Tom Coomes

Hot and very humid, Wednesday will be the hottest day of the year, so-far, with a head index nearly 100. The storm threat is Wednesday night and Thursday night, with the latter being the greatest concern. A line of storms, with the primary threat of damaging wind is the concern. The storm threat for Wednesday night is iffy and may fizzle, Thursday storms are likely, the question is how strong?

Severe weather is likely tonight. A few storms are possible in the late afternoon, that is not the main event. After 8:00 PM a line of storms will slice through the area bringing damaging wind gusts, in excess of 70 mph. The timing varies but you should stay up to date with forecast, through the evening. A spin-up tornado or tornado warning is also possible, but the majority of damage will be caused by straight line wind.

At least three tornadoes touched down Thursday night, June 11, 2026. This list my continue to grow as damage is analyzed. The first tornado that hit Wanatah in LaPorte Co was obvious, it was spotted and confirmed with multiple photos and videos. What is not known, was it a continues single tornado or did it lift and touch down again, or were there satellite spin-ups? This is still be analyzed by the National Weather Service. But we can tell you at it's peak, this was an EF-3 Tornado with wind in excess of 135 mph.

LAPORTE COUNTY, Ind. -- The Thursday Tornado that tore into western La Porte County Last week was an EF-3 Tornado, that tracked over 20 miles across Lake and Porter counties, ending in LaPorte county.

A stormy pattern returns midweek with multiple rounds of storms Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday afternoon there will be two rounds of storms between noon and 6:00 PM, with the second round the more likely threat, but overall, this set-up is unlikely to bring widespread damage. Wednesday will also likely have two rounds of storms, one in the afternoon and another in the evening. The threat for severe weather is in the evening, 4:00 PM to Midnight, Wednesday. Also, be prepared for the possibility of flash flooding as more than two inches of rain could fall Wednesday evening.

Tuesday afternoon, storms quickly develop after 4:00 PM, one or two storms could be strong or severe, damaging wind, hail and even a tornado are possible. The threat is not widespread and will clear by 8:00 PM.

Threat Tracker is now dropping to a 2/5 for half the area. After starting the day at a 4/5 Dangerous Weather Day. Storms are still possible but severity less likely. There's a window for storms after 4:00 PM. There's an increasing threat for flooding; we'll keep you updated. Also, non-storm wind gusts may pick-up after the rain.

The year isn't even half over, and Indiana and Illinois have set yearly records for total tornadoes. The past two weeks over 100 tornadoes have occurred in total across both states. On average, Indiana and Illinois see between 23 and 42 tornadoes respectively. This is a growing trend, as this is the 4th consecutive year with above normal tornado activity.

SOUTH BEND, Ind — June 2026 was the second warmest on record, 10.06" of rain, was just shy of the all-time record of 10.86" set in 1993. This is also the fourth wettest month ever in South Bend with four days when more than an inch of rainfall.

SOUTH BEND, Ind -- The smoke is what everyone is talking about, but this may just be the first round of the season. as the 2025 wildfire season is just getting started. The fire season along with the warm season are now longer, the cold and snowy season is shorter. Wilderness areas that were covered in snow half the year, now are dry tinderboxes much sooner and the fire season lasts until the first snow, that also is arriving later in the year.