Rain is expected in the area on Thursday and Thursday night. Most of this activity should be gone by the start of the activities on Friday, but there's a small chance that there could be isolated showers in the area. Friday will be partly sunny with nice temperatures in the lower 70s, but then a cold front will cross the area late in the day. This will bring much colder temperatures and breezy conditions for Saturday and Sunday. Gusts up to 25 mph are possible at times, and daytime highs will be in the 50s.
By Doug Schneider The main weather story with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 will be the cold temperatures - at least, cold for Florida. Whenever I say that it will be cold with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s, people who live outside of Florida laugh and comment on how that's not really cold. But it is well below normal for Daytona.
Rain is expected in the area on Thursday and Thursday night. Most of this activity should be gone by the start of the activities on Friday, but there's a small chance that there could be isolated showers in the area. Friday will be partly sunny with nice temperatures in the lower 70s, but then a cold front will cross the area late in the day. This will bring much colder temperatures and breezy conditions for Saturday and Sunday. Gusts up to 25 mph are possible at times, and daytime highs will be in the 50s. By Doug Schneider The end of 2023 is upon us, and that means it's time for our annual gallery of the best photos combining our two favorite things - weather and racing. 2023 was a great season for race fans, with tons of action and excitement in IMSA, IndyCar, F1, and SRO World Challenge. We can't wait for the 2024 season to start, and we will be back in a few weeks with the forecast for the Roar Before the 24 at Daytona. You can see our full schedule of race forecasts in the link at the top of the page. We are making a couple changes for next year. Scott Martin is stepping down from our team due to a new job and time commitments. Scott helped me start Racecast Weather 9 years ago, and he will be greatly missed. As a result, we will not be forecasting for SRO World Challenge America races. However, we will continue to have forecast for SRO's IGTC races. Harris will continue to provide you with forecast for Formula One. Stephen will return and focus on forecasts for the IndyCar season. And I will be back with forecasts for all IMSA events. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thanks for following! By Doug Schneider Today's update brings some good news for those attending Petit Le Mans. The rain that is expected on Friday is looking less impactful, with lower amounts during the day and slightly later timing.
A weak low pressure system through the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere will be crossing Georgia on Friday and Friday night. I am feeling more confident about this forecast than my last update, because the models are coming into better agreement about this system. I expect that sprinkles or light showers will begin around midday, and be on and off through the afternoon. It does not look like it will be heavy enough to cancel or delay any racing, but the MPC race and WeatherTech qualifying could be interesting, with the potential need for wet tires if a shower persists long enough. The bulk of the rain with this system is now expected to move through Road Atlanta on Friday night, and exit around sunrise on Saturday morning. Saturday continues to look like a beautiful day for racing. The day will start with mostly cloudy skies, but it will become mostly sunny by the afternoon. Along with the sunshine, a southwest wind at 10 to 20 mph will bring mild temperatures reaching into the mid 70s. Temperatures around the end of the race will be in the lower 60s. For the campers, lows on Saturday night will drop to the mid 50s. Sunday will have mostly sunny skies, a breezy northwest wind, and highs in the mid 60s. I'll be at the track tomorrow so this is my last update. I'll try to post some radar updates on our Twitter account if possible. By Doug Schneider I will say up front that I don't have high confidence in this forecast. There are a lot of places where this forecast could be a bust. Even today, the models are showing very different scenarios that could happen with the weather on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, particularly in regard to how much rain might fall. This forecast is my best estimate, and I'm leaning toward a more positive (drier) outlook. However, I may be biased because I'll be attending the race.
The tricky part of the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday is a tropical low pressure system that will be tracking east along the Gulf Coast region. While the low will stay well south of Road Atlanta, moisture from the Gulf is expected to spread northward across Georgia. On Wednesday, I think it will be mainly cloud cover, with no rain expected. However, rain may spread into the area Wednesday night. This would impact campers at the track, but I expect the rain to be gone by the time track activates begin on Thursday morning. Some models hang onto some rainfall through the daytime Thursday, but most clear out the rain and some of the clouds. The small chance of rain in my forecast is just for the early morning hours, and I think it will be mainly a dry day with some sunshine breaking through in the afternoon. An upper level disturbance is expected to cross the area on Friday, but there are big differences between the models in regard to how much rain it produces. Some produce no rain, others produce an inch or more. I think there's a good chance of seeing some rain on Friday, but I lean toward the models that show only light amounts, given how fast this disturbance moves through and the weak lift that it produces. I think rain amounts between a tenth and a quarter inch is the most likely scenario. On Saturday, there may be some clouds to start the day as the disturbance exits to the east, but clouds will decrease through the day. Mostly sunny skies and a breezy southwest wind will warm temperatures into the mid to upper 70s. A cold front will be approaching from the west, and will cross the area Saturday evening. Winds will shift to the northwest, and temperatures Saturday night will fall into the lower 50s. I plan to have another forecast update posted on Thursday afternoon. By Doug Schneider Much of the Southern Appalachian region has been very dry and in need of rain over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, it looks like rain is likely to arrive over Petit Le Man weekend. The good news for race-goers is that the rain is not expected to be very heavy, and that it should move out before the start of Saturday's race.
On Wednesday, a low pressure system will be tracking along the Gulf Coast region. The rain associated with this system will stay well south of Road Atlanta, but it will bring quite a bit of cloud cover during the day. Highs will be pleasant, in the mid 70s. Thursday is expected to see more sunshine than Wednesday, with similar high temperatures in the mid 70s. On Friday, a cold front will be approaching from the northwest. Ahead of the front, moisture will increase across Georgia, and some light rain will likely move in before sunrise. On and off showers are expected through the day, but most of these will be light. Rain amounts are uncertain this far out, but I expect perhaps a few tenths of an inch by Friday evening. The timing of the cold front will determine when the chance of rain ends. At this time, I expect the showers to exit by sunrise, but there is a possibility that they could linger into the mid to late morning hours. The morning practice session could be affected. The rest of Saturday looks great, with a high in the lower 70s and mostly sunny skies by the afternoon. Saturday night will get chilly for those camping out, with a low around 50. Check back through the week for updates. By Doug Schneider Not much has changed in the expected weather pattern this weekend over Indiana. An upper level trough and a surface cold front are expected to cross the area Saturday night and Sunday. The frontal passage on Saturday night will bring some showers, and the upper trough will linger over the area through Sunday. This trough will create some instability that will produce scattered showers around central Indiana during the day. The chance of a shower at the track is about 30%. Showers are possible any time of the day, but the best chance is in the afternoon. I expect that any showers on Sunday will be light and short-lived, with low impacts on the racing. I don't expect any delays or red flag periods due to rain or lightning.
By Doug Schneider A nice weather weekend is expected as IMSA returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A large high pressure system will be sitting over the area to start the event on Friday, providing mostly sunny skies and pleasant temperatures and humidity. Through the weekend, this high will shift east, and a low pressure trough in the mid and upper levels will approach the area on Sunday. This will bring an increase in cloud cover, and possibly a few showers. The good news is that moisture appears limited as the trough moves through on Sunday, so if there are any showers at all, they should be light and short-lived. I don't expect any significant impacts to the race at this time, but I'll keep an eye on it as we get closer to the weekend. Stay tuned for updates through the week.
By Doug Schneider Some changes were made for this forecast update for IMSA's VIR weekend. While the chance of rain has lowered on Saturday, the chance has increased on Sunday.
The models have not done a great job with how they handle a cold front that moves southward through Virginia and North Carolina this weekend. This makes for an uncertain forecast. What I am confident about is that temperatures on Friday will be hot, with highs in the mid 90s and a heat index around 100 to 105. Most of the day will be dry, but there is a slight chance of showers and storms moving into the area late in the day, mainly after 5 pm. A weak front or low pressure trough will be associated with these showers, and will move through in the evening hours. It will shift winds to the north, and bring slightly lower humidity for Saturday. There will still be some instability in the afternoon that may allow for isolated showers and storms to develop. Again, most of the day will be dry, with only a small chance of showers late in the afternoon. Another front moves in from the north on Sunday, and may initiate showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. With more cloud cover, temperatures will be cooler, in the 80s. |
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