With it being hurricane season until late November, those who live in Florida and on the coast of America have to frequently monitor the weather around this time of the season. That’s exactly the case for Week 1 of the NFL season as Hurricane Dorian, which was updated to a category 5 storm, has made landfall in the northwestern Bahamas.
Within the next few days the storm is expected to make its way up the east coast of Florida, then work its way up to Georgia and the Carolinas. With wind gusts reaching up to 180 MPH, the storm is capable of doing some major damage and Jacksonville (alongside many other cities) will be effected to some degree. That, of course, has led many to question how will the storm impact the Jags’ regular season home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
With the storm being very unpredictable at the moment, it appears the Jags are planning to still host it Sunday afternoon at TIAA Bank Field. Per Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star, there weren’t any discussions as of last Thursday about moving the game and no other updates have surfaced to question that.
If Dorian does threaten the game, the NFL, of course, would be ready as they require the traveling team to leave their stadiums unoccupied in case of an emergency. That said, Kansas City might be an option if TIAA Bank Field didn’t host the game.
Per First Coast news, the storm is predicted to be a category 3 when it arrives in Jacksonville. That will include wind gusts up to 75 MPH and six inches of rainfall for those who live on the beach. Power outages are expected for Duval county residents, too, and the city announced that all schools and offices will be closed from Tuesday, September 3 to Wednesday, September 4.
Of course, as more becomes available we’ll be sure to update this post.
