UPDATE: As of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, the severe weather threat for Michiana is over. The Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been canceled.
ORIGINAL STORY: The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, Kosciusko, Lagrange, Noble and several other counties in centeral and northeastern Indiana, and Berrien and Cass Counties in Michigan which face the highest risk of severe weather, says the National Weather Service.
The Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 6 p.m. EDT.
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Those areas are either under an enhanced risk or a moderate risk. An enhanced risk means numerous severe storms are possible. They can be more widespread or consistent. A moderate risk means widespread severe storms are likely to happen. They are also most likely “long-lived and intense,” according to the Storm Prediction Center.
“It looks like some storms will pop off beginning in the early afternoon (Wednesday) and we’re mainly concerned about a damaging wind threat with these storms,” says Kyle Brown, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Northern Indiana.
Brown says the storms will move through anywhere between noon and 8 pm. He says the threat of a tornado is “small” and looks to be “isolated in nature.”
“Not everyone is going to see a tornado, but we are definitely more concerned about the damaging wind gusts to about 60 mph, which can certainly bring down some trees and even some power lines,” says Brown.
The storms will be “juiced once again”, so heavy downpours will also be a concern, says Brown. The threat of severe weather decreases the further south you go.
“The rest of the state could see a few passing showers and thunderstorms. This cold front still has some moisture to work with, so we could still see those showers and thunderstorms,” says Brown.
Once the storms move out, Brown says much of the state will see mostly sunny and clear skies for the next few days with high temperatures ranging from the upper to 70s to low 80s.
