Indiana-Notre Dame preview: Snow forecast in South Bend ahead of College Football Playoff game
The game is likely to feature the coldest weather either team has faced during the 2024 football season. The winner of the No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Notre Dame matchup will advance to the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Busiest travel days of season expected this weekend
AAA estimated that nearly 120 million will travel away from home during the holiday season. The weather could interfere with whether flights arrive to destinations on time.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The College Football Playoff series kicks off Friday at Notre Dame Stadium, where fans will brave frigid conditions with wind chill values in the teens.
The FOX Forecast Center calls for temperatures to remain in the 20s for the duration of Friday night's game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Indiana Hoosiers, but wind chill values will make it feel around 10 degrees colder.
The cold weather is courtesy of a fast-moving storm system that developed over southern Canada and swept through the Midwest, leaving behind an average of 3-6 inches of snow.
The frozen precipitation caused hundreds of crashes and dozens of delayed flights on Thursday, impacting major airports like Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport as the storm moved through.
(FOX Weather)
WHEN WAS THE LAST WHITE CHRISTMAS IN MY CITY?
Snow is not expected during the Notre Dame-Indiana game, as most of the precipitation from the clipper system will have exited the region to the east. However, the system will leave behind a fresh snow cover of 1-3 inches in northern Indiana before the game gets underway Friday evening.
For those traveling around the Great Lakes to and from the game, lake-effect snow could occur along the immediate coastlines but is unlikely to reach South Bend, which sits approximately 35 miles from the southern tip of Lake Michigan.
A real concern for the thousands of fans attending the game will be hypothermia or frostbite, which occur when the body loses heat faster than it can produce it. Prolonged exposure to cold temperatures and windy conditions can significantly accelerate heat loss, increasing the risk of serious health effects.
Dressing in loose, warm layers, wearing a hat and scarf and avoiding the consumption of alcohol and caffeine can help you stay warm in potentially dangerously cold conditions.
Weekend games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, and Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, will likely suffer a similar fate with temperatures taking their final cooldown before the Christmas holiday week.
Frostbite vs. hypothermia.
(FOX Weather)
HOW THE WEATHER CAN IMPACT FOOTBALL GAMES
Friday’s expected weather will likely be the coldest either team has faced during the 2024 football season, as both teams have primarily played in warmer conditions this year.
The winner of the College Football Playoff will head to the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in the much warmer city of New Orleans.