After months of hype, the return of the NFL regular season will be delayed for 20 more minutes, as inclement weather surrounds Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., ahead of the season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. The new kickoff time will be 8:40 p.m. ET.
The stormy weather conditions, which included heavy rain and lightning, forced players and team members to clear the field and stadium officials to ask all guests to leave their seats about an hour before the originally scheduled kickoff.
They’ve cleared the field and seating bowl with lightning overhead pic.twitter.com/7ZO1bLzDyE
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) September 5, 2024
AccuWeather meteorologist Isaac Longley told The Athletic the pregame thunderstorms appear to be moving out of the Kansas City area ahead of kickoff and drier conditions should be settled in come 8:20, the initial kickoff time.
“We do have a cold front that’s pushing down from the north, so that will help dry things up as we head throughout the game tonight,” Longley said. “There could be a relatively gusty northerly breeze that develops given the cold front moving through, we could occasionally see gusts developing up to 20 or 25 miles per hour.”
clearing up in KC 🌈
📺: #Kickoff2024 on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/bHpMp9lzCM— NFL (@NFL) September 5, 2024
Due to the lightning, players were kept from taking to the field for 30 minutes ahead of the game, which likely contributed to the decision for the delay as the participants ramp up their warmup routines again.
As the heavy rain, which appeared to be coming down sideways at times, pelted the stadium, most fans obliged in leaving their seats. But some opted to soak in the conditions as they waited for Mother Nature to oblige in letting the 2024 season begin.
This one dude is unfazed, however. pic.twitter.com/bLZZiopODo
— Mike Jones (@ByMikeJones) September 5, 2024
According to Longley, the convenient cold front should keep the stormy conditions from reappearing later in the game, but there’s still a chance some showers linger.
If rain does return, it’s more likely to fall in the earlier part of the game rather than later, he said.
“There’s a nonzero chance that an additional shower could pop up, but given the cold front it’s looking like skies are already clearing up pretty well after this first batch of thunderstorms move through,” according to Longley. “After this first batch of storms moves through to the south, I think for the most part we’ll see a drying trend and clearing skies.”
The Chiefs will celebrate their Super Bowl campaign Thursday, hoisting a championship banner for the second straight home opener. The Ravens enter the game coming off a 13-4 season which ended with a loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
Plans for the banner presentation are continuing Thursday, with the celebration being pushed back to 8:30 p.m. ahead of kickoff.
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(Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)
