Kansas City weather forecast calls for extreme cold in AFC Championship Game between Patriots and Chiefs (updated)
KANSAS CITY, MO – JANUARY 12: Kansas City Chiefs fans walk through the parking lot prior to the AFC Divisional Round playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts at Arrowhead Stadium. (Photo by Jason Hanna/Getty Images)
By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
Note: This post will be updated throughout the week with the latest weather forecasts in Kansas City, Mo. The current high is 27 degrees with a low of 22, as of Thursday.
If the Kansas City weather forecast holds true, Sunday is going to be a really, really cold one between the Patriots and Chiefs.
A quick look at the 10-day forecast at Weather.com is calling for a high of only 15 degrees and a low of 8 degrees on Sunday, when the Patriots will take on the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game at 6:40 p.m. EST. The forecast also calls for sun, so no snow at this point. But 15 degrees is about as cold as it will ever get for either team in the playoffs.
There is, however, a forecast of varying levels of snow for Thursday-Saturday in K.C. So it’s possible that the weather shifts and the teams get a bit of snow on Sunday, too. But there’s no day with a colder outlook than Sunday’s 15-degree high.
KANSAS CITY, MO – JANUARY 12: Fans begin to filter in prior to the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts at the AFC Divisional Round playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. (Photo by Jason Hanna/Getty Images)
And with the game kicking off after sundown, the actual game time temperature is likely to be even lower than 15. Atlanta-area meteorologist Ryan Maue tweeted on Sunday that the possible game time temperatures could range from minus-5 to 10 degrees.
Lot of dark purple on the weather radar hanging right over K.C.:
https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/1084832590387908609
If the game time temperature turns out to be 15 degrees, it would be the coldest playoff game Tom Brady has played since the 2004 AFC Championship Game against the Steelers on Jan. 23, 2005 (per Pro Football Reference). The temp in that game sat at 11 degrees. The Patriots won 41-27.
The coldest playoff game of Brady’s career came in the 2003 divisional round against the Tennessee Titans, which featured an arctic temperature of 4 degrees. The Pats won that game too, 17-14. This would be the third time ever that Brady started a game in a temperature under 20 degrees.
This would easily be the coldest start of Patrick Mahomes’ young career. The temperature sat at 27 degrees in the Chiefs’ Week 14 win over the Ravens. Mahomes went 35-for-53 for 377 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception in that game.
It would be hard to bet on either quarterback faltering because of the cold, but a temperature this low would certainly land this game in exclusive company in Patriots playoff history. The early forecast looks like this game has a chance to break weather records.
UPDATE: Via the Associated Press, an “arctic blast” is set to hit Kansas City. The temperature at kickoff could range from 10 degrees to well below zero. If it’s at zero or below, it would mark the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.
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