By Doug Schneider

The story of the weather for the Rolex 24 continues to be the very cold temperatures on Saturday and Sunday. This will not be typical Daytona Beach weather. If you're heading to the race, prepare for the cold temperatures. Dress warmly, with multiple layer, hats, and gloves.  

The chance of rain on Thursday has been added with this update. In my last forecast, I mentioned some models showing some light rain spreading in from the Atlantic on Thursday, and now all the models are trending in that direction. The good news is that this rain will remain light, in the form of on/off showers or sprinkles, so the impact will be low. Only around a tenth of an inch of rain is expected on Thursday. 

Friday looks pretty similar to Thursday as there will be a low pressure trough off the east coast of Florida, with a northeast flow of moisture over the central Florida coastline. Like Thursday, this rain should remain light and scattered, with only a tenth of an inch of rain expected. The morning hours will have the best chance of rain, although showers will continue to be possible in the afternoon, during the MPC race. 

A cold front will sweep through the area Friday night, and temperatures will drop like a rock. Lows on Saturday morning will be in the mid 30s. It will be sunny through the day, but with a NW wind at 10 to 20 mph, gusting up to 30 mph, it will feel quite chilly. With temperatures in the 40s and the wind, it will feel more like the 30s. 

On Sunday morning, low temperatures will drop to near freezing, and rise into the 50s by the end of the race under sunny skies.

The next planned update will be posted on Friday.

By Doug Schneider

The main weather impact on the 24 Hours of Daytona events will be the temperatures. Daytime temperatures are going to stay below normal throughout the entire event (normal high is 69), especially on Saturday and Sunday, and a breeze will make it feel even colder. The good news is that the 24 hour race appears to be rain-free. 

A low pressure system will be tracking across northern Florida on Tuesday, bringing a good amount of rain through Tuesday night. The current timing of this system suggests that some light rain could continue into Wednesday morning. Since the practice sessions that day are only in the afternoon, I do not expect any impacts. 

An area of high pressure will move across the Southeast states on Thursday, which should provide a dry and partly sunny day. I will mention that some models keep a low pressure trough off the east coast of Florida, and spread a few showers inland. For now, I think the chance of that is too low to mention in the forecast, so I'm keeping it dry. Thursday will have the warmest temperatures of the event, in the mid to upper 60s.

A deep upper level trough digs southward into the Southeast states on Friday, which causes a low pressure area to form off the east coast of Florida. This will result in the chance of some showers around on Friday and Friday night. A cold front will also accompany this trough passage, and bring much colder air for Saturday and Sunday. It will be breezy behind the front, with a northwest wind at 10 to 20 mph, gusting up to 30 mph. Dress warmly for the overnight hours, as lows will be in the 30s. 

By Doug Schneider

 The chances of rain continue to rise on Saturday at the Roar, with moderate impacts to the on track activity.

An cold front will be approaching from the north on Friday. Daytona will be ahead of the front during the day, so a southwest wind and pleasant temperatures in the lower 70s can be expected. A few light showers or sprinkles may be possible on Friday, but I don't expect they would be enough to have any impact. 

The front will stall across central Florida on Friday night, and a low pressure system will track long it, from the Gulf to the Atlantic. This will bring rain to Daytona starting Friday night, with periods of on/off rain through the day on Saturday. Most of this rain is expected to be light, maybe increasing to moderate at times. This could result in some periods where the testing will need to be stopped. At least it will be a good test for the Michelin rain tires. Breezy conditions are also expected on Saturday, with a north wind between 10 and 20 mph, gusting to 25 mph at times. Total rainfall amounts from Friday night through Saturday night are expected to be around a quarter of an inch. 

The system will exit the area Saturday night, and drier air will move in, so the chance of rain will end before on-track action resumes on Sunday. Despite abundant sunshine, temperatures will be cool on Sunday, with highs struggling to reach 60 degrees. 

By Doug Schneider

As I mentioned on Sunday's post, the forecast for the Rolex 24 is very uncertain, with poor model agreement. That continues to be the case today in some respects, mainly regarding the amount of rain that might (or might not) fall. 

A cold front is expected to be approaching the area from the northwest on Friday. This is slower timing than what I was seeing with Sunday's forecast. This should mean warmer temperatures during the day, with highs reaching into the lower 70s. There could be an isolated light shower around Daytona, mainly in the afternoon, but the chance of any impacts are low at this time. 

Saturday is my lowest confidence day in this forecast. It looks like the front will stall somewhere across northern Florida, and keep a chance of showers going through the day. Some models are showing a low pressure system tracking along this front, which produces a lot of rainfall at the track on Saturday. I'm not buying into this idea yet - I think it is more likely that showers are more scattered in coverage and are light, but that could change. 

There is better model agreement now that Sunday will be dry, as the front that brings the chance of rain on Saturday will exit the area. Temperatures will be cooler on Sunday, peaking near 60 degrees. 

I plan to have another update posted on Thursday, unless changes are needed sooner.

By Doug Schneider

The first forecast for 2022 at the Roar has a lot of uncertainty with it. The models are not in good agreement about the weather pattern next weekend, so I don't have a lot of confidence in this forecast.

The main features that I see that will impact the weather at Daytona are a cold front that could cross the area on Friday, then an upper level disturbance that crosses the area on Sunday. However, some models are showing different timing of these features, and produce some rain on Saturday. How much rain there will be is still to be determined as well, but it does not look like a pattern that will produce copious amounts of rain that will have a big impact. Bottom line, there may be some rain at some point during the Roar, and temperatures will likely be colder than normal, with highs in the lower to mid 60s. 

This is my best guess as of today, and I expect that there will be changes through the week, so be sure to check back for updates. 

By Doug Schneider

Harris is on vacation this weekend, so I'm taking over the updates for the Qatar GP. Not much change was needed from his original forecast. The weather continues to look great for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix. Temperatures will be warm but not brutally hot, thanks to an easterly wind off the Persian Gulf. Sunday will have slightly higher wind speeds than Saturday, from the southeast at 10 to 15 mph through the day. A Celsius graphic is below.

By Doug Schneider

A cold front will move through Road Atlanta early Saturday morning. No rain is expected with the front, and the air mass over Georgia is very dry. The main impact of the front will be chilly temperatures through the race. There will be abundant sunshine, but high temperatures will only reach the mid 50s. By the end of the race, we could see temperatures dropping into the 30s. For those who are camping at the track, low temperatures Saturday night will be in the lower 30s, so you could wake up to frosty conditions Sunday morning. Stay warm!

By Doug Schneider

Good news on the forecast for Petit Le Mans with today's update - the best chance of rain has shifted earlier, mainly Thursday night, which will have less potential impacts on the racing. 

Wednesday continues to look like a beautiful day, with warm temperatures in the lower and mid 70s under mostly sunny skies.

On Thursday, clouds will increase, along with the chance of rain. I expect to see on/off light showers at times throughout the daytime hours, but they might be more numerous in the afternoon. While an isolated thunderstorm cannot be ruled out, I think the chance of one at the track is low. On Thursday night, heavier showers will be possible along a cold front, which is most likely to pass through the area between midnight and 4 am. The chance of rain will likely end once the front passes. However, The models still have some slight timing differences, and so I still kept a slight chance of showers in for early Friday morning (around or before sunrise). The rest of Friday should be very nice, with clouds clearing out and high temperatures in the mid 60s. 

Saturday will be noticeably colder as a second cold front will bring a surge of cold air from the northwest. Highs will only reach into the 50s, and winds will be brisk, from the northwest at 10 to 20 mph. If you're at the race on Saturday, don't forget to bring a coat!