Snow in spring: Wet, heavy snow to swoop in this weekend

GREATER LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The weekend storm system moving its way toward Indiana may be technically hitting during spring – but it’s definitely not a spring-like storm.

According to Meteorologist Jessie Hawila, heavy snow could coat the area by Sunday evening – despite the fact that we marked the first technical day of spring just this past Wednesday. He says it could be a doozy.

“So far, this entire winter season into spring, March will hold our two most significant snowfalls,” Hawila said.

Although it’s not rare for Greater Lafayette to see a major snowfall in March, Hawila said this year actually has been unusual compared to others.

“I would say it’s not unusual to get snow in March,” Hawila said. “But it is to get your two most significant snowfalls in March.”

There is still a lot of uncertainty with this system, but as of Friday afternoon, Weather Team 18 was expecting precipitation to begin falling early Sunday morning. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch from 8 a.m. Sunday to noon Monday.

Area road crews are prepared to battle the late-season winter wallop.

"We'll have plenty of salt," West Lafayette Street Commissioner David Downey said. "We're going through the trucks, because they haven't been used for some time. We're checking tire pressure and fluids and for loose bolts and nuts, those types of things. We should have everything ready."

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The weather system looks like mainly snow north of Interstate 70, a rain/snow mix south of I-70 to around Bloomington and Columbus, then mainly rain south of Bloomington, according to sister-station WISH Meteorologist Ken Brewer.

There is a potential for some parts of the southern parts of the WLFI viewing area to see 6-10 inches of snow, although Hawila says most of the Lafayette area will get 4 to 6 inches of snow.

“It will be a wet snow, which will weigh down (tree) limbs and power lines,” Hawila noted. “With winds at 25 miles per hour, there could be some power outages.”

Eventually, as colder air moves in late Sunday, all places will see some snow.  Any slight change in the path could greatly alter forecast amounts and locations.

But, Hawila says the last clinging grasp of winter won’t stick for too long.

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“(Later in the week) there will be a brief warm-up,” Hawila said. “The snow will melt off after a few days.”

Hawila said although the “warm-up” will seem warm, the temperature increase won’t be significant, comparatively speaking.

“We will stay around average or below average,” Hawila said. “The next significant warm-up won’t occur until the second week of April.”

Stay up-to-date on your weather situation by tuning into News 18 at 6 and 11 this Saturday, and check back with WLFI.com for updates.