Super Bowl week in Atlanta has begun with mild temperatures but the expectation is they will fall quickly with an icy backdrop in the final hours before Sunday’s big game expected.
The Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots will battle it out for supremacy in the NFL.
And while Bill Belichick’s side are well-accustomed to operating in subzero temperatures, Sean McVay’s side, based in sunny California, are less so, though their home, the Memorial Coliseum, is an outdoor stadium too.
The game itself may or may not be drastically altered by a winter storm expected to move eastwards, as the Mercedes-Benz Stadium has a retractable roof.
A decision is yet to be made, though Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, has stated he hopes the weather will comply enough to make it possible for the game to be played with an open roof.
The storm could coat the streets in ice though, making fans’ commute to the venue hazardous.
National Weather Service meteorologist Sid King says the storm system moving into Atlanta has slowed somewhat, but temperatures could fall to the 20 farenheit or minus seven celcius overnight.
Not even an inch of snow is expected, but emergency officials are fearful of the impact ice on the roads and pavements could have.
Delta Airlines canceled about 175 of Tuesday’s flights in Atlanta because of the possibility.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp closed state offices in more than 30 counties, including the Atlanta area.
The storm comes five years after vehicles were stuck on Atlanta freeways in what became known as “snow jam.”
