Derby track is real... and it's spectacular

The 134th Kentucky Derby will be run Saturday at Churchill Downs and the weather forecast looks pretty good. There’s a 30 percent chance of rain with isolated thunderstorms predicted for the area with a high temperature of 72 degrees. Not bad, eh? And you can bet that those Kentucky Derby horses will be running on real dirt, not that artificial stuff that’s creeping up at tracks around the country.

Hunter Checked Out Too Soon To Meet Wx Gal at Derby

Yesterday, my pal Chad in Tennessee said this sports weather blog thing may attract a larger readership if I posted photos of Stephanie Abrams of The Weather Channel. After all, Awful Announcing has picks of the weather chick all over its page with posts about the weather for the ALCS in Cleveland, Chad said. So, I took Chad's advice and posted a photo (see below) of Stephanie. That photo is probably the most popular shot of her for obvious reasons. Later, I wondered if Stephanie is a sports fan or has any background in athletics. Turns out, she has covered some significant sporting events for The Weather Channel. According to her TWC bio, Stephanie's assignments since joining the network in 2003 have included "on-the-scene weather reports from major sporting events in the country like The Daytona 500, The Kentucky Derby, The Chicago Marathon, and Major League Baseball spring training." Stephanie is a graduate of the University of Florida and received a bachelor's degree in meteorology from Florida State, or as she was quoted in a U. of Florida alumni magazine, "that other university in Florida." The screen capture above is of Stephanie at the 2005, I think, Kentucky Derby. There. That should increase my Web hits, and steal readers away from Awful Announcing and Deadspin and maybe even Profootballtalk.com.

Yankees, Rangers Complete Stormy Series

A severe storm washed out Wednesday night's game in Arlington, Texas between the Rangers and New York Yankees, forcing the two teams to play a doubleheader Thursday. Another storm swept through the area briefly during the second game, but this time halted the action for only 40 minutes. The AP photo above shows the grounds crew removing the tarp while a rainbow appears above the ballpark. The Yankees went on to win game two, thus sweeping the double dip and the series from the Rangers. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Sprinkles: There still is a 50 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms for Saturday's 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby, according the Louisville, Ky., bureau of the National Weather Service. Friday, USA-Today quoted meteorologist Don Kirkpatrick of the NWS as saying, "Some of those (storms) in the afternoon could get into the strong level, as far as producing small hail and that sort of thing." However, the forecaster went on to say that those storms were not expected to hit Churchill Downs. By the way, Storm in May is a long shot at 30-1. Below you can watch Smarty Jones take the 2004 Derby crown in the Kentucky mud …Rain has suspended play at the Italian Open. Joakim Backstrom of Sweden was leading when the rains began. I don't Tiger is playing this event. He's getting wet in Charlotte, N.C. (above) …Forecasters say rain is likely in Richmond, Va., for Saturday night's NASCAR race there, so expect many delays.

(Tiger Woods photo -- AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek)

Weather Term of the Day:
SQUALL -- A sudden onset of strong winds with speeds increasing to at least 16 knots (18 miles per hour) and sustained at 22 or more knots (25 miles per hour) for at least one minute. The intensity and duration is longer than that of a gust. It is reported as "SQ"s in an observation and on the METAR.