the football game in Kansas City tonight could be the coldest NFL playoff game in history
he Kansas City Chiefs are urging
fans to bundle up for game day at Arrowhead Stadium as the team prepares to take on the Miami Dolphins in what meteorologists are predicting will be brutally cold conditions Saturday night.
As a mix of freezing temperatures, powerful winds and heavy snow are expected to chill a large swath of the United States
this weekend, the two teams are scheduled to face off in the AFC Wild Card Round matchup in Kansas City, Missouri, for what will be one of the coldest NFL games on record.
Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m. CT. The air temperature at kickoff is forecast to be around 0 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill a bone-chilling -22 degrees, according to CNN Weather.
Sustained winds of 15 to 20 mph and gusts up to 40 mph throughout the game will only add to the misery. By the game’s end, the air temperature is expected to dip to -2 degrees with a wind chill around -23 degrees, meteorologists said.
The current high temperature expected for Kansas City on Saturday is
around 5 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, which would be the coldest high temperature on record in the area for the date, according to CNN Weather.
The current record-coldest high temperature for Kansas City on January 13 is 9 degrees, which was set in 1982.
Weather service meteorologists are predicting “
dangerously cold” weather in the Kansas City area through next week.
Fans fighting to keep warm in the stands Saturday are allowed to bring blankets into Arrowhead Stadium, where there will be warming stations and hot chocolate available,
according to Chiefs officials.
“There will be a significant risk of frostbite for spectators who are not bundled up correctly. It takes about 30 minutes for frostbite to occur in wind chills near what’s forecast,” said CNN meteorologist Mary Gilbert.
But could it become cold enough for officials to cancel the showdown between the Chiefs and Dolphins? It’s unlikely, as the NFL has never canceled or postponed a game due to low temperatures, according to NFL communications director Tim Schlittner.
“There is no temperature threshold for cancellation/postponement,” Schlittner told CNN in an email.
In the northeast, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning through Monday, including possible blizzard conditions, which could affect the Buffalo Bills game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Wild Card game in Orchard Park, New York, on Sunday.
While not quite as cold as Kansas City, the Buffalo area will still see game-time temperatures in the low 20s and a wind chill only slightly above 0 thanks to 30 to 45 mph wind gusts.
There is some good news for fans, as the Bills’ home turf of Highmark Stadium will now allow spectators to wear battery-heated clothing to keep warm,
according to CNN affiliate WKBW.
Conditions for Saturday’s Chiefs-versus-Dolphins game will be frigid, but how does the weather compare to past games played in extremely cold conditions?