The only complaints that you may hear down in "The Sunshine State" this weekend for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be... "I think I got too much sun."  That's right, we start off the 2020 Indycar calendar with beautiful and warm weather with no rain. Here are the details...

Friday will be a wonderful day to kick off the race weekend as skies will be mostly sunny throughout the day. Winds will start off very light out of the southeast but those will eventually shift out of the west at 2-7 MPH before the end of the on-track activities. The temperature will start off around 64 degrees at 8:00 am EDT and will warm to around 81 degrees by 3:00 pm EDT.

Not much different for Saturday as I would call it a "Rinse and Repeat" forecast. Mostly sunny skies throughout the day with the temperature starting off around 65 degrees at 8:00 am EDT and rising to around 82 degrees for the afternoon high. Winds will start off out of the east at 2-5 MPH and will shift to out of the south at 2-7 MPH by the end of the on-track activities.

Sunday will feature a few more clouds, but skies will stay in the partly sunny category throughout the day. The temperature will start off around 66 degrees at 8:00 am EDT and will rise to around 82 degrees by the afternoon. Winds will be out of the southeast at 3-8 MPH to start and will shift out of the W by the late afternoon.

Here is the keyword that you did not see in the forecast... RAIN. While the western Florida Peninsula will be basking in almost full sunshine throughout much of the weekend, much of the rest of the southeastern parts of the United States will be putting up with rain. Wear those hats and shades... and don't forget the sunscreen!

By: Stephen McCoy

Conditions remain mostly the same for this weekend at Circuit of the Americas, besides the cooler temperatures on Saturday and a minor chance for precipitation Sunday evening after track activities have concluded.

For Friday, expect near-average temperatures as a surface high pressure system to the North causes winds from the North to Northeast through the day. Mostly saturated air in the upper levels will cause mostly cloudy skies, but the sun may still show through the clouds depending on how thick the cloud deck is. Similar conditions are expected for Saturday, though temperatures will be a few degrees cooler, most likely due to Easterly winds overnight. A southerly shift in winds Saturday into Sunday will bring warmer temperatures to the region along with a low chance for light showers during the late afternoon to evening.

By: Stephen McCoy

Much more pleasant conditions for the GT World Challenge America season opener than last year, with near-average temperatures and mixed amounts of cloud cover through the weekend.

Conditions for this weekend begin earlier this week as an upper level low pressure trough moves eastward over Northern Mexico and the US Southwest. A surface low pressure system will be present ahead of the trough with a cold/stationary front extending further East. The front is expected to bring rain with thunderstorms to the region on Tuesday into Wednesday morning. As the trough and low pressure move into the Southeast US, high pressure will begin to build in ahead of an upper level high pressure ridge, which will remain over the South-central US into next week.

On Friday, the surface high will be centered to the North/Northeast, causing winds mostly from the Northeast through the day and temperatures near the daily average, though a bit cooler than earlier in the week. Cloud cover will begin increasing in the upper levels overnight Thursday into Friday as Southwesterly winds bring moisture in from the Pacific Ocean. For the remainder of the weekend, the surface high will continue moving eastward, resulting in winds slowly shifting to the East to Southeast on Saturday, then to the South to Southeast on Sunday. Some of the cloud cover will break up for Saturday as drier air moves in, however mostly cloudy to overcast conditions will be present on Sunday as mid level winds bring increased moisture to the region from the Gulf of Mexico while the upper level winds resume in carrying moisture from the Pacific.

By: Stephen McCoy

Conditions for the Bathurst 12 Hour remain mostly unchanged except for Sunday, which shows an increase in precipitation chances as the result of a cold front moving through the region. Much like in the initial forecast, a surface high pressure system is expected to sit stationary over the Pacific Ocean off the West coast of Australia. As it brings in warmer air from the North/Northwest, an upper level trough over the New South Wales territory will keep the heat trapped closer to the surface, resulting in temperatures well into the 30's C, 90's F on Friday and Saturday. Where this forecast update differs with the initial is that model guidance now suggests an upper level trough will move to the south of the continent, allowing a low pressure system to form at the surface, moving eastward Saturday into Sunday. A cold front will extend to the Northwest from the system, and is anticipated to move through the NSW region in the early to mid-afternoon on Sunday, bringing with it a chance for scattered showers with some thunderstorms possible. Maximum temperatures reflect the frontal passage, being a few degrees cooler than the rest of the weekend.

By: Stephen McCoy

A fairly straight-forward forecast for the Bathurst 12 Hours this weekend: lots of sun and hot temperatures each day. An upper-level ridge will sit over the NSW region with an accompanying surface high pressure system present just off the coast. North to northwesterly winds will bring warmer temperatures to the region, while the ridge will keep the heat trapped nearer to the surface. Northeasterly winds during the morning on Friday will bring in a slight amount of moisture off the Pacific Ocean and could result in some fog, but will any amount will disappear after sunrise. Slight amounts of smoke/haze are possible for the remainder of Friday from bushfires to the south, however the conditions are unlikely to continue for the rest of the weekend. Light cloud cover is expected for Saturday and Sunday as a result of mid level winds from the east, and will increase towards Sunday evening, but overall conditions will remain mostly sunny.