By Scott Martin
First of all I want to say a big thank you to everyone at the Pirelli World Challenge series for placing our forecasts and live radar up on their website. You can pull up this information by clicking on the Weather link in the Event Weekend box at the top-right of their website, www.world-challenge.com.
Looking at the latest data for this weekend, I am making some changes to the forecast. The changes shouldn't put a damper on this huge opening event.
FRIDAY
The morning will start off quite cold since the overnight low had dipped into the mid 20s. At 8AM, it should be around 30 with clear skies. Plenty of sunshine should help the warming process through the day as the high is expected to reach the lower 50s. Winds out of the northeast should average 5-10 MPH. Chance of rain is 0%. Clouds will start to build during the evening and overnight hours. Lows will reach the lower 30s, with winds out of the northeast averaging 0-5 MPH. Chance of rain is 0%.
SATURDAY
The morning starts off a little warmer, but skies will be mostly cloudy. Temperatures at 8AM are expected to be in the mid 30s with an almost calm wind. Even with the mostly cloudy conditions, the high temperature should rise to the lower to mid 50s by the mid-afternoon hours. There is a slight chance of rain that needs to be mentioned in the forecast, but I may need to change this when later model runs come out. My feeling right now is that it may stay dry. Daytime highs will reach the mid 50s with winds out of the east at 5-10 MPH. Chance of rain as of now is 20%. For the overnight hours, skies will be mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of a passing shower. Lows will be around 40. Winds will be out of the southeast at 0-5 MPH.
SUNDAY
The day starts off with temperatures in the lower 40s at 8AM with mostly cloudy skies and a shower is possible. There will be a 30% chance of showers throughout the day at COTA, but that may change for a lesser chance after the latest model runs come in. I'm leaving it in as of now until I get more confident on what the later runs will say. The North American Mesoscale model is actually trending for a dryer outlook. I'll update by next blog post. Daytime highs are expected to top out in the mid 50s with winds out of the southeast at 5-10 MPH.
Like I said in the daily outlooks, I'm leaving the rain chances in for now until I see the latest date. I have a feeling that the rain chances will change for either a lesser chance or maybe be dry. I'll have an update on the next blog entry tomorrow morning. Bundle up and stay warm today. High is only expected to get to the upper 30s, but wind chill factor (at times) will be in the lower 20s due to the brisk winds out of the north (15-25 MPH).
Looking at the latest data for this weekend, I am making some changes to the forecast. The changes shouldn't put a damper on this huge opening event.
FRIDAY
The morning will start off quite cold since the overnight low had dipped into the mid 20s. At 8AM, it should be around 30 with clear skies. Plenty of sunshine should help the warming process through the day as the high is expected to reach the lower 50s. Winds out of the northeast should average 5-10 MPH. Chance of rain is 0%. Clouds will start to build during the evening and overnight hours. Lows will reach the lower 30s, with winds out of the northeast averaging 0-5 MPH. Chance of rain is 0%.
SATURDAY
The morning starts off a little warmer, but skies will be mostly cloudy. Temperatures at 8AM are expected to be in the mid 30s with an almost calm wind. Even with the mostly cloudy conditions, the high temperature should rise to the lower to mid 50s by the mid-afternoon hours. There is a slight chance of rain that needs to be mentioned in the forecast, but I may need to change this when later model runs come out. My feeling right now is that it may stay dry. Daytime highs will reach the mid 50s with winds out of the east at 5-10 MPH. Chance of rain as of now is 20%. For the overnight hours, skies will be mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of a passing shower. Lows will be around 40. Winds will be out of the southeast at 0-5 MPH.
SUNDAY
The day starts off with temperatures in the lower 40s at 8AM with mostly cloudy skies and a shower is possible. There will be a 30% chance of showers throughout the day at COTA, but that may change for a lesser chance after the latest model runs come in. I'm leaving it in as of now until I get more confident on what the later runs will say. The North American Mesoscale model is actually trending for a dryer outlook. I'll update by next blog post. Daytime highs are expected to top out in the mid 50s with winds out of the southeast at 5-10 MPH.
Like I said in the daily outlooks, I'm leaving the rain chances in for now until I see the latest date. I have a feeling that the rain chances will change for either a lesser chance or maybe be dry. I'll have an update on the next blog entry tomorrow morning. Bundle up and stay warm today. High is only expected to get to the upper 30s, but wind chill factor (at times) will be in the lower 20s due to the brisk winds out of the north (15-25 MPH).
