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Headed to the NHL Stadium Series outdoor game at Ohio State? Here's the weather forecast
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- Headed to the NHL Stadium Series outdoor game at Ohio State? Here's the weather forecast
This story has been updated to correct a forecast.
Hockey fans wary of attending a game outside, where water, ice and lightning can descend from the sky, should have nothing to fear Saturday in the Blue Jackets' first outdoor game experience at Ohio Stadium, according an early forecast from the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
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The Blue Jackets will face the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium, which is home to Ohio State's national championship football team and more commonly known around Columbus as simply "The Shoe."
While temperatures are expected to get into the 50s this week, the forecast for Saturday's game dips down a bit despite partly sunny skies. Expect high temperatures near 45, according to a seven-day forecast from the NWS.
The NHL's ice rink can be maintained in temperatures up to 70 degrees , so do not expect any melting ice from it being above freezing.
Here is what is in store from the weather for the rest of the week.
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How does weather impact outdoor NHL games?
The biggest challenges at most NHL outdoor venues are rain and bright sunshine creating glares off the ice, which the league accounted for with the game's 6 p.m. start time Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Sunset is at 6:24 p.m. that day, which means precipitation is the biggest weather hurdle to monitor.
The Weather Channel's forecast for Saturday varies from the NWS and includes a 16% chance of precipitation during the day and 6% chance of precipitation at night with a temperature range of 42 degrees as a high and 20 degrees as a nighttime low. Accounting for wind conditions with a range of 11-16 miles per hour, conditions could feel like 35 degrees during the day and 20 degrees at night.
The six-day forecast includes a range of 63-69% for cloud cover Saturday, so the biggest weather issue could be wind. During the day, winds are expected to gust up to 16 mph moving West to East, shifting at night to 10 mph moving northwest to southwest.
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AccuWeather's forecast is similar with a couple variations, including an "evening" temperature of 28 degrees that feels like 24 degrees, a 14% probability of precipitation, 7 mph winds from the North with gusts up to 17 mph and 87% chance of cloud cover.
The rink runs North-South at Ohio Stadium, just like the football field, so the team that first defends the South end's net may have a slight headwind in the first and third periods.
Columbus weather for the week of Feb. 24, 2025
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Monday:It will be partly sunny with a high near 52. Wind gusts as high as 28 miles per hour are possible.
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Monday Night:There is a chance of showers, mainly after 3 a.m. It will be cloudy with a low around 36. The chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch are possible.
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Tuesday: There is a chance of showers, mainly before 8 a.m. It will be cloudy, then it will gradually become mostly sunny with a high near 52. The chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch are possible.
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Tuesday Night: It will be partly cloudy with a low around 33.
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Wednesday: There is a slight chance of rain after 1 p.m. It will be partly sunny with a high near 58. The chance of precipitation is 20%.
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Wednesday Night: Rain is likely. It will be mostly cloudy with a low around 41. The chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch are possible.
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Thursday: It will be mostly cloudy with a high near 47.
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Thursday Night: It will be mostly cloudy with a low around 31.
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Friday: It will be partly sunny with a high near 46.
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Friday Night: It will be mostly cloudy with a low around 37.
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Saturday: It will be partly sunny with a high near 45.
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Saturday Night: It will be mostly cloudy with a low around 24.
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Sunday: It will be mostly sunny with a high near 38.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: NHL Stadium Series weather at Ohio State: Blue Jackets vs Red Wings
