In true Augusta fashion, rain will be making an appearance again during Masters week, challenging the world’s top golfers to perform in less than ideal conditions. However, city officials say this year, it could cause issues with traffic.
The National Weather Service in Columbia predicts a 90% chance of rain Thursday, with potential 40 mph wind gusts and heavy rainfall.
“If there’s any day that won’t be normal and we will have to deviate from the plan, it will probably be Thursday,” said John Ussery, assistant director of the Augusta Traffic Engineering Division. “Our biggest concern is if a bad storm comes through and they evacuate the course. Then we’ll have to deal with all of the traffic at a time that we’re not used to dealing with that much traffic.
“We’ll be ready and we’ll have everything prepared and staged, so if we do need to turn things around quickly, either in or out, we can do that.”
Ussery said the traffic division will send out alerts as changes are made.
“If they evacuate the course because of lightning, you don’t have to leave right away,” he said. “They will allow you to sit in the parking lot for a while. So we would recommend that people just go and find their vehicles and then maybe just sit in the car for a while. See if the weather is going to pass on through quickly, and if it is, just kind of hang out where you are. In all likelihood, they’ll let you back in shortly.”
Luckily, the weather forecast Friday through Sunday looks picturesque. Recent forecasts predict sunny skies Saturday and Sunday with high temperatures holding steady at about 80 degrees.
