By Doug Schneider
I'm going to say up front that this is a low confidence forecast, which means that it is likely to have some changes as we get closer to the race weekend. But as of today, it appears that there will be potential for a rather wet event, especially on Saturday. I would love to forecast a dry event as I will be there in person, but I'm afraid it's not looking like the weather will cooperate.
The weather system that will be impacting Charlotte this weekend is now taking shape in the Caribbean Sea, currently Tropical Depression 26, which is forecast to become Tropical Storm Delta. It will be tracking north across the Gulf of Mexico through the week, and is forecast to make landfall as a hurricane on Friday along the Louisiana coast. After it makes landfall, it is expected to curve toward the northeast, and move across Alabama, Georgia, upstate South Carolina, and western North Carolina. The models agree on this general pattern, but the big uncertainty with it is the timing. It appears that rain could arrive as early as Friday evening, potentially during the IMSA practice session that starts at 7:30 pm. Rain showers are likely through Saturday, which will make for some interesting conditions during the Xfinity race and the IMSA race in the evening. It's too early to say how much rain will fall and what the impacts will be, but because it is a system with tropical origins, heavy rain may be possible. It will also be breezy on Saturday, with a southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, gusting up to 30 mph at times.
The low pressure center is expected to track into Virginia by Sunday morning, and there should be a decreasing chance of rain through the day as it continues a northeast track. But because of uncertainty with timing, I will keep a chance of rain all day on Sunday. There could be showers in the area during the Cup race.
These tropical systems are often difficult to forecast with high accuracy this far out in the forecast. As a result, my confidence level in this forecast is low, so it will likely change through the week. Be sure to check back for updates through the week.
The weather system that will be impacting Charlotte this weekend is now taking shape in the Caribbean Sea, currently Tropical Depression 26, which is forecast to become Tropical Storm Delta. It will be tracking north across the Gulf of Mexico through the week, and is forecast to make landfall as a hurricane on Friday along the Louisiana coast. After it makes landfall, it is expected to curve toward the northeast, and move across Alabama, Georgia, upstate South Carolina, and western North Carolina. The models agree on this general pattern, but the big uncertainty with it is the timing. It appears that rain could arrive as early as Friday evening, potentially during the IMSA practice session that starts at 7:30 pm. Rain showers are likely through Saturday, which will make for some interesting conditions during the Xfinity race and the IMSA race in the evening. It's too early to say how much rain will fall and what the impacts will be, but because it is a system with tropical origins, heavy rain may be possible. It will also be breezy on Saturday, with a southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, gusting up to 30 mph at times.
The low pressure center is expected to track into Virginia by Sunday morning, and there should be a decreasing chance of rain through the day as it continues a northeast track. But because of uncertainty with timing, I will keep a chance of rain all day on Sunday. There could be showers in the area during the Cup race.
These tropical systems are often difficult to forecast with high accuracy this far out in the forecast. As a result, my confidence level in this forecast is low, so it will likely change through the week. Be sure to check back for updates through the week.
