Highs today reached 65-70 after lows of 55-60 this morning.
Multiple reports of funnels were received this evening. These are cold air funnels associated with low spinning in Illinois. Our environment is vorticity-rich or the air parcels have a lot of spin. Combined that with some colder air aloft bubbling up cumulus towers, rather moist surface to low levels & some shallow CAPE & you have small funnels condensing from the spotty showers & cumulus clouds.
They rare, if ever, touch down, but a few times they have. The last one to touch down in our area was in June 2006 when one blew the a door off a quonset hut shed & knocked a couple of limbs down on a farm near Odell. Winds were likely around 70 mph.
This evening, most of the funnels where high up, short & rope-like.
This was a larger one in a shower near West Lafayette this evening. It was also much closer to the ground than the others. Image captured by Josiah Maas.
Lows tonight will run 55-60 (59 Greater Lafayette) as shower coverage increases late (by morning) from 30% to 60%.
Rainfall coverage will go up as spinning upper low in Illinois moves south, rather than east due to juggerknot from upper low in Georgia moving northeastward & Tropical Storm Arthur. Also, warm to hot upper ridge dominating from northern Mexico to Ontario & Quebec will tend to block its movement to the northeast, as well.
Rainy weather in the morning should give way to decreasing shower coverage (60% to 30%) & some breaks in the clouds here & there in the afternoon.
Highs will eventually reach 65-70 (70 Greater Lafayette).
An isolated funnel or two is possible in the afternoon-evening (though doesn't look like as many as we had this evening).
A few isolated showers are possible Wednesday morning-midday, otherwise we will see clouds with some sun with breaks in the clouds & highs 65-72 (70 Greater Lafayette).
We will warm Thursday to 72-78 (75 Greater Lafayette), followed by 77-84 Friday (81 Greater Lafayette) with sunshine.
The weekend looks muggy, breezy to windy & summer-like with highs 85-90 with some storms possible Saturday night & again late Sunday to Sunday night.
SLIGHT RISK parameters show up over the area.
Some storms are also possible late Monday with highs 85-90.
MARGINAL to SLIGHT RISK parameters show up over the area.
Overnight lows for all of these nights will only drop to 65-70.
On all three days, it will feel more like 91-96 with the higher dew points.
All of next week looks very warm to hot & humid with highs 85-91 & lows 65-71 with heat indices reaching 91-97.
SLIGHT RISK does show up next Wednesday, but after that, all of the organized severe weather risk is well northwest of our area May 28-June 4.
June 4 & 11 show some severe risk. Above normal temperatures look to dominate with a lot of very warm to hot, humid days currently forecast.
Again, main corridor of flooding rainfall & severe weather is shaping up Manitoba to Kansas & not so much here at the moment.
We will monitor.
