By Doug Schneider
Being located in the United States, and the northern hemisphere, forecasting for Australia is always a fun challenge for me. The weather patterns in the southern hemisphere are essentially reversed from the northern hemisphere, so low pressure circulations are clockwise, and high pressure circulations are counter-clockwise. This is due to what is called the Coriolis Force. It takes me a little time to adjust when I look at weather maps.
The weather for this year's Bathurst 12 Hour looks very nice. Leading up to the event, there will be showers and thunderstorms in the area Tuesday through Thursday, but this will likely clear out by the time the on-track activity begins on Friday. The general weather pattern will feature a high pressure ridge off the southern coast of Australia on Friday, centered over the Great Australian Bight. This will produce an easterly flow across New South Wales, from the ocean toward the Blue Mountains. With some moisture coming off the ocean, there may be some scattered to isolated showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon on Friday. Most of this should remain near the Blue Mountains, but it could spread farther west into the Bathurst area. I think the chance of a storm at the circuit remains low, just 20%.
Through the weekend, the ridge will shift eastward, building over New South Wales, and shifting the moisture from the ocean farther north. This will lower the chance of showers further, and give mostly sunny skies with warmer temperatures Saturday and Sunday. It should be great weather to get out and enjoy the race at an amazing circuit.
For those in the United States, Bathurst is 16 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so the race will begin at 1:45 PM EST.
Click on forecast images to enlarge.
Being located in the United States, and the northern hemisphere, forecasting for Australia is always a fun challenge for me. The weather patterns in the southern hemisphere are essentially reversed from the northern hemisphere, so low pressure circulations are clockwise, and high pressure circulations are counter-clockwise. This is due to what is called the Coriolis Force. It takes me a little time to adjust when I look at weather maps.
The weather for this year's Bathurst 12 Hour looks very nice. Leading up to the event, there will be showers and thunderstorms in the area Tuesday through Thursday, but this will likely clear out by the time the on-track activity begins on Friday. The general weather pattern will feature a high pressure ridge off the southern coast of Australia on Friday, centered over the Great Australian Bight. This will produce an easterly flow across New South Wales, from the ocean toward the Blue Mountains. With some moisture coming off the ocean, there may be some scattered to isolated showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon on Friday. Most of this should remain near the Blue Mountains, but it could spread farther west into the Bathurst area. I think the chance of a storm at the circuit remains low, just 20%.
Through the weekend, the ridge will shift eastward, building over New South Wales, and shifting the moisture from the ocean farther north. This will lower the chance of showers further, and give mostly sunny skies with warmer temperatures Saturday and Sunday. It should be great weather to get out and enjoy the race at an amazing circuit.
For those in the United States, Bathurst is 16 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so the race will begin at 1:45 PM EST.
Click on forecast images to enlarge.
