By: Stephen McCoy

Conditions remain relatively consistent for the rest of the weekend at Sonoma Raceay. Saturday's forecast stays mostly unchanged other than the possibility of some increased cloud cover in the upper levels during the afternoon. For Sunday, recent model runs have been trending warmer with a high temperature near 90°, possibly as a combination of less cloud cover during the morning and northerly surface winds during the day. Previous model runs were indicating winds from the west to southwest, which would have brought air to the region from the Pacific. Winds from the north will move over land, which warms much quicker and to higher temperatures than the water. Dew point temperatures in the mid 40's will likely keep conditions feeling cooler than actual air temperatures.

By: Stephen McCoy

Weather conditions for Sonoma Raceway are mostly consistent in this forecast update with the initial forecast from Monday. Friday morning, the upper level trough mentioned in the previous forecast will still be centered over the region with winds at these levels from the direct west. Moisture will be brought in to the region from the Pacific, resulting in partly to mostly cloudy conditions in the upper levels during the morning. Conditions are expected to clear during the afternoon as upper level winds shift to the northwest.

Warmer temperatures are likely for Saturday as surface and low levels winds will be from the north to northeast, transporting warmer air to the region as they move over the land. Much like in the previous forecast, upper level winds will be from the southwest on Sunday and will cause some cloudier conditions over the track. Recent model runs show increased moisture being moved into area, which will increase cloud cover as a result.

By Scott Martin

There have only been a few minor tweaks to the forecast for the Indycar event weekend out at Texas Motor Speedway, but most of them has been for the better.

The good news is that temperatures look to be a couple of degrees cooler on each day which may make the humid conditions a little more bearable. Also, I have removed the very small rain chance on Friday as the trough and the remnants of a tropical disturbance that will be moving up from Mexico will have moved well east of the area.

The only bad news to report in this forecast update is that I had to increase the rain chances for Thursday evening just a tad due to the proximity of that trough and the remnants of the tropical disturbance.

If attending the event, just be sure to stay well hydrated as heat index values on Friday and Saturday will be running around 4-8 degrees warmer than the actual temperature. I will have radar up and running by late tonight. I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.

By Scott Martin

We'll have an active weather pattern with the possibility of showers and thunderstorms to start the event weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, but that will move off to the east leaving race day with mostly clear skies and plenty of heat.

Thursday evening will be a warm and muggy evening with mostly cloudy skies and a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures will start off in the mid-80s at 7:00 pm for the beginning of practice and only drop to around 80 degrees at 9:00 pm for the end of practice. Winds will be out of the south at 4-8 MPH and the chance of rain will be around 40%.

Friday afternoon and into the evening will be very warm underneath a partly cloudy sky. There is a very, very small chance of an isolated shower or thunderstorm, but more than likely we stay dry. The afternoon high will top out around 90 degrees. Practice 2 starts at 2:00 pm with temperatures in the upper 80s and the same story for qualifying at 5:45 pm. The chance of rain throughout the day is only 10%. Winds will be out of the west-northwest at 5-10 MPH.

Saturday night will be a hot one with mostly clear skies. Temperatures will start off in the lower 90s at 7:00 pm and will be falling into the upper 80s by the end of the race. No chance of rain for the race and winds will be out of the south at 8-12 MPH.

By: Stephen McCoy

Typical late-spring California weather awaits for this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. After a few days in the mid-80's to start the week, temperatures will cool to the 70's before a low 80 degree Sunday. Full sun to partly cloudy conditions are likely with no precipitation expected.

An upper level trough is expected to move through the Pacific Northwest during the day on Friday, with the southern tip of the trough moving over the Bay Area early Friday morning. Upper level winds behind the axis of the trough will be from the northwest bringing cooler, drier air to the region. Winds in the low-to-mid levels will follow this pattern, with the result being clear conditions throughout the day. An area of high pressure at the surface will build in over the Pacific as an upper level ridge moves in behind the trough. The high is expected to bring temperatures around 10-15 °F cooler than temperatures earlier in the week, beginning Thursday as winds shift to the northwest.

Similar conditions are expected for Saturday, though temperatures will be slightly warmer due to winds from the north to northwest moving over land instead of the cooler ocean waters; surface wind speeds will also be slightly lower due to this reason. In the upper levels, winds are expected from the west to southwest as a ridge moves into the Baja California region. These winds will help transport moisture from the tropics, resulting in some light upper level cloud cover during the day. Upper level winds continuing from the southwest will cause partly cloudy conditions over the region, while surface winds from the west to southwest will result in the warmest temperatures of the weekend on Sunday.