​The World Cup has repeatedly been interrupted by weather, with heat being the most common cause. Mexico’s match against England faced a delay due to lightning, and three additional games were postponed because of storms. Experts have studied how hot conditions affect sports, especially at the World Cup. NPR examined past temperature records to identify which games were most likely to be delayed by heat, finding that American cities such as Houston and Dallas, and to a lesser extent New York and Philadelphia, were particularly vulnerable. In fact, a heat dome recently drove temperatures up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the Northeast. Donal Mullan, a climate scientist at Queen’s University Belfast, told NPR that players can overheat, and match officials are also at risk.
Outdoor professional sports have seen weather-related delays that in some instances were severe enough to force relocation or postponement by a day. The following highlights illustrate some of the most notable cases across different sports. In the NFL, Hurricane Irma in 2017, a Category 5 storm, formed on August 30 and dissipated on September 15. A game between the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, scheduled for September 10 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, was postponed until November 19 due to the storm.
Hurricane Ida in 2021, another Category 4 hurricane, formed on August 26 and dissipated on September 5. It caused 112 fatalities and about $95 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history. The storm led to the cancellation of a St. Louis Cardinals–New Orleans Saints preseason game and forced the Saints’ season opener against the Green Bay Packers to be relocated to Jacksonville.
In the NFL’s history, a Buffalo snowstorm in 2022—part of the lake-effect winter pattern—caused the Cleveland Browns’ game against the Bills to be moved to Ford Field in Detroit. That game was played on November 20. A separate blizzard in Buffalo in 2024, with sustained winds around 60 mph, compelled the NFL to push the Buffalo Bills–Pittsburgh Steelers playoff game from Sunday to Monday, marking the first weather-based playoff postponement since 2016.
In Major League Baseball, routine rain postponements occur in roughly 2% of all games each year, but MLB has endured far more dramatic weather events. Hurricane Milton in 2024, which formed on October 5 and dissipated on October 12 as a Category 5 storm striking Florida’s west coast south of Tampa, forced the Tampa Bay Rays to relocate their 2025 home games to a minor-league park in St. Petersburg after the roof was ripped off Tropicana Field on October 10.
Golf has also experienced significant disruption from weather. The Masters in 2024 was among the most weather-disrupted editions of any of the four majors in modern history, with storms delaying the opening round and necessitating completion the following day.