By Scott Martin
My favorite time of the year has arrived as the Verizon Indycar Series, along with the IMSA Prototype Challenge Series, Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, and the Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Series pays a visit to my home track... Barber Motorsports Park. Friday and Saturday looks great, but there is a good chance that we may have delays on Sunday as storms look to be a good possibility.
We'll be on the backside of a trough that will be retreating eastward on Friday, and high pressure will be off to our north sending a flow of dry continental air into Central Alabama. We'll have a great supply of sunshine with winds out of the north at 2-7 MPH. The afternoon high will top out in the mid-70s after starting off rater chilly in the lower 50s at 8:00 AM.
Clouds will be slowly increasing throughout the day on Saturday as our pattern starts to flow out of the southwest. We'll start to have more humid air move into the area as our flow comes in from the Gulf of Mexico. We'll have partly to mostly cloudy skies and the afternoon high will top out in the mid-70s. We'll stay dry throughout the on-track activities, but a few scattered showers may be possible by sunset. Odds for any rain before the end of the day is really low at 1-in-10. Winds will be out of the southeast at 2-9 MPH.
At this point, both long range models are showing rain and thunderstorms affecting the area throughout the day on Sunday at the track. The GFS is painting the heaviest storms affecting the track during the morning hours up until 1:00 PM, with a few lingering showers on the backside of the system throughout the remainder of the day. The European model is a little slower with the storms moving in, but they do move in during the late morning and persist through the afternoon and evening hours. The good news is that both models are keeping storms below severe limits at this point for the track, but this is prime severe weather season in Central Alabama, so we'll keep an eye out on any developments. Skies will be cloudy when its not raining, and the afternoon high will be in the lower 70s. Rainfall amounts could top 2 inches before the end of the day. Odds for rain at any point of the day is 50/50 for now, but timing and odds will be fine-tuned throughout the week.
Of course, I'll be at the track representing my daytime job with AlabamaWx.com, but I'll be sporting my Racecast Weather ball cap. I'll be the only one there with one on... it's one of a kind.
We'll be on the backside of a trough that will be retreating eastward on Friday, and high pressure will be off to our north sending a flow of dry continental air into Central Alabama. We'll have a great supply of sunshine with winds out of the north at 2-7 MPH. The afternoon high will top out in the mid-70s after starting off rater chilly in the lower 50s at 8:00 AM.
Clouds will be slowly increasing throughout the day on Saturday as our pattern starts to flow out of the southwest. We'll start to have more humid air move into the area as our flow comes in from the Gulf of Mexico. We'll have partly to mostly cloudy skies and the afternoon high will top out in the mid-70s. We'll stay dry throughout the on-track activities, but a few scattered showers may be possible by sunset. Odds for any rain before the end of the day is really low at 1-in-10. Winds will be out of the southeast at 2-9 MPH.
At this point, both long range models are showing rain and thunderstorms affecting the area throughout the day on Sunday at the track. The GFS is painting the heaviest storms affecting the track during the morning hours up until 1:00 PM, with a few lingering showers on the backside of the system throughout the remainder of the day. The European model is a little slower with the storms moving in, but they do move in during the late morning and persist through the afternoon and evening hours. The good news is that both models are keeping storms below severe limits at this point for the track, but this is prime severe weather season in Central Alabama, so we'll keep an eye out on any developments. Skies will be cloudy when its not raining, and the afternoon high will be in the lower 70s. Rainfall amounts could top 2 inches before the end of the day. Odds for rain at any point of the day is 50/50 for now, but timing and odds will be fine-tuned throughout the week.
Of course, I'll be at the track representing my daytime job with AlabamaWx.com, but I'll be sporting my Racecast Weather ball cap. I'll be the only one there with one on... it's one of a kind.
