By Doug Schneider
The weather continues to look terrific this weekend at Watkins Glen. The latest data continues to point toward a chance of showers and thunderstorms on Friday when a cold front an upper level trough will move across the region, but you couldn't ask for better weather on Saturday and Sunday, with plenty of sunshine and pleasant temperatures.
My forecast confidence is high today as the models have been quite consistent with the general weather pattern. Thursday will feature a high pressure ridge over the Mid Atlantic region. As this ridge slides east and a low pressure system tracks into the Great Lakes region, moisture will begin to increase over New York Thursday night. There will be an initial upper level disturbance that moves across the region Thursday morning, but it looks like its rain will be located across eastern New York and New Jersey, well east of Watkins Glen. I expect that the precipitation at the track on Friday will be associated with the main cold front and upper level trough. While it is possible that there could be showers any time of the day, the most likely timing of showers and thunderstorms appears to be Friday afternoon. With the jet streak in a position to help provide some lift, and increasing instability under the upper trough, thunderstorms will be a possibility on Friday. The rain will end by midnight as the front and trough axis will be well east. It is difficult to pin down rain amounts as the storms will be scattered, and rain amounts will vary greatly depending on whether a storm directly hits the track or not. Around a half inch of rain might be possible if a storm passes over the track.
Slightly cooler and less humid air will build into the area on Saturday, which will make for a great day to be at the track. Expect mostly sunny skies, a nice northwest wind around 10 mph, and high temperatures in the upper 70s. Unlike last year, the Six Hours will be dry from start to finish, with barely even a cloud in the sky and highs around 80.
Slightly cooler and less humid air will build into the area on Saturday, which will make for a great day to be at the track. Expect mostly sunny skies, a nice northwest wind around 10 mph, and high temperatures in the upper 70s. Unlike last year, the Six Hours will be dry from start to finish, with barely even a cloud in the sky and highs around 80.
