Foggy start, then sunny and 75 — rain likely Thursday afternoon and night

Today (Tuesday): patchy fog before 9 a.m., then sunny, with a high near 75. The wind is calm this morning and turns south around 5 mph this afternoon. At 5:55 a.m. the La Porte airport reported fog, a half mile of visibility, and 46 degrees, and a Special Weather Statement covers all of La Porte County for fog and locally dense fog this morning. If you're driving early, slow down, leave extra following distance, use your low beams, and watch for children waiting for the school bus. Tonight: mostly cloudy, with a low around 58 and a south wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday: cloudy, high near 73, with a south wind 5 to 10 mph and a 30% chance of showers, mainly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday night: cloudy and mild, low around 63, with a 20% chance of showers. Thursday: showers likely, mainly after 1 p.m. (60%), with a high near 76 and a southwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Thursday night: showers and possibly a thunderstorm (80%), low around 57. NWS says a tenth to a quarter of an inch of rain is possible Thursday, and a half to three quarters of an inch Thursday night. If you have outdoor work or projects, today is the dry day to get them done.

What changed since yesterday's Scoop: Wednesday is no longer dry; it now has a 30% chance of showers, and its high fell to 73 (from 77). Wednesday night's 20% chance now covers the whole night, not just after 1 a.m. Thursday's rain shifted later: the daytime chance fell to 60% (from 80%) and no longer mentions a thunderstorm, while Thursday night rose to 80% (from 60%), with showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Thursday's high rose to 76 (from 74), and Friday's chance rose to 50% (from 30%). Today and tonight each came in warmer (75 and 58, from 74 and 56). Yesterday, NWS Northern Indiana forecasters said thunderstorms were possible Thursday but severe weather and heavy rain were not expected, with low confidence beyond Thursday. Today they expect rain late Thursday into early Friday, around an inch for most locations, but still no severe weather or significant flooding, with the best thunderstorm chance later Thursday and Thursday night. They add that spotty showers could creep into areas north of US-6 on Wednesday while most of the area stays dry, and that trends point to a dry, cooler weekend that looks to continue into next week.

Right now, a Special Weather Statement for fog and locally dense fog covers all of La Porte County this morning, north and south, including La Porte and Michigan City. There are no watches, warnings, or advisories. The Storm Prediction Center has no severe storm risk for La Porte today through Thursday; its risk areas are over southern and eastern New Mexico and west Texas today, the southern Plains into Kansas and far southern Nebraska on Wednesday, and the southern Plains on Thursday, all far from La Porte. SPC does include La Porte in its general thunderstorm area for Thursday, meaning storms are possible but not expected to be severe.