Sunday Weather Update

It's Sunday and there is a lot going on today. We have the Coke 600 being ran tonight as well as normal Sunday activities such as church. The big impact today and into the day on Memorial Day is what is now Tropical Depression Bonnie. Bonnie made landfall at around 8:30 this morning in South Carolina near the Isle of Palms. The center of circulation is not the big story for this storm however. The real impact will be the rain. It will certainly have an impact on the coast as this storm is expected to turn and high the eastern coastline. The rain will certainly be felt here as it already has been falling.

Let's take a look at what we can expect today with this system.

The high today will be in the low to mid 70's but it's going to feel sticky.

With dew points in the mid 60's the air will be just thick and icky feeling.

The clouds will be around all day today as expected with Tropical depression Bonnie sending rain bands our way.

Total accumulation as of right now looks to be around a tenth of an inch between now and 7pm tonight. However, if we get rain bands that can get organized enough to bring an isolated thunderstorm with them the chance of a heavy downpour would drive those totals up to a half of an inch or more. 

The real challenge for the folks attending the Coke 600 is the track drying efforts. It takes about 2 hours to dry the track. So if the rain hangs around most of the day that may have an impact on the start of the race. If an isolated band of showers moves over the track during the race it could cause for a stoppage with a delay to redry the track. As we progress through the day the chances to determine if the race will go in it's entirety and if it will start on time. As of right now I would say if you have tickets go to the track. There should be racing today. My gut feeling at this point is the race will start on time and run in it's entirety. The only thing that will change that is if Bonnie moves further inland that projected right now.

I will post another update in a few hours on the progress of Bonnie and the expectations throughout the remainder of the day for rainfall and accumulation.

As always thank you for following Rowan County Weather!