The Masters 2021: Rain and thunderstorms forecast

According to weather reports for the week ahead, it looks like rain and thunderstorms could play an important role as the Masters returns to its familiar April slot.

Players can expect perfect conditions early in the week for their practice rounds, with the forecast predicting a sun-filled first three days, from Monday to Wednesday, with temperatures ranging between 26°C and 30°C.

Although first-round conditions are not expected to pose as many challenges as the November Masters, where only a handful of groups got their tournament underway before play was suspended for three hours, rain is expected to arrive on Thursday this week.

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Wind conditions are expected to remain stable and light throughout the week with a max of 8mph prevailing wind with gusts barely reaching 13mph being predicted by AccuWeather.

Friday onwards is where the weather could start to become a slight cause for concern for players and tournament organisers. 

Four hours of rain is predicted on Friday, a whole inch of rain being expected to fall, while it is being widely reported that significant thunderstorms will hit the area on the same day.

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The heavy rain at the 2020 edition of the tournament allowed for a low scoring event that saw Dustin Johnson set the record for the lowest score to par in the history of the Masters at Augusta National. While April conditions, as well as a sunny and dry lead up to the tournament, won’t allow the course to feature the same softness as it did last time, the forecasted rain could still have an impact on scoring.

Weather predictions for the Saturday of the tournament make for better reading, the only concern being the three hours of rain projected over the course of the night which could further soften up the course for the final round.

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As the tournament concludes on the Sunday, the weather is expected to be sunny with minimal chance of thunderstorms with wind gusts of up to 12mph.