Forecasters At NWS Indy Prepare for Multi-Day Storm
INDIANAPOLIS — Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Indianapolis are monitoring a large storm system expected to affect much of the United States over the weekend and into early next week.
During a visit to the National Weather Service’s Indianapolis office, Head Forecaster David Beachler described how staff work continuously to analyze weather data and communicate forecasts to a range of audiences.
“What we do is we have different desks that focus on various entities that relate to the forecast process,” Beachler said. “We also have a group that is devoted to aviation services, and they’re responsible for monitoring the aviation forecast and messaging out to our partners there.”
Beachler said forecasters also focus on products designed for public use and media distribution.
“But then we also have the public side of things,” he said, “and focusing on the finished products that go out to the general public media consumption.”
The storm system spans a large portion of the continental United States and is expected to impact an estimated 120 million people, according to forecasters.
“What’s concerning about the storm is how big it’s become,” Beachler said. “The storm stretches coast to coast with tens of millions of people in its path across the continental U.S.”
The system is forecast to affect areas from the Southwest through parts of the central United States, including Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Indianapolis; and Louisville, before reaching the Northeast, including New York City and Boston.
Forecasters are tracking the system from Saturday through Monday. On Sunday, some areas could experience rainfall rates of up to an inch per hour.
Beachler said meteorologists are closely monitoring how the storm develops over time.
“What is the evolution process? We’ll start to see the storm system evolve from what it was looking like 36 hours ago to what it is today,” he said. “Computer models are constantly updating, so what that’s doing is it’s giving us the latest, greatest information that we can use so that then we can craft the final message.”
