Week two of the NFL regular season began this past Thursday night with the NY Jets taking on divisional rivals, the New England Patriots, in Foxborough, MA where the two teams duked it out between each other, as well as Mother Nature.
Rain & breezy conditions moved in around the beginning of the second half and the game went downhill from there, for both teams. Receivers were dropping balls or slipping around on the field, passes were being missed, and no one was making progress in scoring points. After watching that game, I took at some other games out there this Sunday that could also be impacted by weather, for both the players and the fans.
A few of the games during the early afternoon will see a chance for rain to move through. We look up towards the midwest, where Green Bay, Chicago and Kansas City will see a cold front swing through the area.
It will be a slow moving front, so we will see clouds thicken up and light to moderate rainfall come through. There is a possibility of some isolated thunderstorms, as well as some breezy conditions.
Green Bay is hosting the Washington Redskins at Lambeau Field and they can expect to deal with the rain slowly tapering down as the game progresses. With the clouds, northerly winds and showers in the area, temps will trend below normal levels (avg is 71) and feel rather chilly. So dress to stay warm and brake out the rain gear as you tailgate or sit in the stands.
In the Chicago area, the Bears will be hosting the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field where the temperatures should normally be into the mid 70s (avg is 76), but with the incliment weather, the air will feel cool and brisk and temps will struggle to get into the mid 60s. The winds will be light, but will be switching around as the front passes.
Down in Kansas City, the Dallas Cowboys will be flying into town to take on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be probable during the game, where there will be muggy and warm conditions. Temperatures will get to seasonal levels, so staying warm won’t be a problem for the most part, but staying dry will.
In the south, the Houston Texans will be hosting the Tennessee Titans at Reliant Stadium. While the stadium has a retractable roof, so the game shouldn’t be impacted by the weather, but getting to and tailgating around the stadium may involve dodging showers and storms.
There is a stationary front not too far away from Houston, and with a push of tropical moisture (partially from Ingrid in the Gulf of Mexico), that moisture will be coming ashore and thunderstorms will be as well. Temps will be running around normal levels (avg is 90°) but feeling hotter than that with heat index values into the upper 90s.
The last game of the day will involve the San Francisco 49ers heading to Seattle to take on the Seahawks in the very noisy Centrylink Field. The fans will be cheering, the winds will be blowing, and the rain will be falling as the game progresses. The storm system out in the eastern Pacific Ocean will tap into some of the monsoonal moisture from the southwest and bring that up this way into the northwest.
It will surely be a game where whether you are out tailgating or sitting in the stands, that you’d want to stay warm and dry. If you thought the second half of the Jets vs Patriots game was a mess, this game will bring back memories of that night. The average high in Seattle is 71° and temps try really hard to get to the low 70s, so expect cool, damp, and dismal conditions at the game with the rain lasting through all four quarters.
Have a great rest of your weekend and a pleasant work week ahead. This is the last full weekend of Summer, so make the most of the last few days of the season while you can. The Autumnal Equinox is next Sunday in the early afternoon hours and we officially enjoy the first full day of Fall on Monday, September 23rd.
Meteorologist Addison Green ~ Twitter: @agreenWNTV
