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I'll be posting updates about the weather on our X account - @RacecastWx.
By Doug Schneider Click on images to enlarge The weather continues to look good for the Rolex 24. Warm temperatures can e expected today, with a high around 80 degrees. Clouds will gradually increase through the afternoon and evening as a cold front approaches from the northwest. This front could squeeze out a few light showers in the pre-dawn to mid morning hours. However, if there are any showers, only a few hundredths of an inch is expected. I don't think this will have a significant impact on the race. I can't entirely rule out lightning in the area, but the chance of it happening at the track is very low. Winds will pick up to 10 to 20 mph in the closing hours of the race, shifting to a west direction behind the cold front.
I'll be posting updates about the weather on our X account - @RacecastWx. By Doug Schneider Click on images to enlarge Not much has changed in the expected weather pattern for the Rolex 24. Overall, the weather is expected to be great, with mild temperatures and mostly dry conditions.
The one change I've made to the forecast is on Sunday. In my initial forecast, I mentioned a cold front moving through the area over the weekend, bringing chance of a sprinkle, but the chance of measurable rain has gone up slightly today. The chance of rain is still pretty low, and the amount of rain I'm expecting is only a couple hundredths of an inch. This should not have much impact on the race, but the timing could be interesting. The front and the showers associated with it are expected during the early afternoon, in the closing hours of the race. There may not be enough rain to even use wet tires, but it may be a challenging decision for teams to make near the end of the race. I plan to post a detailed forecast on Saturday morning, breaking down the weather through the race. I will also post updates during the race on our X account - @RacecastWx. By Doug Schneider Click on images to enlarge Nice weather is expected for this year's edition of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
A high pressure system will be located off the east coast of Florida through most of the week. This will provide partly to mostly sunny skies, and a south wind, which will mean mild temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. One uncertainty at this time is the chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday. There will be a cold front approaching from the north, but it is unclear how far south the front will get, and how much moisture will be available to produce rain. At this time, I think a slight shower or sprinkle is a possibility, but not enough to have much impact on the race. This could change as we get closer to the weekend, so check back for updates through the week. I have some family plans this week, but I should have an update posted no later than Thursday morning. By Doug Schneider A slight change was made to the Roar forecast for Friday. A cold front will be moving across the area during the day, a little later than previously expected. This means there could be some light showers or sprinkles at any time through the day, until the front moves through in the evening. I don't expect the showers to be heavy enough to have much impact on the on-track activity.
Colder temperatures will build in behind the front, and temperatures will be chilly on Saturday. A north wind at 10-20 mph will make it feel colder than the forecast high of lower 50s. But there will be plenty of sunshine. Sunday looks similar to Saturday, but a bit warmer. 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. |
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