126  
FXUS63 KIND 161100  
AFDIND  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN  
600 AM EST MON DEC 16 2024  
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
- WIDESPREAD RAIN EXPECTED TODAY WITH A FEW THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE  
 
- WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 25-35 MPH POSSIBLE TODAY  
 
- RAINFALL CHANCES BEGINNING EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND CONTINUING  
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON  
 
- COOLING TREND WEDNESDAY ONWARD  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM (TODAY AND TONIGHT)
 
 
ISSUED AT 234 AM EST MON DEC 16 2024  
 
EARLY THIS MORNING...  
 
WARMER AIR MOVING NORTH HAS ENDED THE DENSE FOG ACROSS CENTRAL  
INDIANA, BUT PATCHY FOG AND DRIZZLE REMAIN. SCATTERED SHOWERS WERE  
DEVELOPING ACROSS ILLINOIS WITH SOME ISENTROPIC LIFT AHEAD OF AN  
APPROACHING UPPER TROUGH. CONVECTION WAS ACROSS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS  
AND WESTERN KENTUCKY, ASSOCIATED WITH AN 850MB JET.  
 
THE ISENTROPIC LIFT WILL MOVE INTO THE FORECAST AREA BY 12Z, AND THE  
850MB JET WILL APPROACH FROM THE SOUTHWEST. THE RESULT WILL BE  
INCREASING COVERAGE OF SHOWERS. WILL GO WITH LIKELY OR HIGHER POPS  
ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF OR TWO-THIRDS OF THE AREA BY 12Z. A RUMBLE  
OF THUNDER IS POSSIBLE SOUTH WHERE SOME ELEVATED INSTABILITY WILL BE.  
 
TODAY...  
 
THE ISENTROPIC LIFT WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING.  
MEANWHILE A STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL JET WILL MOVE IN, WITH THE FOCUS  
ON THE FAR SOUTHERN FORECAST AREA. THIS WILL BRING PLENTIFUL  
MOISTURE. ALOFT, THE UPPER TROUGH WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST. WILL  
GO HIGH POPS MOST AREAS AT SOME POINT DURING THE MORNING INTO EARLY  
AFTERNOON. SOME MAINLY ELEVATED INSTABILITY WILL BE AROUND,  
ESPECIALLY SOUTH, SO A RUMBLE OF THUNDER WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN  
POSSIBLE.  
 
THIS AFTERNOON, THE BROADER RAIN SHIELD WILL BE MOVING EAST OUT OF  
THE AREA. MEANWHILE, A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE IN FROM THE WEST. THERE  
WILL BE SOME WEAK INSTABILITY FOR THE FRONT TO WORK WITH, AND THERE  
WILL BE A GOOD AMOUNT OF SHEAR.  
 
AT THE MOMENT, BELIEVE THAT INSTABILITY WILL REMAIN QUITE WEAK, SO  
THAT ONLY SOME SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP WITH THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT. IF  
INSTABILITY BECOMES HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED, CONVECTION MIGHT BECOME  
ORGANIZED ENOUGH TO PRODUCE SOME STRONG WIND GUSTS. HOWEVER,  
CONFIDENCE IN THAT SCENARIO REMAINS LOW.  
 
WITH THE FOCUS OF THE LOW LEVEL JET TO THE SOUTH OF THE AREA,  
RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM LESS THAN A QUARTER OF AN INCH IN  
THE NORTHWEST TO NEAR THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH SOUTHEAST.  
CONVECTION TO THE SOUTH MAY ROB SOME OF THIS MOISTURE, WHICH WOULD  
RESULT IN LOWER RAINFALL AMOUNTS, ESPECIALLY NORTH.  
 
WIND FIELDS WILL REMAIN HIGH ENOUGH THAT SOME GUSTS IN THE 25 TO 30  
MPH RANGE ARE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON, WITH PERHAPS SOME GUSTS UP TO  
35 MPH.  
 
WARM ADVECTION AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WILL BRING HIGH TEMPERATURES  
IN THE MIDDLE 50S TO LOWER 60S, WHICH IS WELL ABOVE NORMAL FOR MID-  
DECEMBER.  
 
TONIGHT...  
 
COLDER AND DRIER AIR WILL WORK INTO THE AREA BEHIND THE COLD FRONT.  
SOME LOWER CLOUDS WILL LINGER IN THE NORTHERN FORECAST AREA, WHILE  
THE SOUTHERN AREA SHOULD BECOME MOSTLY CLEAR. TEMPERATURES WILL  
FALL INTO THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 30S FOR LOWS.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM (TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)
 
 
ISSUED AT 234 AM EST MON DEC 16 2024  
 
A RETURN TO COOLER CONDITIONS IS ANTICIPATED DURING THE LONG RANGE.  
ALOFT, THE JET PATTERN WILL SHIFT FROM QUASIZONAL TO MORE AMPLIFIED  
WITH TROUGHING DOMINANT OVER THE EASTERN SEABOARD. SUCH A PATTERN  
TYPICALLY BRINGS DRY AND COOLER CONDITIONS SINCE NORTHWESTERLY FLOW  
PREVAILS. THESE CONDITIONS CAN LARGELY BE EXPECTED BY THE END OF THE  
LONG RANGE. HOWEVER, BEFORE WE FULLY SWITCH INTO SUCH A PATTERN  
THERE IS AT LEAST ONE MORE WAVE EMBEDDED WITHIN THE ZONAL FLOW  
ALOFT. THIS WAVE IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE EARLY ON WEDNESDAY BRINGING  
ANOTHER ROUND OF PRECIPITATION.  
 
MODEL UNCERTAINTY REMAINS ON THE HIGHER SIDE REGARDING THIS SYSTEM,  
MAINLY IN TERMS OF ITS TRACK. OUTCOMES FOR THE MAIN PRECIPITATION  
AXIS CURRENTLY RANGES FROM THE I-70 CORRIDOR ON THE NORTHERN EDGE,  
TO NEAR AND SOUTH OF THE OHIO RIVER ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE.  
REGARDLESS, THIS WAVE WILL LIKELY STILL BE EARLY IN ITS LIFE CYCLE  
AS IT ARRIVES TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY, WITHOUT A TRUE COLD  
CONVEYOR BELT FORMED. THE RESULT IS A MUCH WARMER THERMAL PROFILE,  
OF WHICH WILL LIKELY KEEP ANY FROZEN PRECIPITATION NORTH OF CENTRAL  
INDIANA, AHEAD OF THE MID LEVEL TROUGH. IF THERE IS ANY SNOW, IT  
WOULD BE LIGHT, AND ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE SOUTHERN MOST SCENARIO  
LATE ON WEDNESDAY (CURRENTLY WOULD PUT CHANCE OF OCCURRENCE AROUND 10-  
25%). AS FAR AS PRECIPITATION TIMING, TRENDS ARE PUSHING  
PRECIPITATION ONSET POST 09Z IN FAR WESTERN IN, WITH PRECIPITATION  
ENDING SOMETIME WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. THE FURTHER NORTH THE  
SYSTEM TRACKS, THE LATER PRECIPITATION WILL END ON WEDNESDAY.  
 
ONCE THE MID-WEEK SYSTEM DEPARTS, TROUGHING BEGINS TO DIG OVER THE  
EASTERN SEABOARD AND OUR TRANSITION TO NORTHWESTERLY FLOW COMMENCES.  
AS SUCH, TEMPERATURES TREND DOWNWARD TOWARDS COLDER MORE WINTER-LIKE  
VALUES. THOUGH THE OVERALL PATTERN WILL BE DRY, GUIDANCE SHOWS A  
CLIPPER SYSTEM (SOME MEMBERS DEPICTING A FAIRLY ROBUST LOW) DIVING  
SOUTHEASTWARD TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEEK WITH POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO  
INDIANA. MOST GUIDANCE KEEPS INDIANA LARGELY DRY AS THE BULK OF THE  
PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE SYSTEM IS ON ITS NORTHERN FLANK.  
THERE ARE A FEW MEMBERS THAT BRING SNOW SHOWERS TO THE REGION,  
HOWEVER. TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY WILL DEPEND ON HOW STRONG THE SYSTEM  
IS, AND WHERE IT TRACKS. REGARDLESS, COLD CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY TO  
FOLLOW WITH RENEWED COLD AIR ADVECTION BEHIND THE DEPARTING SYSTEM.  
 

 
   
AVIATION (12Z TAF ISSUANCE)
 
 
ISSUED AT 600 AM EST MON DEC 16 2024  
 
IMPACTS:  
 
-IFR AND LOWER CEILINGS FOR MUCH OF THE FIRST 12 HOURS  
-RAIN AT MOST SITES INTO EARLY AFTERNOON  
-WESTERLY WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 25KT MAINLY AFTER 16Z  
-IMPROVEMENT TO VFR TONIGHT  
 
DISCUSSION:  
 
IFR CEILINGS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE AFTERNOON, AND THEN IMPROVEMENT  
WILL OCCUR AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. LOWER THAN IFR  
CEILINGS ARE POSSIBLE AT TIMES, MAINLY THIS MORNING.  
 
EMBEDDED ISOLATED CONVECTION IS POSSIBLE IN THE RAIN, MAINLY AT THE  
SOUTHERN SITES. HOWEVER, ODDS ARE TOO LOW TO MENTION.  
 

 
   
IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
NONE.  

 
 

 
 
SHORT TERM...50  
LONG TERM...UPDIKE/ECKHOFF  
AVIATION...50  
 
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