This forecast office issues warnings
and forecasts for 37 counties, including 24 in northern Indiana, 5
in southern Michigan, and 8 in northwest Ohio. These counties make
up our County
Warning Forecast Area (CWFA).
Slide show on who we are and what we do
On March 17, 1998, the Northern Indiana office assumed warning
responsibility for these counties. In August of 1999, we moved into
our new facility. In
September of 1999, we assumed complete forecast responsibility for
our entire area.
The office is centrally located in the CWFA in northeastern
Kosciusko County, half-way between our two largest metropolitan
areas. To the northwest is the South Bend area, which includes
the larger towns of Mishawaka, Elkhart, Goshen, and Saint
Joseph-Benton Harbor. To the southeast is the Fort Wayne area,
including New Haven and many rural communities. Total
population in the CWFA is about 2.1 million.
The CWFA covers 15,875 square miles. Its 37 counties are
fairly uniform in size and shape. The largest county is Allen
County, Indiana, with 657 square miles. The smallest county is
Blackford County, with 165 square miles. Four pairs of
counties have the same name in different states within the CWFA:
Saint Joseph IN and MI, Cass IN and MI, Allen IN and OH, and Fulton
IN and OH.
We experience all four seasons here, along with a significant
microclimate along Lake Michigan. Winters are cloudy, cold,
and snowy. Most of the CWFA averages 25 to 40 inches of
snowfall per year, but the counties closest to Lake Michigan receive
up to 80 inches per year thanks to lake effect snows. Spring
and summer are warm and periodically stormy. June is the
dominant month for severe weather. Autumn is cool, and is
often affected by the warm waters of Lake Michigan resulting in lake
effect clouds and later first frosts within a county or two of the
lake.
Personnel at this office include:
- Meteorologist in Charge
- Science and Operations Officer
- Warning Coordination Meteorologist
- Data Acquisition and Program Manager
- Service Hydrologist
- Five senior meteorologists
- Four journeyman meteorologists
- Information Technology Officer
- Two electronics technicians
- Electronic Systems Analyst
- Two meteorologist interns
- Two hydrometeorological technicians
- Administrative Assistant
Recreational activities abound in the region. The CWFA is
home to numerous lakes, including the southeastern shore of Lake
Michigan. The weather office is just a few miles away from
Indiana's largest lake, Lake Wawasee. There are 19 state
parks, forests, or recreation areas from which to choose.
Popular tourist destinations include the Lincoln Museum and the
Children's Zoo in Fort Wayne...the Studebaker Museum and National
College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend...and the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg
Museum in Auburn.
There are many institutions of higher learning, such as Notre
Dame University in South Bend and Indiana-Purdue University campuses
in Fort Wayne and South Bend.
Transportation opportunities are plentiful. The largest
airports are Fort Wayne International Airport and South Bend
Regional Airport. Eight interstates serve the CWFA, including
interstates 80 and 90 on the Indiana Toll Road. Other major
highways include U.S. routes 6, 12, 20, 24, 27, 30, 31, 33, and 35.
Passenger train service is available in Michigan City IN, New
Buffalo MI, Niles MI, Dowagiac MI, South Bend IN, Elkhart IN,
Waterloo IN, and Bryan OH.
Sixteen television stations can be found here. South Bend
has affiliates with NBC, CBS, and FOX. Fort Wayne has ABC,
NBC, CBS, and FOX stations.
There are over a hundred radio stations to listen to, and over
130 newspapers to read, including the South Bend Tribune and
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette and News-Sentinel.
Large cities within a day's drive include Milwaukee, Chicago,
Indianapolis, Louisville, Toledo, Detroit, Cleveland, and
Cincinnati.
What time is it, anyway? Indiana is unique in that
some parts of the state change their clocks twice a year, and other
parts do not. In our CWFA, during the summer, all of our
Michigan and Ohio counties are on Eastern Daylight Time. In
Indiana, all counties except LaPorte County are on Eastern Standard
Time. LaPorte County is on Central Daylight Time (meaning we
have three different time zones within our CWFA!). In
the winter, all counties are on Eastern Standard Time, except
LaPorte County, which is on Central Standard Time. It can get
quite confusing!
Famous people born in the CWFA include:
- Jim Davis, cartoonist (creator of Garfield), Marion,
Grant County
- James Dean, actor, Marion, Grant County
- Cole Porter, musician, Peru, Miami County
- Bill Blass, designer, Fort Wayne, Allen County IN
- Dan Butler, actor ( "Bulldog" on Frasier), Fort Wayne,
Allen County IN
- Carole Lombard, actress comedienne, Fort Wayne, Allen County
IN
- Shelley Long, actress (Diane Chambers on Cheers), Fort
Wayne, Allen County, IN
- Dick York, actor (Darrin Stephens on Bewitched), Fort
Wayne, Allen County IN
- Phyllis Diller, comedienne, Lima, Allen County OH
- Greg Kinnear, actor, Logansport, Cass County IN
- Thomas Marshall, Vice President under Woodrow Wilson, North
Manchester, Wabash County
- Gene Stratton-Porter, author, Wabash County
- Drake Hogestyn, actor ("John Black" on Days of Our Lives),
Fort Wayne, Allen County IN
- Julia Barr, actress (All My Children and Ryan's Hope),
Fort Wayne, Allen County IN
- Chad Everett, actor (Dr. Joe Gannon on Medical Center),
South Bend, St Joseph County IN
- Dolores Fuller, classic B-movie actress, South Bend, St Joseph
County IN
- Al Jardine, member of the Beach Boys, Lima, Allen County OH
- Connie Smith, singer ("Once A Day", 1964), Elkhart, Elkhart
County
- Ernie Hudson, actor, Benton Harbor, Berrien County
- Arte Johnson, comedian, Benton Harbor, Berrien County
- Sinbad, comedian, Benton Harbor, Berrien County
- Verne Troyer, actor ("Mini-Me" in the Austin Powers
films), Sturgis, St Joseph County MI
- Anne Baxter, actress, Michigan City, LaPorte County
- John McMartin, Tony-nominated stage actor, Warsaw, Kosciusko
County
- Elmo Lincoln, actor (the first Tarzan, 1918), Rochester,
Fulton County IN
- Everett Scott, athlete who played in 1,307 consecutive
baseball games, Bluffton, Wells County
- Leon Ames, actor, Portland, Jay County
|