Super Bowl LVI May Be the Hottest on Record

This weekend, the Los Angeles Rams will face the Cincinnati Bengals, which may be the hottest Super Bowl game yet. 

Super Bowl LVI will be at LoFi Stadium in California, the first game in southern California for nearly two decades. 

Tomorrow.io forecasts currently say conditions at the stadium will be mostly clear to partly cloudy, with temperatures in the lower 80s during the pregame. Temperatures will then fall closer to 70 degrees during the game. 

The other two hottest Super Bowl games also occurred in Southern California. Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003 in San Diego reached 82 degrees, and 1973’s Super Bowl VII in Los Angeles was also 82 degrees. 

In honor of the Super Bowl coming up, we’re taking a look back on times the weather put a damper on Super Bowl festivities. 

5 Times the Weather Almost Canceled the Super Bowl 

Super Bowl VI (1972) 

Super Bowl VI goes down as the coldest Super Bowl played outdoors in NFL history. Held at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, the kickoff temperature was a chilly 39℉. Typically, January temperatures in New Orleans are reasonably warm, usually into the 60s. However, with no stadium dome or crowds, the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins had to deal with the chilly temperatures. 

Super Bowl XVI (1982) 

Super Bowl XVI in Pontiac, Michigan, was cold and snowy! Unlike Super Bowl VI, players and fans were protected inside the Pontiac Silverdome. The weather did cause a few headaches with travel, though. Gameday brought freezing rain, minus 21℉ wind chills, and high winds, making travel difficult for fans and players. One of the 49ers’ buses got stuck in traffic, so players didn’t arrive until 90 minutes before kickoff. However, this delay didn’t stop the 49ers from beating the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Super Bowl XLI (2007) 

Super Bowl XLI — the year Prince performed “Purple Rain” in the pouring rain. Winters in Florida typically stay dry, but not in 2007. On February 4, a storm moved into the Miami area on Super Bowl Sunday, bringing torrential rains and heavy winds. About 0.92 inches of rain fell, creating sloppy conditions on the field for the playing teams — the Colts and the Bears. The wet grass and wet ball resulted in eight turnovers and five fumbles. Not to mention that Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) was roofless at the time, also leaving fans drenched.  

Super Bowl XLV (2011) 

The week before the Super Bowl is typically one big party. Not in 2011. Back-to-back snowstorms in Dallas coated the area with ice and plunged temperatures into the teens. As a result, hundreds of flights were canceled in and out of the city, leaving several paying fans rather unhappy. Thankfully, the stadium thawed just in time for the Packers to defeat the Steelers. 

Super Bowl XLVIII (2014) 

Scheduled for Groundhog Day, Super Bowl XLVIII was destined to include miserable weather. The 2014 Farmers’ Almanac predicted a major storm would hit New Jersey at the beginning of February. Fortunately, weather-wise, the Broncos and Seahawks played their game without a hitch. After the game, though, a blizzard dropped more than half a foot of snow, delaying flights and keeping fans stuck in New Jersey. 

Read more on how weather intelligence neutralizes the weather’s impact during major sporting events.