06/16/2026
WEATHER GEEK: I know tomorrow has a lot of chatter online (rightfully so). I try very hard to keep feet on the ground to suppress anxiety, and I think a key to that is education! Anyone can post spooky maps with lots of colors to get shares & likes. I feel my job is to inform and educate as to what those spooky colors mean... so that's what I'm going to try to do. However, I will echo my previous post -- Wednesday's forecast deserves our attention.
One reason the tornado risk is elevated on Wednesday is the warm front. We often talk about the warm front being the boundary between warmer air and cooler air. For Wednesday's setup, it also is the boundary/line between different wind directions, moisture and instability. When storms form near a warm front, they grow high in the sky (sometimes 50,000+ feet!) and can tap into that added spin (we call it wind shear) more easily. That is why the tornado risk is higher near the warm front.
The exact position of the warm front is important. If morning storms hold it farther south, the greatest tornado risk stays south of us. If it lifts farther north, the higher risk comes into our backyard (especially Northern Indiana). That will be the key tomorrow. Individual discrete storms that develop along that warm front will have a high chance of developing a tornado.
For Wednesday, I'll be sure to update on exactly WHERE that warm front is during the day... because that is where we will want to watch. Updates to come, of course. :)