Masters weather: Severe storms, cold winds before a great weekend
Severe weather blasting the Southeast canceled an annual contest and closed the course for a practice round at the Masters, the first major golf tournament of the year.
The Augusta, Ga., establishment canceled the Par 3 contest for the first time since the competition began in 1960 as a second round of storms loomed early Wednesday afternoon. An initial line of storms in the morning suspended the practice round for about 2 ½ hours.
The National Weather Service warned the new round of severe weather could contain "long-lived supercell storms, large hail, damaging winds, and strong tornadoes." It placed Augusta under a tornado watch, meaning conditions are ripe for twisters to develop.
A flash flood watch is also in effect due to the threat of as much as two inches of heavy rain Thursday afternoon and evening.
No more rain is forecast for the remainder of the tournament after the storms move out. But weather will still make headlines at the historic golf course on Thursday and Friday, when strong winds and chilly temperatures are forecast.
Sustained winds in the 17 to 25 mph range are predicted Thursday, with gusts as high as 38 mph. High temperatures will only be the mid 60s.
The coldest weather will occur during the early part of the second round Friday morning, when wind chills will be in the upper 30s and low 40s.
Things look up by the weekend: Weather for the final two rounds looks spectacular, with calmer winds and high temperatures in the upper 60s Saturday and into the mid 70s on Sunday.