The Daytona 500 weather forecast will be getting a lot of attention as NASCAR drivers prepare to start their engines on Sunday and thousands of fans descend on Daytona International Speedway. Mother Nature may throw up a warning flag before the green flag waves.
The game is scheduled to start at 1:30 PM ET and may be completed before the cold front arrives. This was an hour ahead of schedule and the hope was to complete the entire race before the rains arrived.
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Will rain delay Daytona 500?
An area of ​​low pressure will move across the southern United States during the race weekend, with showers and storms possible from Texas to Florida. The system will target Daytona Beach.
Model forecast radar for Sunday afternoon
By Sunday night, showers and thunderstorms are possible as a cold front moves through Central Florida.
So, as long as the game ends before the cold front brings showers and storms, everything should be fine, right? As the race begins, the likelihood of thunderstorms increases.
One uncertainty, however, is whether scattered showers will develop ahead of the front in the afternoon. This may bring rainfall earlier than shown below.
Regardless, if you’re headed to Daytona this weekend, bring your poncho and keep checking back for updates in the hope that the skies stay clear and the race can go on at full speed.
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The impact of weather on previous years’ games
Even though the Daytona 500 is held during Florida’s dry season, rain still soaks the track from time to time.
Since 2020 alone, four games have been delayed:
2020: Rain delayed the entire event until Monday.
2021: The game was postponed until after midnight due to heavy rain and ended on Monday again.
2022: As in 2020, persistent rain postponed the game until Monday.
2025: The game ended later that night after being delayed about three hours due to heavy rain.
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However, the most unusual delay occurred in 2012, when rain was not the only hazard on the track.
2012: The game was postponed until Monday due to heavy rain. Then, during the game, Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a jet dryer, causing a fire. This is the only Daytona 500 race completed on Tuesday.
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2003, 2009: Both races were canceled after the halfway mark due to rain. Only four Daytona 500 cars in history have failed to complete the race due to weather conditions.
The hottest Daytona 500 on record occurred in 1975, with a high of 85 degrees, while the coldest occurred in 1967, when the high was only 48 degrees.
Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has spent the past two decades covering some of the world’s biggest weather and climate stories.
