Here is the first forecast for the St Johns tournament. I’ll have an updated forecast sent to you before 11:59 pm on Friday night.
THURSDAY
We’ll start off with just a couple of clouds floating overhead at the first launch of the Elite season, but those few clouds will give way to mainly sunny skies by the afternoon. Temperatures at 7:30 am EST will be in the mid-50s, around 56 degrees, and will climb into the lower 80s for the afternoon high, topping out around 81 degrees. Winds will be out of the south at 2-5 MPH early but will increase to 5-10 MPH by late morning. Dewpoints will be in the upper 50s to start but will climb into the lower 60s quickly. Chance of rain is 0%.
FRIDAY
Another dry day ahead with plenty of sunshine and just a few clouds passing overhead. Temperatures will be around 57 degrees at launch and will rise to around 80 degrees for the daytime high around 2:00 pm. Winds will start off out of the southwest early at 2-5 MPH and eventually shift out of the north at 3-7 MPH, thanks in part to a cold front that will begin to move through the area after fishing has completed for the day. Dewpoints will once again be in the upper 50s to the lower 60s from start to finish. While rain chances with the approach of that cold front are highly unlikely as the system will be moisture-starved, they are still not zero. I’ll go with less than 10%.
SATURDAY
Get ready for much cooler temperatures during the afternoon hours while the morning temperatures will be around the same. Skies will be mostly cloudy throughout the event day but we should remain dry. Once again, rain chances are very low, but not at zero, so we’ll say around 10%. Winds will be a little breezy at times out of the north to northeast at 10-20 MPH. Launch temperatures will be in the mid-50s and will only warm up into the mid-60s by the afternoon. Dewpoints will be down a little as well, starting off in the upper 40s and rising into the lower 50s by the end of the event day.
SUNDAY
At this point, the higher-resolution forecast models have not come into view for the entire day on Sunday but looking and the long-range models, there will be a chance of rain throughout the entire day over the St. Johns River. The good news is that it doesn’t look to be a total washout, but showers could form and move across the lake during the late morning into the early afternoon hours. Skies will be mostly cloudy but there should be a few breaks to allow some sunshine at times. While not as windy as Saturday, winds will still be a little breezy at times out of the east at 10-15 MPH. Launch temperatures will be in the upper 50s and warming into the upper 60s by the afternoon. Chance of rain will be around 30%.
LUNAR STATS
On Thursday, the moon will actually be appearing during the daylight hours, rising at 8:58 am ET, hitting the midpoint at 2:48 pm ET, and setting at 8:43 pm ET. Illumination will only be at 7.7%.
Friday’s moonrise will occur later in the morning around 9:30 am ET, crossing the midpoint in the sky around 3:30 pm ET, and setting at 9:35 pm ET. Illumination will be at 13.7%.
Saturday’s moonrise will occur around 10:02 am ET, crossing the midpoint in the sky around 4:12 pm ET, and sets at 10:28 pm ET. Illumination will be at 21.3%.
Sunday’s moonrise will occur around 10:34 am ET, crossing the midpoint in the sky around 4:56 pm ET, and sets at 11:23 pm ET. Illumination will be at 30.1%.