By: Stephen McCoy

Much like Doug mentioned in his initial forecast for this event last year, this area can prove tricky to forecast for since conditions can vary greatly in a relatively small area. This forecast in the graphic is for the start line at the bottom of the hill climb. Conditions (namely temperatures) will likely be much cooler at the peak than shown in the graphic.

Overall conditions for the weekend will be partly to mostly cloudy with most clouds concentrated in the upper levels on Saturday and in the (relative) low and upper levels on Sunday. The cloud cover will come as a result of moisture from the southwest as a longwave upper level trough slowly approaches from the west. A stationary area of low pressure at the surface is expected to the east of Colorado Springs, in the leeward side of the Rocky Mountains on Sunday This low will cause winds from the east to northeast over the region. Orographic lifting will allow air at the surface to rise and condense as it moves vertically up the mountain range. The addition of daytime heating will result in a chance of showers with thunderstorms possible Sunday afternoon.

By Doug Schneider

High pressure over the Pennsylvania and upstate New York areas will provide nice weather as practice sessions begin on Thursday at Watkins Glen International. That should continue for most of Friday as well, but there are some models that are developing some pop-up showers late in the day. I'm not very confident that this will happen or have any impact on the racing, so I'm keeping the rain icon out of the graphic for now. The chance of rain during the day on Friday is less than 20%. 

On Saturday a cold front will be approaching the area from the north, which will bring a better chance of showers. The timing is too uncertain to pinpoint this far out, but the coverage of showers appears to be scattered at this time, so I do not expect it to be a persistent all-day rain - passing on/off showers are more likely. The impact on the racing should be low, which means that all scheduled events should be able to be completed. 

The front should be through the area by Sunday morning, but there will still be an upper level trough over the region. Under this trough, there could be some light showers in the Watkins Glen area, but most of the activity should stay to the east, near Albany. I'm uncertain enough about the location of the showers that I am putting in a 20% chance of rain, but I don't think it will have an impact. Temperatures will be cooler and winds will be stronger on Sunday. 

​Check back through the week for updates to the forecast.

By Scott Martin

Looking at the latest high-resolution models and radar trends this morning, I do believe that we stay mainly dry through the morning hours at Road America, but those thunderstorm chances really begin to ramp up around 12:00 pm. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a passing light shower during the morning hours, but chances will be rather small. If there is a delay today due to storms, it may only be for a couple of hours as we may have a mainly dry slot around 3:00 PM-4:00 PM. A passing shower or two is possible but they should be light in nature. Afternoon high tops out around 70 degrees. Winds will be out of the southeast at 8-16 MPH. Rain chances during morning: 20%-30%. Rain Chances from 12:00 PM-3:00 PM: 80%. Rain chances after 4:00 PM: 30%-40%.

By Scott Martin

So sorry for the lack of forecast updates for the past couple of days. Severe storms have kept me busy in my hometown.

No problem at all with the weather at Road America as skies will be sunny. Temperatures will be mild topping out in the upper 60s just below 70 degrees. Winds will be out of the southeast at 10-15 MPH.

Sunday may be a different story... we'll have a few showers possible during the morning hours but rain chances greatly increase as we move into the late morning and afternoon hours. Showers and thunderstorms will be likely after 12:00 pm. I'm crossing my fingers that the heavier showers and storms hold off until well later in the afternoon. The afternoon high will top out right around 70 degrees. Chance of rain is at 70%.

I'll have radar up and running within the next hour or so. Have a great day!

By: Stephen McCoy

Race day conditions remain as forecast in previous updates for the ADAC TOTAL 24 Hours of Nürburgring. One thing to note is that the high temperature for Saturday will be in the low 20's C, or upper 60's F. The high temperature is expected around 4-5 PM local time and is not featured in the graphic. According to timeanddate.com moon-rise will be at 1:07 AM, being visible for a few hours before sunrise on Sunday.