Rain during the Super Bowl? A look back at notable weather on Super Bowl Sunday

(WDBJ) - Weather often disrupts and impacts football games, but what about the Super Bowl? Since 2000, most games have been played in domes, but most Super Bowls to this point have been played outdoors—including this year’s.

This weekend, Super Bowl LV will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Rain remains a possibility Sunday in Florida—even up to game time! Surprisingly, decent rain has been a mostly uncommon occurrence during the big game. We took a look back notable weather of previous Super Bowls.

HOW OFTEN HAS IT RAINED?

Light rain showers have occurred on Super Bowl Sundays 22 times, but only one can we say it really rained hard during the Super Bowl. In fact, you don’t even have to go back that far to find it! In 2007, rain poured during Super Bowl 41, even during Prince’s iconic halftime show! Overall, rain has not had too big of an impact on past Super Bowls.

Super Bowl 41 was also one of the windiest games with gusts up to 20 mph during the game.

EXTREME TEMPERATURES?

With a number of Super Bowls played either in the south or in a dome, the climate of games has been a bit easier to control, especially as games are played in the month of February. When considering only outdoor games for this, the warmest game ever played featured one of the teams in this year’s Super Bowl—the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Super Bowl 37 in San Diego had a kickoff temperature of 81°. That was also a daily record high for the California city. On the flip side, the coldest game ever played outside was Super Bowl 6 in New Orleans on Jan. 16, 1972. The kickoff temperature was 39°, with a high of 43°.

It’s a good thing Super Bowl 52 in 2018 was played indoors, as the kickoff temperature outside in Minneapolis was only 2°!

ANY SNOW DURING THE SUPER BOWL?

Given most games have either been in the south or in domes, it has actually never snowed during a Super Bowl. Though, there was a close call when over 8 inches of snow fell the Monday following Super Bowl 48 played in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

An ice storm occurred the day of Super Bowl 34, played inside the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, but the game went on without a hitch.

WHAT WEATHER TO EXPECT AT THIS YEAR’S SUPER BOWL

The Super Bowl forecast this weekend is looking pretty mild with highs expected to warm into the upper 70s to low 80s around Tampa Bay. Likely by kickoff temperatures will be under 80 degrees, so the warmest record should hold. However, rain chances will be possible both days with a cold front nearby. Latest model trends have rain chances diminishing towards kickoff, so a dry Super Bowl seems favorable for now.