Remnants of Isaac expected this weekend
BY Teresa Auch Schultz tauch@post-trib.com August 28, 2012 11:28PM
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Updated: September 30, 2012 6:17AM
Hurricane Isaac won’t hit Northwest Indiana, but its rains likely will, possibly bringing flooding with them.
Teresa Bals-Elsholz, chairwoman of Valparaiso University’s meteorology department, said that several models show the storm’s path will hit the region around Saturday afternoon.
Those models show Northwest Indiana could see anywhere from 1 inch of rain to 4 or 5 inches of rain in a 12-hour span. The Chicago area will also likely see rain, although probably not as much as Lake and Porter counties. Bals-Elsholz said one model had O’Hare International Airport getting about half an inch of rain. The rainfall amount increases farther into Indiana, with Lafayette getting as much as 6 inches of rain.
If the rains reach the upper limits of the predictions, Bals-Elsholz said, the region will likely see flooding.
“Nothing’s going to be able to handle that much water,” she said. “ ... That’s a lot of rain in a short amount of time.”
Some of the streams might handle large amounts of rain better now, she said, because they’re not already saturated. She also said the rain could help lakes and reservoirs depleted by the lack of rain this summer. But streets have trouble handling that much water at a time, she said.
Bals-Elsholz said the timing of the rain could change, especially because forecasters didn’t know as of Tuesday afternoon when the hurricane will hit land. Weather models on Tuesday indicated that the rain could leave the region by Sunday afternoon.
