Spring Has Sprung

Spring officially starts today. It's that time of the year when we think of rain and thunderstorms and say bye-bye to snow and cold. But are you ready for the changing seasons and weather to follow?  Here's a link with a plethora of good information to help you get prepared for the weather ahead.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/spring_safety.html#.VQwqbdLwtaR

As the snow diminishes and the waterways open back up, the risk of flooding is always a concern during the spring season. On average, flooding causes more property damage in the United States than any other weather related event. It is a threat to life and property that can occur in any of the fifty states or U.S. territories at any time of year.  Fortunately, we've had less snowfall this year than last year, and a recent warm up led to a gradual snow melt across the area. Just checking in with local river forecasts, it appears most river levels are flowing without flood concern. There's just one spot in the long range forecasts where minor flooding may occur.  

The Fox River by New Munster may experience some minor flooding during the time frame of March through May, according to the National Weather Service experimental long range forecasts. Parts of the Fox River are notorious for flooding. Of course that chance will hinge on any significant rainfall in the forecast. Right now, there's a decent chance rain will enter the picture late next Tuesday and linger through Wednesday. This system looks to have the potential to drop about a half inch of rainfall across the area. It may even bring our first rumbles of thunder of the season. It's a system we'll be watching carefully in the days ahead.

I'm meteorologist Rebecca Schuld