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Conditions in Atlanta, GA:
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Atlanta, GA

SAT Sept 4 SUN Sept 5 SUN Sept 5

Sunshine & clouds Variably cloudy, chc. of showers and storms late in the day. Showers and storms possible
High: 92
 High: 87
Low: 65		 Race Temp: 88

FORECAST DISCUSSION SATURDAY 6:00 AM EDT:

Weather for Atlanta over the next 24 to 36 hours actually looks pretty good. Saturday looks great as high pressure remains in control despite having tropical storm Lee along the central Gulf Coast. Highs on Saturday should be in the low 90s with mostly to partly sunny skies.

Sunday is the day of great concern and a lot of questions. Moisture associated with tropical storm Lee will interact with a cold front moving into northern Georgia late in the day Sunday and into the evening. This sets the stage for possible shower and storm development. Although my official forecast is calling for shower and storm development, this isn’t a scenario like Watkins Glen where I felt like there was a slam dunk of rain for the race. There are a couple of forecast models that remain slow on bringing the rain to Atlanta Motor Speedway, but still bring the rain late Sunday night.

It’s these forecast I have to separate the NASCAR fan from the meteorologist. I would love nothing else than to say, “The rain is not a worry, we are going to have great weather for the race.” Sadly I would be “wish-casting” and lying to all the other NASCAR fans if I wrote that forecast. I know forecasting rain doesn’t make me a very popular person but I don’t do this to be popular. I do this because I love weather, I love the sport of NASCAR and I want to tell everyone how I see it and give the most accurate forecast I can. Trust me, when I have to forecast rain for a race, I hope I am wrong.

My official forecast for Sunday is that rain is too close not to be a threat Sunday night. Rain needs to be mentioned and I think the likelihood of getting rain for the Sprint Cup race is higher than any of us would like.  I wish I could pinpoint rain arrival to the hour and tell you how long it would last and how long any possible windows will be, unfortunately this is not that kind of forecast, and honestly most forecast are not that precise.  I also can’t tell any fan what they should do if they have tickets or are thinking about getting tickets for the race. If it were me I’d probably go, take the risk with some of the information I am seeing from some of the computer models. I would also know that I am making a gamble and that if it rained Sunday night delaying, shortening or postponing the race all together, I wouldn’t be surprised because it is there in the forecast.

My plan is to update as often as I can between now and Sunday night. We probably won’t know exactly what the rain will be doing until sometime Sunday afternoon. Stay tuned and I will update as often as I can here and on Twitter. Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone.

SATURDAY:
8:30 a.m EDT
Nationwide Practice – Partly sunny – temp: 72
9:45 a.m EDT
Nationwide Final Practice – Partly sunny – temp: 76
1:30 p.m EDT
Sprint Cup Final Practice – Partly sunny – temp: 88
3:30 p.m EDT
Nationwide Qualifying – Partly sunny – temp: 91
5:00 p.m EDT
Sprint Cup Qualifying – Partly sunny – temp: 92
7:30 p.m EDT
Nationwide Race – Patchy clouds – temp: 85

SUNDAY:
7:30 p.m EDT
Sprint Cup Race – Showers and storms becoming likely through the evening– temp: 83

Please follow me on Twitter @NASCAR_WXMAN for the latest Weather updates during the race.