Will Grammy stars be doused by atmospheric river storm? Other Southern California events already rescheduled
Heavy rains and strong wind from an atmospheric river is heading south along the California coast and has already impacted high profile events like NASCAR and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
'Life threatening flooding' headed for Los Angeles
FOX Weather is tracking the latest atmospheric river to make landfall in California. High winds, heavy rain, flash flooding and mudslides are extremely likely from Santa Barbara through Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES – Music superstars take extra care to get ready for "Music's Biggest Night" as the NWS warns them of "life-threatening and damaging flooding." An atmospheric river-fueled storm is making landfall in California with potentially record-breaking rainfall and gale-force winds.
"Very heavy" rain and thunderstorms are forecast to hit Downtown Los Angeles, home to the Crypto.com Arena hosting the 66th annual Grammy Awards, just after the ceremony starts. Even the glamorous red carpet walk will be soggy, with the NWS calling for "heavy rain" for the city from noon through the start of the show.
File: Taylor Swift drops one of her awards during the 52nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California on January 31, 2010.
(VALERIE MACON/AFP / Getty Images)
NASCAR events moved due to atmospheric river storms
Mother Nature has already bumped NASCAR.
"Due to the threat of unprecedented severe weather on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Mexico Series race events for the Clash have been moved to Saturday night," NASCAR officials said in a statement. "We appreciate our fans, partners, and everyone associated with this event on this unprecedented event."
NASCAR opened the grandstands for free admission and is working with anyone who bought tickets for Sunday to refund or credit them, according to FOX Sports.
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NASCAR races pushed due to atmospheric river
NASCAR transformed the L.A. Memorial Coliseum into a NASCAR track for the weekend. Live-threatening flooding forecasts for Sunday forced organizers to run the races on Saturday.
The 150-lap event is unusual in that organizers laid out a temporary quarter-mile track inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which some call "The Greatest Stadium in the World." It has hosted several Olympic opening ceremonies, a Super Bowl, music concerts and even a Pope's mass.
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am suspends play on Sunday
The atmospheric river even elbowed the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Golf tournament out of the weekend. Organizers initially just closed the course to spectators and volunteers and delayed the start of play. By late morning, they scrapped any plans of play in the wind and rain.
"The final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has been postponed to Monday, February 5, due to inclement weather and safety concerns," said the PGA in a statement.
"The wind is our biggest concern right now for safety," Gary Young, the PGA TOUR’s chief referee, told Golf Channel on Saturday night. "I think we’ve made pretty good adjustments to green speeds that we could probably keep balls at rest up until about 40 mph. Once we get north of that, it’s going to be pretty difficult. If we get those rain amounts I’m talking about, that will probably play into the decision as well."
Listen to the wind scream as this official tries to explain course conditions.
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Monday tee times are scheduled between 8 and 10 a.m. But, Young continued, "We’re already dealing with a very soggy golf course and at that point, we’re making the decision whether or not we think that the standards for professional golf are there."
If play does not commence by 10:15 on Monday, the final round will be scrapped and the current leader will be declared the winner. Saturday's play finished with Wyndham Clark in a one-stroke lead after tying the course record.
Rain delayed last year's Pro-Am until Monday as well. The last time the PGA canceled the last round of a tournament was the 2016 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.