Friday's Weather
Friday will be an absolutely beautiful day out at Barber Motorsports Park as there will be plenty of sunshine with mild temperatures. The day will start off in the lower 40s, but will make it into the upper 60s to just at 70 degrees for the high. We'll have a cool breeze out of the north to northwest at 4-8 MPH throughout the day. Even though the temperatures will be cool, don't let your guard down with the sun. Be sure to bring your hats, shades, and plenty of sunscreen.
Saturday's Weather
Another beautiful day at the track with plenty of sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures. Temperatures will start off in the mid-40s at daybreak and top out in the mid-70s for the daytime high. There will be a few clouds floating overhead, but skies will remain mostly sunny throughout the day. Winds will be out of the east to southeast at 4-8 MPH.
Race Day: Sunday's Weather
Long range models (GFS and European) are still in disagreement on the arrival of the rain and thunderstorms at the track for Sunday.
The GFS has the rain arriving during the morning hours and persisting through much of the daylight hours, some of which could be heavy at times. This model run is also continuing to paint rainfall totals in the 1-2 inch range around the track. Rain tires will be necessary, but if it is this heavy, there may be a postponement until Monday.
The European is much different with the timing, and will make most race fans happy. As of this latest run, rain and storms will hold off until very late in the afternoon or early in the evening. We very well could have some rain activity before the end of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, which will put the best racing drivers in the world to the test. The heavier rain and storms move in after sunset with this model run.
At this point, temperatures are trending much cooler than what I have been forecasting so far, with morning lows starting off in the mid-50s and the daytime high only reaching the mid-60s. Due to the uncertainty in the forecast for Sunday, I'm still going with 50% rain chance.
I'll continue to fine tune this forecast, and within 24 hours, the NAM will come into time frame for Sunday. With that model, I can get a lot better idea on what could possibly take place.