By Doug Schneider

Most of the Detroit Grand Prix event will have very nice weather, with dry conditions and pleasant temperatures expected for Saturday and Sunday. This will be due to a cold front that will move through the area Friday evening. The timing of this cold front will be the question for whether there are showers that affect the on-track activity late Friday. Most of Friday will be nice, but there is a slight chance (20%) that showers could arrive in the area before sunset, and affect some late afternoon sessions. It appears that if there is rain Friday afternoon or evening, it will be light. Most of the rain associated with the cold front will come later in the night. Saturday will be a little breezy behind the front, with a northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with some gusts up to 20 mph.

We have a pleasant weekend of weather for the Monaco Grand Prix as a High pressure system with a loose pressure gradient will be laying over the region. This will keep cloud coverage low and humidity levels down along with mild temperatures throughout the day. There are hardly any rain chances for the weekend as well, so we should see a pretty clean race for Monaco standards. This track already does not allow much overtake so without volatile weather conditions, qualifying is going to be very important for the result of race day.

By Doug Schneider

I've been taking some heat on social media for my dry forecast for the Indy 500. I've had people pointing at their weather apps, showing me how their apps said it would be raining on Sunday. With today's update, I'm sticking with a dry forecast, and here's why:

The pattern for the weekend will have a low pressure system nearly stationary over New England, with a high pressure system over the northern Plains and south-central Canada. This will create a northerly flow across Indiana. A front will be located near the Ohio River, across Kentucky and through Missouri. This front will be the focus for rain over the weekend. With the northerly flow across Indiana, I expect the front and moisture associated with it to stay south of Indianapolis. There were some models that had this front farther north with previous runs, but the latest model runs are coming into better agreement that it will stay to the south. 

Some weather apps will use a blend of models, or an ensemble, for their forecast. While a model blend is good to use in some situations, it will sometimes tend to overdo the aerial coverage of rainfall as different model rainfall depictions get smoothed together. Most models may be dry at one location, but a few wet models will get blended together with them and increase the chance of rain at that location. A human forecaster can recognize these situations and mentally correct for the models using experience and pattern recognition.

This forecast can certainly change before we get to Sunday. A lot can change in the models between now and then, and I'll post another update if necessary. For now, I think a dry day is the most likely scenario. 

By Doug Schneider

​The weather looks spectacular for this year's running of the Greatest Spectacle In Racing, the 109th Indianapolis 500. A large high pressure system will be over the northern Plains and south central Canada on Friday and drift slowly east through the weekend. This will provide cool and dry conditions each day. There could be a bit of a breeze on Friday with gusts from the northwest up to 20-25 mph, but otherwise no weather impacts are expected.

By: Harris Cooley

A loose low pressure gradient lays over the region for this weekend keeping wind speeds low and afternoon moisture present. Friday should be clear and calm with Saturday being much of the same except afternoon storms begin to increase in number for that afternoon. Chances of rain are low but possible as storms will be popping up later in the day Saturday as well as Sunday.

Rain chances increase for Sunday afternoon but still remain low as these storms will be isolated and scattered around the region. Wind speeds will be low but the cloud coverage from the low pressure on Sunday could bring volatile track temps, especially if we get any precipitation. 

Drivers should be wary of these threats, but it should not be causing too great of impacts. The threats exist, but the chances are low that any major impacts arise. Radar surveillance could be crucial for race day though along with tyre management. See metric graphic below:

By Doug Schneider

Practice week leading up to qualifying will be affected by rain chances every day. plenty of practice will still be completed, but there may be a threat of rain each day until a cold front moves through Friday night. Behind this front, the weather will be nice for both days of qualifying, with abundant sunshine and pleasant temperatures. The only potential impact will be breezy conditions on Saturday, as a west wind will be 10-20 mph sustained with gusts of 25-30 mph.

By Doug Schneider

​The weather looks like it will be ideal for INDYCAR at the IMS road course this weekend. During setup on Thursday, there is a chance of showers as a cold front moves through the area, but by the time on-track action starts on Friday, the conditions will be dry and mostly sunny. The weather pattern is expected to have a low pressure system on the East Coast, with a large high pressure ridge over the Plains, putting Indiana in a dry north to northwest flow. Temperatures will be cool in the morning, with lows in the 40s. Friday will have a bit of a breeze, with a north wind at 10 to 15 mph keeping high temperatures in the 60s. Saturday will be a little warmer, reaching into the mid 70s. 

By Doug Schneider

The weather pattern has shifted quite a bit since my Monday forecast. The approach of a cold front has slowed considerably, bringing rain to the track on Saturday. 

Today, most of the on-track activity should be completed on time, but there is a chance of showers and thunderstorms late in the day. It will be mainly after 4 pm when showers and storms will be in the area. Storms will continue through much of the overnight hours, with heavy rain at times, and rain amounts of a half to one inch are possible. On Saturday, showers will be scattered, with on/off rain through the morning, then a line of showers and thunderstorms is expected to move through in the afternoon when the cold front moves through. This will likely cause on track activity to be delayed or canceled.

Behind the cold front, Sunday's weather looks great, with pleasant temperatures and low humidity, and abundant sunshine.