KC to be IC

Well this could be interesting.  One of the bonuses of the NFL playoffs is getting to watch teams, especially in northern locations, play in less than desirable conditions.  Bitter cold or heavy snow always make for a good story line.  Ice on the other hand does not.

The Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.  At least that is what the schedule says.  There is only one small problem that nobody could have anticipated.  Kansas City is one of the many cities in the central portion of the U.S. that is under an Ice Storm Warning.  Not only that, the warning for Kansas City begins Friday morning and ends at midnight on Monday.  

This is going to be a major event that is not seen every winter.  To get the type of accumulations they are expecting in the mid-west you have to have all the ingredients come together.  This one has it.  Loads of moisture, a collision of warm air from the gulf and cold air from the north and worst of all a long duration.  

Below is the current forecast for ice amounts through Sunday night.  That's a massive problem.

The Weather Channel shows the potential ice storm and potential outcomes. 

There are instances when people tend to think the media is hyping up an event.  This isn't one of them.  And quite frankly, there have been plenty of instances over the past two weeks when there have been chances to go crazy.  I haven't even had the chance to discuss the mountains of snow that has been piling up in the west.  Most of those places are in the mountains though where that kind of weather isn't that uncommon.  This type of event only brings problems.

If I'm the NFL I strongly consider at the very least changing the time of this game if not the date.  Sunday is the tail end of the event so I'm not sure pushing it off to the night is going to work.  The damage will have been done by then with crews maybe getting a chance on Sunday afternoon to start accessing the damage.  The real reason I consider a change is for the fans.  Not only will they have to worry about getting to the game, but more importantly they will be worrying about their own homes with possible damage from falling trees and the lack of electricity for an extended time.  I know there are likely issues with the amount of time off before the next game but if I have a call, my vote would be to move this to Monday night when the warm air wins out.

Kickoff Forecast:

Saturday:

7:30 AM:  Tottenham vs West Brom (NBC Sports) - 37 degrees, Sunny, Winds 10 MPH

10:00 AM:  Swansea vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports) - 42 degrees, Partly Cloudy, 15 MPH

10:00 AM:  West Ham vs. Crystal Palace (CNBC) - 39 degrees, Sunny, Winds 10MPH

12:30 PM:  Leicester vs. Chelsea (NBC) - 34 degrees, Partly Cloudy, Winds 10MPH

Sunday:

8:30 AM:  Everton vs. Manchester City (NBC Sports) - 47 degrees, Rain Showers

11:00 AM:  Manchester United vs. Liverpool (NBC Sports) - 46 degrees, Cloudy


Some very solid matches heading into the weekend.  Can't rule out some interesting weather either.  Much of England has been dealing with cold temperatures and snowfall.  I don't expect any issues with any of the games above as fields are designed to handle snowfall.  Only issues could be with road conditions, again for supporters and traveling teams.