It's possibly THE most anticipated forecast of the year. What will the weather be for the Indy 500?
We've had a variety of weather conditions on race day. Often, heat is an issue as we gear up for the unofficial start to summer. You may have thought last year was the hottest Indy 500 on record, and you'd be ALMOST right. We topped out at 91° on race day in 2018, but the hottest Indy 500 on record was in 1937 when the temperature reached a steamy 92°.
We've also had years where you need to layer up. In 1992, our high temperature was a cool 58°.
While temperatures play a big role in the forecast, even more important to running the race is the potential for rain. 3.80" of rain made for the wettest Indy 500 in 2004. It was also one of seven rain-shortened races since 1911.
Our active spring pattern keeps going through race and Memorial Day weekend. That includes some morning shower and storm chances for Carb Day. The afternoon and evening hours Friday should be dry, but warm and muggy.
Rain COULD still be an issue for the Indy 500 this year. Models are split with some featuring quite a bit of rain through the day. Meanwhile, others are turning more optimistic with the bulk of the rain holding off to the north through the early afternoon. It's still going to be all about timing and placement. You can see how the models compare below.
MODEL #1
MODEL #2
Stay tuned for updates as we get closer to the 103rd running of the Indy 500!
