How will South Florida’s weather affect Super Bowl 54? ‘Purple Rain Redux’ or clear skies?
This story was updated on Wednesday.
Miami weather gave the Super Bowl one of its most memorable choreographed moments ever when the skies opened up on halftime performer Prince. This, of course, served as a dramatic backdrop to Prince’s performance of “Purple Rain” and would have seemed orchestrated between the late superstar and Mother Nature — if you believe Prince had that great of a pull.
That was during Super Bowl 41 in Miami Gardens in 2007.
So will it be “Purple Rain Redux” or clear skies for fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers — not to mention halftime performers Jennifer Lopez and Shakira?
The performers won’t have to cover “Purple Rain.” Forecasters say Sunday is going to be nice.
Besides, JLo and Shakira have no famous rain songs in their catalogs the way Prince did, although Shakira once sang in a rainstorm before 20,000 fans in an open-air concert in Romania in 2011.
But according to the National Weather Service in Miami, everyone at the Hard Rock Stadium should be in for a dry Super Bowl Sunday. South Florida’s best chances for thunderstorms begin Friday night when the forecast calls for 50%, and into Saturday when chances for rain are at 60% — along with a breezy west wind.
Some of these passing storms Saturday could be on the heavy side, the weather service said in a hazardous weather outlook released Tuesday.
The forecast for Miami Gardens calls for temperatures ranging from 71 degrees to 55 on game day. As Super Bowl party week continues with dozens of events, Wednesday and Thursday will be clear with temperatures ranging from 80 degrees in the afternoons to upper 50s nights and dawns before the Friday and Saturday rains.
The rains will bring temperatures down by game day.
The Weather Channel forecast calls for just a 10% chance of rain Sunday with a high of 73 degrees and a low of 51. The National Weather Service in Miami thinks the low will be 59. If you’re going to be among the 60,000-plus at the stadium, you’ll be warmed by all your surrounding seatmates and the excitement. And most Super Bowl parties are indoors, anyway.
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If it rains, the field at Hard Rock Stadium is exposed. CBS Sports prognosticators think this benefits the 49ers.
The Chiefs, they say, “hardly utilize the ground game in contrast to their [Patrick] Mahomes-led aerial attack,” and San Fran’s “offense is usually at its best when Jimmy Garoppolo is merely handing the ball to one of the Niners’ open-field weapons — Raheem Mostert, in the most recent case. Any sort of showers or storms would likely dictate more of a conservative approach, even if only for a part of the action.”
The Friday night and Saturday rain chance, however, could make for a wet ride on the way to the Harry Styles/Lizzo concert Friday and Lady Gaga show Saturday, both to be held at Meridian at Island Gardens on Watson Island in Miami.
This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 10:12 AM.
