We're excited to announce some new additions to Racecast Weather for 2017. 

All of the World Endurance Championship races have been added to our forecast schedule. We've been forecasting for Le Mans for the past few years, but we have had many fans asking for forecasts for the whole season. Our WEC weather coverage will be a little different than for domestic U.S. races. Due to the limited availability of radar coverage at some of the race locations, particularly Asia, and due to the times of some races being overnight for us in the U.S., we will not have live weather coverage on Twitter for some races (excluding Le Mans and COTA ,at least). 

​We are also excited to announce our first international partnership. Our WEC and IMSA forecasts will be featured on Prescott Motorsport. Adam Prescott is a writer and photographer in the U.K., and his site has all the latest news on sports car racing around the globe, plus interesting interviews with drivers and beautiful photos. Our forecasts are featured on their events calendar page. Follow their race coverage on Twitter at @fromthetribune, and on Facebook at Prescott Motorsport.

By Doug Schneider

After a spectacular Rolex 24, sports car fans don't have to wait long for the next major race on the calendar, the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour at the beautiful Mount Panorama Circuit this weekend.

The weather pattern across southeast Australia will feature high pressure off the coast, and low pressure over central Australia, with a trough of low pressure extending into New South Wales. The position of this trough will be the main factor in the chance of showers and thunderstorms at Mount Panorama. Here's what the pattern is expected to look like around midday on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, according to one model (the image is moisture, the arrows are winds at the surface, and the lines are pressure contours):

By Doug Schneider

The start of the 24 Hours of Daytona will be nice, with partly sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 50s. However, conditions will start to deteriorate overnight. 

Rain will be spreading into Daytona sometime between 1 am and 4 am. It will not be a very heavy rain - not heavy enough to stop the race, I think - and rainfall amounts through sunrise will likely be between a tenth and a quarter inch. Rain will taper off in the mid to late morning, between 9 am and noon. The rain will have moved out before the end of the race, with clouds beginning to decrease. 

Use our radar link at the top of the page to follow the rain. I'll try to provide updates on Twitter - @Race4caster - but I won't staying up for the whole night when the rain will be moving in. 

By Doug Schneider

The weather for Saturday night and Sunday is coming into better focus today, and unfortunately, it appears more likely that there will be more rain than previously forecast. Based on the latest data this morning, the chance of rain will increase after midnight, and continue into Sunday morning. Right now, the timing window of rain appears to be between 4 am and 10 am. Since the rain will be light and amounts will likely be around a tenth of an inch or less, the impact on the racing should be low - the track will be wet for several hours, but large areas of standing water should not cause interruption to the action.

​I'll have another forecast graphic with the weather conditions through the race posted tomorrow morning.

By Doug Schneider

Not a whole lot has changed with the forecast today from my previous update on Tuesday, so I'll keep this short. 

Some isolated light showers can be expected around Daytona this afternoon, mainly after 4 pm. Qualifying and practice sessions will be held from 3 pm through the evening, but I don't expect the rain to have much impact. There's only a 20% chance of a shower hitting the track, and even if that happens, there will likely only be a couple hundredths of an inch measured. Here's a model simulation of what the radar might look like today:

By Doug Schneider

A few changes needed to be made to the Rolex 24 forecast today based on the latest data. The main change was to Sunday, as the models have been trending toward a little rain moving across Florida during the day. However, note that I have kept the weather impact on Sunday at "None", because I expect that if there is rain before the end of the race, it will be very light. Additional rain may come after the end of the race. 

By Doug Schneider

*** Post updated Monday morning 1/23 ***

The weather for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona looks really good, about as good as you could hope for, with only scattered light showers expected on Thursday. Temperatures might be the main weather story, as it will be getting quite cool for the races Friday through Sunday. 

By Doug Schneider

Rain showers are still expected at Daytona tonight and Saturday, which may limit testing at the Roar for at least part of the day. While there is a 100% chance of seeing measurable rainfall on Saturday, there may be an opportunity to get some rain-free running in late in the afternoon and the evening.