The Super Bowl 2021 was almost subject to some extreme weather on Sunday, but current forecasts say it will not interfere with the game. According to the National Weather Service, Tampa, Florida faced severe thunderstorms and even possible tornadoes — just in time for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to square off. Right now, most meteorologists are hopeful that it will not be enough to interfere with the game.
Tampa and the surrounding area were hit with thunderstorms early in the morning on Sunday, but Doppler radar images showed the narrow band of clouds moving south quickly. Experts said that they expected the game to go off without a hitch, but warned sports fans that heavy rain, gusty winds and even “isolated tornadoes” were a possibility. As the day went on, their forecasts looked accurate, thankfully. At the time of this writing, it looks like the weather will not be an issue for Super Bowl LV.
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A stormy start to our #SundayFunday with a line of storms developing along a frontal boundary! These storms will continue to move south & be out of the area by mid-day!
Heavy rain, gusty winds & isolated tornadoes will be possible, so remain #WeatherReady! #FLwx☔️⛈️🌬️ pic.twitter.com/KAvpSItJB7
— NWS Tampa Bay (@NWSTampaBay) February 7, 2021
“The strong thunderstorms that threatened central Florida overnight are pressing south. Dryer air will settle in behind a cold front moving through, which means clearing skies in time for tonight’s kickoff,” said CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam.
Florida has a generally favorable climate for the football season, especially on the Gulf Coast side. Tampa itself has hosted the Super Bowl four times in the last 50 years, allowing the players to stay out of the cold that often grips the rest of the country in February.
This year, that trend may have broken. Central Florida is having a bit of a cold snap this week, and on Monday and Tuesday, Tampa recorded the coldest air temperature of the season so far. Temperatures reached the low 30s Fahrenheit — a rare phenomenon for the sunshine state.
Temperatures in Tampa rose gradually throughout the week to get back to their normal levels, but another cold front coming down the east coast posed a problem. Experts reportedly feared that the cool, dry air could stir up enough storm activity to disrupt the game, but right now it looks like things worked out in their favor. The current forecast estimates a sunny afternoon on Sunday, with temperatures in the low 70s and wind speeds of up to 15 miles per hour. Since the game kicks off after sun-down, temperatures may drop into the 60s but are not expected to go much lower than that.
Even in the worst-case scenario when it comes to weather, the Super Bowl may have gone on as planned. CNN’s Taylor Ward noted: “People tend to love a good snow game or one played in fierce winds or tropical downpours. It provides an opportunity to see how the best athletes in the world deal with the elements and a bit of adversity. But when it comes to the Super Bowl, most fans want to see a clear and mild game with ideal playing conditions.”
