ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — There are two potential impacts Mother Nature could bring to One Bills Drive this weekend. So far, one's nearly a guarantee and the other is something Storm Team 2 will be monitoring as we get closer to kickoff.
The first is the breeze. The southwesterly breeze that moved in Saturday will continue Sunday. Look for winds out of the southwest both days between 10 to 20 mph with wind gusts up to 30 mph along the lakefront. This may make for some challenging field goals for Tyler Bass and there might be few deep passes down the field.
The second is rain. Isolated showers and even storms are in the forecast Sunday, but timing is everything. It's likely that isolated showers will be in the vicinity of the stadium Sunday morning and afternoon. These should be light in nature, though, and not last long.
However, strong to severe storms are in the forecast Sunday evening. These will develop ahead of and along a cold front that will drape from north to south across Western New York that night. This is something fans and anyone with outdoor plans after the game will want to start keeping tabs on beginning at halftime.
Storms could develop and move in as early as 6 p.m., so this is something tailgaters should be aware of. These storms could pack a punch too with strong winds, heavy rain, small hail and lots of lightning.
All this being said, passing showers cannot be ruled out during the game Sunday, but any storm activity should hold off until later in the evening. Otherwise, this will be one of the warmest home openers in years for Buffalo with high temperatures in the upper 70s Sunday afternoon.
The Bills and Steelers are scheduled to kick off a new NFL season at 1 p.m. Sunday.
RELATED VIDEO:
