High Wind, Lake
- When
- October 20, 1:24 PM CST
- Where
- Lake forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 41.472, -87.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Indiana, October 20, 2018
A strong cold front moved across northwest Indiana during the afternoon of October 20th. This cold front produced snow squalls and wind gusts as high as 65 mph which blew down tree limbs.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.
A strong cold front moved across northwest Indiana during the afternoon of October 20th. This cold front produced snow squalls and wind gusts as high as 65 mph which blew down tree limbs. Seven inch diameter tree limbs were blown down on Ridge Road and Indianapolis near Highland, IN.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 20, 11:50 AM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 20, 11:50 AM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes before
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</html>Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 20, 2:23 AM CST, 11 hours 1 minute before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Chicago/Romeoville IL 323 AM CDT Sat Oct 20 2018 ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019- 210830- Winnebago-Boone-McHenry-Lake IL-Ogle-Lee-DeKalb-Kane-DuPage-Cook- La Salle-Kendall-Grundy-Will-Kankakee-Livingston-Iroquois-Ford- Lake IN-Porter-Newton-Jasper-Benton- 323 AM CDT Sat Oct 20 2018 /423 AM EDT Sat Oct 20 2018/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Central Illinois...Northeast Illinois and Northwest Indiana. .DAY ONE...Early this Morning through Tonight. Weather hazards expected... Limited Thunderstorm Risk in northwest Indiana. Elevated Non thunderstorm wind Risk. Elevated Lakeshore Flood Risk DISCUSSION... A strong cold front will move through the area today, in association with a vigorous upper level disturbance. Very windy conditions are expected, with northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts around 40 mph developing this morning behind the front. Strong northwest winds will produce large waves on Lake Michigan which may produce minor lakeshore and beach flooding along portions of the Indiana shore today and tonight. Scattered rain showers will develop by late morning and early afternoon, and these showers may become mixed with graupel or wet snow at times. Surface temperatures will remain above freezing however, and no accumulation is expected. Isolated thunderstorm is not out of the question over the milder waters of Lake Michigan, and downstream into parts of northwest Indiana. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be necessary through tonight. LMZ740>745-210830- Winthrop Harbor to Wilmette Harbor- Wilmette Harbor to Northerly Island- Northerly Island to Calumet Harbor-Calumet Harbor to Gary- Gary to Burns Harbor-Burns Harbor to Michigan City- 323 AM CDT Sat Oct 20 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of the Illinois nearshore waters of Lake Michigan and the Indiana nearshore waters of Lake Michigan. .DAY ONE...Early this Morning through Tonight. Weather hazards expected... Gale force winds and very hazardous waves. Limited Thunderstorm Risk. Chance of waterspouts. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Sunday... Hazardous conditions for small craft are likely. Ratzer Visit us at http://weather.gov/chicago Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube at: www.facebook.com/nwschicago www.twitter.com/nwschicago www.youtube.com/nwschicago
In the hours before
Local storm report, Oct 20, 12:40 PM CST, 44 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Oct 20, 12:45 PM CST, 39 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Oct 20, 12:59 PM CST, 25 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Oct 20, 1:02 PM CST, 22 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Oct 20, 1:20 PM CST, 4 minutes before
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</html>The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, October 20, 2018
- Strong Wind in West Virginia, October 20, 2018
- High Wind in Virginia, October 20 to 21, 2018
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, October 20, 2018
- High Wind in Illinois, October 20, 2018
- High Wind in Illinois, October 20, 2018
- High Wind in North Carolina, October 20 to 21, 2018
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, October 20, 2018
- Strong Wind in Kentucky, October 20, 2018
- High Surf in Hawaii, October 20 to 27, 2018
- Strong Wind in Ohio, October 20, 2018
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds and Waterspouts in Lake Erie, October 20, 2018
More
Every storm in Indiana in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, October 2018
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 788816.