhance these storms will be important for the forecast tomorrow. It is these small details that make the difference in a bust or a good forecast.
Tags: hail, Illinois, Indiana, severe weather, thunderstorms, tornadoes, wind gusts
Comments are currently closed.