Associated Press
Temperatures in the teens, wind chills near zero, maybe even a snow shower. Now thatís a real Winter Classic.
Frosty forecasts were in play Sunday for the AFC and NFC championship games, with players and fans ready to bundle up in Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Could be around 13 degrees at kickoff when the New York Jets take on the Steelers at Heinz Field. Might drop to about 8 under partly skies by the time they finish well after dark.
ěItís shaping up as one of the coldest games here that I can remember,î meteorologist Brad Rehak of the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh said Friday. ěGoing back to the 1970s with the Raiders-Steelers games.î
Rehak would know ó heís a longtime Steelers season ticket-holder who plans to be in the stands.
Wind chills, he said, would be about zero all game.
Quite a bit colder than when the NHL held its annual Winter Classic game at Heinz Field on Jan. 1. It was 50 degrees and rainy during Washingtonís win over the Penguins.
The conditions figure to be a bit warmer in Chicago when the Green Bay Packers play the Bears at Soldier Field. Maybe in the upper teens for the afternoon kickoff with wind chills in the upper single digits, and possibly some brief, passing flurries.
ěIt wonít be something like the legendary Ice Bowl,î said meteorologist Richard Castro of the National Weather Service in suburban Chicago.
ěBesides, the Packers and Bears are used to this. I always figure football players are accustomed to inclement weather,î he said.