By: Harris Cooley

We have finally made it... it's Race Day everyone! As expected, that cold front made its way through over night and has brought some northerly winds sustained around 26 mph. This will likely cause some issues for these drivers as grip and visibility will be significantly effected.

These conditions are supposed to stick around throughout the whole race, so these teams have best been preparing for a windy day out on the track. After two beautiful days, these conditions are going to make for an unpredictable race which is all we hope for these days! 

Nonetheless it will be an exciting race to kick off our 2021 season! Stay tuned for future race forecasts as well...

By: Harris Cooley

As practice sessions wrap up for today, that brings us that much closer to the first race of the 2021 season! It will be another hot day on the track for Saturday's qualifying session with wind speeds staying sustained at around 12 mph. The cold front is expected to pass in the evening shifting winds to northerly and increasing up to 20 mph. 

Gusty conditions are expected for race day on Sunday which could cause some sand to spin up, not to mention how high winds effect these cars anyway. We saw these teams experience a sand storm earlier in the month and could very well see some similar conditions Sunday. Even just some excess sand on the track is enough to seriously impact the grip of the tires to the track as well as the drivers' visibility. 

We are all hoping for a safe and exciting race here, but these drivers are going to be amply challenged for their first race of the season. 

Celsius graphic below...

By: Harris Cooley

As we get closer to race day, the forecast remains consistent. Friday's practice sessions will be very hot with light winds out of the southeast. There will be very little cloud coverage to go along with this intense heat making the track even hotter. Saturday's qualifying session will remain very hot along with increasing wind speeds as the cold front gets closer to passing. This increase in wind speed along with the already scorching track conditions will call for extreme precision from each team's racing strategies. The cold front is expected to pass over night Saturday into Sunday shifting the winds to northerly and increasing the wind speeds to a moderate level. 

This will be interesting to see how each team prepares as wind gusts of up to 32 knots are expected. Track temperatures will be much lower than the previous two practice sessions with the cooler, dry air being brought in by the front. 

With such a drastic shift in both temperature and wind speed/direction over the weekend, we could see some teams really struggle with settling in. Stakes are high for all of the teams, each with their own respective incentives and histories, but we will get a good idea of which teams are prepared for the elements Bahrain has to offer. Further updates coming prior to Friday's practice sessions.

Celsius graphic below...

By: Harris Cooley

Very hot and dry conditions are expected heading into the weekend with a cold front passing Saturday into Sunday. There are no chances of rain for the whole weekend, but we see an increase in wind speeds up to 22 sustained knots with the frontal passage on Sunday. Wind directions start out south-southeasterly for Friday and Saturday with a shift overnight to northerly with the frontal passage. 

For the practice sessions Friday and qualifying Saturday, track conditions are going to be very hot with no cloud coverage. This is going to cause some extra attention to be put toward tire management throughout the sessions, although we see how much cooler it will be on race day. The main concern for race day will be the wind gusts as the models are agreeing on gusts of up to 28 knots for Sunday. 

This is going to make for an exciting first race to kick off the 2021 Formula One season. These varying conditions over the weekend are going to truly test which teams have a well-prepped car as well as which drivers are able to handle them. With the analytics that go into designing a successful F1 car, high wind speeds is not exactly the car's best friend. 

The forecast will be updated with changing conditions, but the models have been in agreeance on the forecast for this weekend so far.

​Bottom graphic is in degrees Celsius.

By Doug Schneider

Today has been hot and breezy at Sebring, but that will change starting tomorrow. 

As expected over the past several days, a cold front is approaching Sebring from the north today, and will move through the area tonight. There may be some scattered showers in the area that could produce some light rain, but they are all expected to occur tonight, with no impacts on Friday's activities. Cooler and drier air will build in behind the front, making for great racing conditions both Friday and Saturday. With this forecast update, I did lower temperatures a few degrees on Friday. Clouds will start to increase a little on Saturday night toward the end of the race. If you're at the track, get your camera ready for the spectacular Sebring sunset around 7:30 pm. 

By Doug Schneider

No  major changes are needed to the forecast for the 12 Hours of Sebring today. My previous forecast from Sunday is holding up well, and the models continue to be in good agreement on the weather pattern this weekend. 

Wednesday and Thursday will be hot and humid as a southerly flow of air on the west side of a high pressure ridge dominates the Florida Peninsula. As a cold front approaches from the north, the pressure gradient will tighten and produce breezy conditions on Thursday. Gusts around 25 mph can be expected at times. 

The cold front will move through early Friday morning, and it may produce a few light showers. The timing of any showers still appears to be before any on-track action starts, so there should be no impact. 

Cooler and drier air will build in on the heels of a northerly wind, and the main event on Saturday should have perfect weather.

The next planned forecast update will be posted on Thursday, unless there is a major change needed tomorrow.

By Doug Schneider

The weather is looking good for the 69th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Conditions will start out hot and humid, then a cold frontal passage Thursday night will bring drier and cooler conditions on Friday and Saturday. Over the past few days, the models have been in good agreement with this pattern, and have not changed much from one run to the next, so my confidence in this forecast is high.

High pressure will be located off the east coast of Florida by the middle of the week, which will produce a warm southerly flow across the Peninsula. With mostly sunny skies, temperatures will reach near 90 degrees on Wednesday. In my forecasting experience with Sebring, I have noticed that the track area is often a few degrees warmer than surrounding area away from all the concrete, so my temperature forecast is probably higher than what you might see from other sources (which is an advantage to using our track-specific forecasts!).

This hot and humid pattern will continue into Thursday. A low pressure system will be moving across the eastern U.S. on Thursday, and this will create breezy conditions in the afternoon. Gusts of 25-30 mph may be possible at times.

A cold front will move across the Florida Peninsula Thursday night. With the nighttime passage, instability will be lacking, so it won't pack much of a punch. I don't even expect any thunderstorms, just a few isolated showers here and there that might produce a couple hundredths of an inch of rain. The main question is the timing of the showers, and I think the most likely period for a shower will be between 2 am and 8 am. This timing makes it unlikely that any racing action will be affected. If the models trend slower with the front over the next few days, then it will be more potential for impacts Friday morning.

A drier air mass will build into the area through Friday, with clearing skies and lower humidity expected. Saturday looks like beautiful weather for the main event, with mostly sunny skies and highs in the upper 70s to around 80. 

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

By: Stephen McCoy

A cooler weekend awaits, especially in the mornings, after a relatively warm Friday. The cold front mentioned in the previous forecasts sis still expected to move through the region Friday night/early Saturday morning. The front will bring a likely chance for rain during the overnight hours, mostly around midnight, but chances will fall off Saturday morning before sunrise; no precipitation is anticipated for the remainder of the weekend. Little impact is expected to track sessions as a result, however early sessions might have to fit the rain tires.

Winds behind the front will be largely from the West/Northwest, bringing in cooler air from the northern Pacific, with temperatures during the mornings in the upper 30's to low 40's and afternoon temperatures in the upper 50's to low 60's. Moist air in the upper levels of the atmosphere from the Southwest will result in partly to mostly cloudy conditions for both Saturday and Sunday while some low level cloud cover is possible, especially in the mornings; patchy fog may be present Sunday morning.