Thunderstorms, possible tornadoes rock South Florida. Will it last until Super Bowl Sunday?
You can spend millions to renovate a football stadium to make it Super Bowl ready — $500 million, in fact for Hard Rock Stadium, host site for Sunday’s Super Bowl 54. You can bet on everything from the Kansas City Chiefs besting the San Francisco 49ers by a slight 1.5 point spread to whether JLo will step on Shakira’s foot during their halftime performance show.
That’s an actual proposition bet offered by one gambling site. Really.
Figuring odds for rain on Super Bowl weekend is something far more serious, however, with big stakes for South Florida leaders hoping to lure the big games more often. But the weather does what the weather will and, as of Friday, forecasters are betting on both a lot of rain and a lot of sun. Fortunately, the wet and nasty stuff — with a long-shot risk of tornadoes — is likely only for Saturday.
On Sunday, the forecast is for clear and cooler and the only chance of JLo tripping over a sopping wet feather boa will be if stagehands miss wiping a spot after Saturday’s rains.
Still, locals, tourists, fans and worldwide media already in town for the game and its week-long bevy of VIP parties and super concerts like Lizzo Friday and Lady Gaga Saturday should prepare for increasing rain chances as early as late Friday.
Chance of tornadoes
Chances of a tornado are as slight as the point spread odds between these two evenly matched football teams. But it’s also enough that the National Weather Service in Miami’s Storm Prediction Center issued a hazardous weather outlook that, among other warnings, mentions the possibility of tornadoes late Friday night into Saturday.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, the areas north of I-75 have about a 2% chance of a tornado, and areas south have a 5% chance.
The tornado talk is due to an ever-increasing chance of potentially strong thunderstorms Friday and Saturday. Earlier in the week, rain chances were given as 40% and 50% on Friday and Saturday, with sunny skies on Super Sunday. By Thursday, the chance for rain and storms in Miami bumped up by 10% on both days.
On a clear, sunny Friday morning, the National Weather Service increased the chances yet again — to 60% Friday night and 70% Saturday.
This is not what organizers want to hear when thousands of people will be on the roads heading to the Super Bowl Music Fest this weekend at downtown Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena or SuperFest Miami Live! in Miami Gardens.
Thunderstorms pre-Super Bowl
Some of the thunderstorms could potentially be “strong to severe,” the weather service said. “Damaging wind, tornadoes, lightning, and flooding are the primary concerns.”
On Friday night, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for much of South Florida until 3 a.m. The weather service is warning of the possibility of tornadoes, marble-sized isolated hail and wind gusts up to 70 mph.
From Miami to Key West, about 5 million people are in the warning area, the weather service said. It is advisable to stay away from your windows while the storm travels overhead.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Chokoloskee and parts of Everglades National Park. The weather service estimates only 215 people live in the area.
Should the storms linger to Sunday night that $500 million investment in the Hard Rock Stadium should keep the crowd dry in their seats — seating is covered in the redesign. But the playing field, where the players and halftime performers romp, is exposed.
But as late as Friday morning, forecasters were not expressing concern about game day. Sunday’s forecast calls for sunny and breezy skies, with a high of only 69 degrees and a low of 57.
These numbers are in line with how cities traditionally earned rights to host a Super Bowl.
Miami weather on previous Super Bowls
The NFL once enforced a strict rule regarding Super Bowl bids. Potential host cities had to show an average temperature above 50 degrees on the scheduled date of the game in order to be eligible, Sports Betting Dime reported. This is probably why Miami-Dade, in its relatively dry and balmy January and February, played host to the Super Bowl 11 times — more than any other city, according to Sportscasting. (New Orleans is second with 10 Super Bowls.)
According to Sports Betting Dime, the average game temperature for Miami’s previous 10 Super Bowls was 66.5 degrees — so Sunday’s projected game time low of 57 puts No. 11 on the chillier end. But not a chance to beat Miami’s coolest hosting gig. That one was Super Bowl X on Jan. 18, 1976. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys when it was 49 degrees that night at the long since departed Orange Bowl.
The average wind conditions for the 10 Miami Super Bowls was 12.1 miles per hour. Sunday’s Super Bowl 54 should see a north wind gusting between 8 mph and 11 mph, the National Weather Service in Miami says.
The weather stipulation was waived in 2010, according to Sports Betting Dime. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said “football is a game meant to be played in the elements.”
And traditionally warm and dry season Miami gave Goodell plenty of elements at Super Bowl 41 at the same Miami Gardens stadium hosting Sunday’s game when kickoff happened in a deluge and nippy 67 degrees on Feb. 4, 2007.
That wettest Super Bowl in 2007 between the victorious Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears led to eight turnovers and a cinematic curtain of rain during halftime performer Prince’s rendition of “Purple Rain.”
But there was one positive byproduct to Mother Nature’s fury. Many call Prince’s halftime show the greatest of all. Certainly better than The Who’s ragged performance the last time Miami Gardens hosted a Super Bowl — on Feb. 7, 2010.
JLo, you’ve been warned. Watch your step. And may the only water on the field be tears of joy after your extravagantly choreographed halftime show with Shakira and guests wraps.
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 11:41 AM.
