By Doug Schneider
Unfortunately, showers and thunderstorms washed out qualifying for the Indy Lights Freedom 100 today. The weather pattern for tomorrow and Saturday looks much the same as it did today, so the chances of seeing additional showers and thunderstorms on Carb Day and Legends Day will be 50/50 or higher. In a moist air mass like this one, it is difficult to pin down the timing of showers in advance. Showers are possible at any time of the day Friday and Saturday, so if you're at IMS or at Lucas Oil Raceway for the Carb Night Classic, you should stay weather-aware. You can click the IMS Radar link at the top of the page to see where storms are in relation to IMS, along with lightning strikes. The range rings that are displayed mark 8, 12, and 16 miles from the Speedway. Remember - if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Have a plan in advance of where to seek shelter, and move there as soon as you hear thunder. Remain sheltered until 30 minutes after the last thunder is heard.
Sunday continues to look more promising for racing as a ridge of high pressure will develop over the southeast, which will cut off the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Still, there will be a small chance of showers and thunderstorms due to an upper level disturbance that will move through. The key will be the timing. It looks like the atmosphere will be capped for most of the day, which means that showers will not be able to develop until this cap breaks. Forecasting the timing of this is always tricky, but right now, I expect that storms will hold off around the Speedway until late in the afternoon (around 3 pm or later). I'm optimistic that the race will be done before any storms develop. The 30% chance of rain in the forecast is for the chance of rain before 4 pm. I'd put the chance of rain after 4 pm closer to 50%. Even if the storms hold off until after the race, they could add to the traffic problems leaving the Speedway.
Sunday continues to look more promising for racing as a ridge of high pressure will develop over the southeast, which will cut off the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Still, there will be a small chance of showers and thunderstorms due to an upper level disturbance that will move through. The key will be the timing. It looks like the atmosphere will be capped for most of the day, which means that showers will not be able to develop until this cap breaks. Forecasting the timing of this is always tricky, but right now, I expect that storms will hold off around the Speedway until late in the afternoon (around 3 pm or later). I'm optimistic that the race will be done before any storms develop. The 30% chance of rain in the forecast is for the chance of rain before 4 pm. I'd put the chance of rain after 4 pm closer to 50%. Even if the storms hold off until after the race, they could add to the traffic problems leaving the Speedway.
