Rain Chances Tonight, Improvements Coming

Good Evening! Its been a few weeks since my last blog. I'm back again. Lots of things happening in the weather world. Former Hurricane "SUPERSTORM" Sandy made landfall last night. It done its damage and now it is beginning to calm down. The hardest part is done with but I am not saying this is completely over. Though Sandy is weakening, it will soon be time to evaluate the damage and begin the SUPER clean up. For some it may take days or weeks but for other it will take months and years to completely recover from the damage done in Sandy's path. Over 25 states were affected from Sandy stretching from the East Coast to as far west as Illinois & Wisconsin. From flooded homes, streets, and airports, to blizzard-like snow conditions. About 30 million people are without power and there's been about 29 U.S.fatalities. President Obama has declared New Jersey and New York a disaster area. Over 15,000 flights have been cancelled so far since Sunday. Rescue teams have been sent out, donations are being made, shelters are being provided, some travel websites offering hotel discounts, and airliners are working hard to re-book cancel flights. The recovering is starting to begin.
"Whenever an American is in need, all of us stand together to make sure we're providing help."
-President Barack Obama

There are a few ways that you can help or make donations.
(1) Red Cross-Text "Redcross" to 90999 to make a $10 donation. You can also call 1-800-Red-Cross or visit www.redcross.org.
(2) Salvation Army-You can make a donation by visiting www.salvationarmyusa.org.
(3) AmeriCares-You can make a donation by visiting www.americares.org.
If you'd like to personally volunteer and help out then consider Samiritan's Purse. You'll have to visit their website and fill out an application form. For form click
here. For further information on volunteering click here.

For relief to families and children you can consider donating to Save The Children www.savethechildren.org
Also, World Vision is distributing flood clean-up kits, personal hygiene items and emergency food kits to people hit by the hurricane. If you would like to make a donation here then visit www.worldvision.org.
Here's a link to NASA's website that has a comprehensive look at the birth of Sandy and guide you through its landfall last night in the U.S. and its path & destruction after landfall.
Tropical Depression 18 Becomes Hurricane "SUPERSTORM" Sandy.

The biggest impact from Sandy in Indianapolis is the winds. Wind speeds for the most part have been anywhere from 20-25 mph with gusts up to 40-45 mph. Here is top wind speeds and gust for the past 5 days as of 4pm today.
Friday-Highest Wind Speed 23 MPH. Peak Wind Gusts 29 MPH
Saturday-Highest Wind Speed 21 MPH. Peak Wind Gusts 24 MPH
Sunday-Highest Wind Speed 21 MPH. Peak Wind Gusts 24 MPH
Monday-Highest Wind Speed 32 MPH. Peak Wind Gusts 40 MPH
Today-Highest Wind Speed 29 MPH. Peak Wind Gusts 38 MPH

The wind advisory that has been in effect for most of the today was allowed to expire early since they did not meet the criteria needed for the advisory to be active. Winds are expected to gradually decrease over the next few days.
Wednesday-15-20 MPH Gusts 20-30 MPH
Thursday--5-15 MPH
Friday----3-8 MPH

Today a chill has certainly been in the air. Highs staying only in the low 40s. Some of the lowest high temperature readings since early March. We've had some ice pellets today but there has been some reports of snow as well for Eastern parts of the state. In fact, Fort Wayne recorded 0.1" of snow this morning. In the past 100 Octobers (since 1912), there has now been only 27 days recorded with measurable snowfall. This is the first October they've received snow since Halloween 1993.

TONIGHT
We'll keep the chances going for some sprinkles or light rain going through the overnight hours. It will continue to breezy and temperatures should be down in the mid 30s where it has been over the past few days.

HALLOWEEN
Your halloween will start off cold and wet. Could see a few flurries in the morning but not everyone in the state will see them. Rain showers should end. It will continue to be breezy but not as windy as yesterday and today. High temperatures will once again be at its chilliest levels for the fall season but should be a few degrees warmer than today. We should be able to squeeze out some afternoon sunshine but most of the day will be cloudy with highs only top out in the mid to possibly upper 40s. Temperatures more typical for the end of November. It will certainly be one of the coolest halloween's we've had in 10 years.
Here's a look back at our temperature and weather observations for the past 10 years.



Here's a look at your hourly temperature forecast. Wet in the morning but more drier for the trick or treaters.



Thursday improvements will really begin with our forecast. More sunshine, less wind, and higher temperatures. It will be more of a normal more milder weekend ahead but there's a chance for some weekend showers Saturday and Sunday. I expect many dry hours but at anytime I think we'll get some showers going. Not a complete washout at the moment. I wouldn't rule out the possibility for a few storms as well. Sunshine will likely return to kick off the new work week on Monday.



Mark your calendars there is a time change Sunday, November 4. We will set our clocks back one hour from 2AM to 1AM. If you forget you will either be early to work or early for church.



***7 DAY FORECAST***

HALLOWEEN	NOV. 1	NOV. 2	NOV. 3	NOV. 4	NOV. 5	NOV. 6
WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY
CLOUDS & RAIN	SUNNY	SUNNY	CHANCE OF RAIN?	RAIN/SUN?	MOSTLY SUNNY	PARTLY SUNNY
47	52	57	56	52	55	59
33	33	39	44	37	38	41