It’s shaping up to be a Christmas Weekend for the record books. Basically, half the continental United States is under either a winter storm warning or a winter storm watch, setting up for a very, very cold and very, very windy NFL Week 16.
And that’s just in the places where it won’t also be snowy.
Here are the five most alarming NFL Week 16 weather forecasts as the nation prepares for a potential bomb cyclone as Winter Storm Elliott crosses the country.
Winter Storm Elliott: Five Scariest NFL Week 16 Weather Forecasts
If you live north of, say, Orlando, there’s a good chance your Christmas travel plans are in serious jeopardy. The Buffalo Bills are getting a head start on their commute, flying to Chicago Thursday instead of Friday for their Christmas Eve game against the Bears.
But Bills-Bears is just one of a number of Week 16 games set to be impacted by Winter Storm Elliott. All forecasted temperatures and wind chills are courtesy of Weather Underground.
Buffalo Bills vs. Chicago Bears
This is setting up to be the most miserable game of the week — and it has nothing to do with the Bears’ seven-game losing streak.
The Bears are planning to build a roofed stadium in suburban Chicago, and Sunday’s game will be all the proof needed that it’s a must.
The conditions off Lake Michigan at kickoff Saturday will be downright dangerous: 1 degree with winds blowing near 28 mph. Put it all together, and you might see wind chills of minus-25, on par with some of the coldest games in NFL history.
According to the National Weather Service, that’s downright dangerous.
“Wind chill values near minus 25 degrees mean that frostbite is possible within 15 minutes,” NWS wrote. “Frostbite is the freezing of skin and the body tissue just beneath it. It first affects exposed body tissue where blood circulation may be limited such as your fingers, toes, nose and ears.”
New Orleans Saints vs. Cleveland Browns
At the same time they’ll be kicking off in the Second City, the Browns and Saints will be getting underway 350 miles to the east.
And while the temps won’t be quite as bad — although 10 degrees with 29 mph winds really feels like 13 below — the good people of Cleveland will have to worry about another issue: Snow.
Good luck, Saints — who not only live and practice in a subtropical climate but also play in a dome.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Compared to their Midwestern brethren, K.C. will feel downright balmy.
Just kidding. It’ll still be so cold that not even alcohol will help.
The forecast for Saturday afternoon: Cloudless sky but temps in the low teens with a wind chill near zero.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Baltimore Ravens
Usually in the winter, you’d rather be in Maryland than in Massachusetts. But the bomb cyclone has mercy on no man or woman.
It’ll be just as cold in Baltimore as it’ll be in Foxborough if the forecast models are correct.
The Chesapeake should have some whitecaps at kickoff, with 16 mph winds making 21 degrees feel like 7.
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
This game will have all the bad parts of Saturday afternoon’s NFL weather and none of the good — namely, sunlight.
As Santa’s making his way through the United States, he might want to skip over the Three Rivers.
The forecast for the 8:15 p.m. kickoff: 13 degrees with 15 mph winds and a real feel of minus-3.