Race day weather forecast for the 2017 Indianapolis 500: Possible thunderstorms

I’ve been forecasting weather for the Indianapolis 500 for the last 20 years — four of those years before I received my degree in meteorology. As a native Hoosier, my love for auto racing started at a young age, watching and hearing the stories of the Indianapolis 500. I may be known as the NASCAR weatherman, but my heart always longs to be back home again in Indiana.

The first Indy 500 I made a forecast for was not a good one. Oh, I got the forecast right, but 20 years ago the 1997 Indianapolis 500 ended up running on a Tuesday thanks to rain Sunday and Monday. The good news — I don’t think that specific history repeats itself.

Sunday will feature scattered showers and thunderstorms developing across central Indiana. It appears that threat increases after around 2 p.m. and continues into the evening.

What does “scattered storms” mean? Imagine a bag of marbles and a checkered square floor. Now drop those marbles onto the floor, but as they are falling, predict which square on the floor each marble will land on and stop. That’s the challenge meteorologists have predicting how scattered storms will impact a single point or, in this case, a track on that grid.

While the threat is there and delays due to weather can’t be ruled out, I do anticipate racing and I think there is enough dry time to get all 500 miles completed.

Odds of racing the Indianapolis 500 are 75 to 80 percent with possible delays.

Please follow me on Twitter @NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates during the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

All times ET

SUNDAY:
11 a.m. — Indianapolis 500
Forecast: Mostly cloudy - scattered showers or storms
Winds: West 5-15 mph
Temperature: 73

12 p.m. — Indianapolis 500
Forecast: Mostly cloudy - scattered showers or storms
Winds: West 5-15 mph
Temperature: 75

1 p.m. — Indianapolis 500
Forecast: Mostly cloudy - scattered showers or storms
Winds: West 5-15 mph
Temperature: 77
2 p.m. — Indianapolis 500
Forecast: Mostly cloudy - scattered showers or storms
Winds: West 5-15 mph
Temperature: 78

3 p.m. — Indianapolis 500
Forecast: Mostly cloudy - scattered showers or storms
Winds: West 5-15 mph
Temperature: 79

4 p.m. — Indianapolis 500
Forecast: Mostly cloudy - scattered showers or storms
Winds: West 5-15 mph
Temperature: 80