What happens if it rains during Pelotonia? (Spoiler alert: it's probably going to rain)

The thousands of bikers fanning out across central Ohio for Pelotonia's annual bike weekend this week should pack their raincoats.

Well, they should for at least one day. It's likely to rain and maybe even storm on Saturday, the first day of Pelotonia, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Luckily, it'll clear up on Sunday; the NWS expects it to be sunny with a high near 89.

Will Pelotonia be rained out?

Barring severe weather emergencies, Pelotonia will continue "despite poor weather conditions," according to the event's handbook. Riders should prepare for high winds, temperatures ranging from 50-to-100-degrees, heavy rainfall or a combination of these conditions, the handbook says.

While the weather may not cancel the ride outright, it could cause organizers to slow it down. They use a color-coded flag system to indicate weather conditions; green means it's safe to proceed, yellow means weather is creating potentially hazardous conditions and red means riders should not proceed due to severe weather hazards.

If the weather gets severe enough, Pelotonia reserves the right to shorten the rides, restrict ride options or cancel the rides outright, according to the handbook.

Columbus weather for Pelotonia weekend and beyond

• Saturday : There's a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers are likely and a thunderstorm is possible after 8 a.m. Otherwise, it'll be partly sunny with a high near 84. The chance of precipitation is 60%. Between a quarter and a half inch of rain is expected.
• Saturday night : There's a slight chance of showers before 2 a.m. It'll be partly cloudy with a low around 67. The chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Sunday : It'll be sunny with a high near 90.
• Sunday night : It'll be mostly clear with a low around 68.
• Monday : It'll be sunny with a high near 89.
• Monday night : It'll be mostly clear with a low around 66.
• Tuesday : It'll be sunny, with a high near 89.
• Tuesday night : There's a chance of showers and thunderstorms. It'll be partly cloudy with a low around 68. The chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Wednesday : It'll be mostly sunny with a high near 86.

NHart@dispatch.com

@NathanRHart

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What happens if it rains during Pelotonia? (Spoiler alert: it's probably going to rain)