Non-severe showers and storms will continue to push through this morning. If the clouds (and showers) associated with this morning’s system linger, it would lessen the severe threat later this afternoon but not eliminate it.

The SPC has slightly expanded the enhanced risk area (3/5) so that it firmly includes Goshen again.

The timing for our afternoon storms and subsequent severe weather threat looks to be from about 3 PM to 5 PM, with scattered rain and non-severe storms lingering for several hours after.

Straight-line winds of 60+ mph will be the greatest threat from this afternoon’s storms.

However, you can see the comma-shaped nature of the system in the image above, and that will add some helicity (spin) to the atmosphere. Any supercells that develop could produce tornadoes. That helicity could also lead to a few quick spin-up tornadoes embedded within the line(s) of thunderstorms moving through. The tornado threat is relatively low but not zero.

The Storm Prediction Center will release an update early this afternoon that should come just before things get going locally. Still, I wouldn’t expect to see significant changes to the morning update.

This doesn’t look like a memorable severe weather event but more like your typical, occasional summer severe storm threat. Hopefully, this system will bring a decent amount of rain because we may not see much more for quite some time.

In other news, a prolonged stretch of extreme heat is looking more and more likely. High temperatures in the low to mid-90s are expected as early as Friday and could last for the better part of the next week and a half.

What’s more concerning about the impending heat wave is that the “low” temperatures will likely only reach the low to mid-70s. Factories and homes without air conditioning will become stifling after a few consecutive days (and nights) of abnormal heat. And if you don’t have a kiddie pool yet and want one, I suggest getting it now before they disappear from shelves this weekend! (I have made this mistake before).

I’ll try to have one more quick update this afternoon before storms arrive.

–pw