Tracking first snow accumulation of the season
- Interactive radar | Closings and delays | Indianapolis road crews prepare for season’s first snowfall
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — We are gearing up for a miserable Thursday with cold, strong winds, and snow all in the mix.
Wednesday night: Cloud cover is set to work back into our area tonight with the chance for widely scattered showers. Coverage will be mainly north of I-70 until the pre-dawn hours Thursday. Snow will begin to mix in closer to the overnight hours.
Lows will fall into the upper 20s to low 30s. These low temperatures are critical with Thursday’s snow accumulation potential.
Thursday: A busy winter-like day is expected with two main waves of action. Let’s break it down:
Wave #1: This is mainly a Thursday morning situation with scattered to widespread light snow. Snow turns much more spotty towards mid-morning. A light dusting on grassy/elevated surfaces is possible from this first wave.
Wave #2: The second wave is our main area of concentration for snow accumulation. Widespread/steady snow with potential for heavier embedded snow rates swings down by early afternoon. This wave progresses southward through the evening and early nighttime hours.
Snowfall Potential: At this time, we’re thinking areas near and north of interstate 74 could see up to one to two inches of snow. Locally higher amounts are possible, and much of the accumulation will be confided to grassy/elevated surfaces with both waves. Slushy roads will make travel a little more tricky, especially with wave number two.
Uncertainties: Although we are well within 24 hours of this all going down, we’re going to have to keep monitoring a couple of key factors. Firstly, ground temperatures have been fairly warm due to recent warm weather. This will heavily dictate snow accumulation and the level of road impacts. Secondly, rain is likely to mix in with some of the second wave of snow. Lastly, the track of this second wave will depend on who can get in the mix on the higher snow totals.
All-in-all, bundle up for a cold and windy day. Wind gusts of 30-40 MPH will cause wind chill values to be in the 20s. High temperatures are going to only be in the low to mid 30s.
Friday: Some showers may linger around into Friday. We will also stay breezy with wind gusts up to 25-30 MPH. Highs are set to be a little warmer with numbers in the low to mid 40s.
7-Day Forecast: Temperatures rebound further this weekend with numbers back in the 50s Sunday. We’ll push into the upper 50s Monday before more active weather slides in. Additional rain chances are in play early next week with another cooldown to follow.
