If the Friday night lights get dimmed by any more storms in Illinois, folks are gonna start thinking football haters are conspirin’ with Mother Nature. Storms this year have postponed action for hundreds of teams already, and it’s only the second week of the season.
Out of 238 football games on Friday, Sept 5, the Illinois High School Association reported that 59, or about 24.8 percent, were either suspended or postponed.
The National Weather Service (NWS) noted a severe thunderstorm watch until 11 PM Friday for every county in Illinois between Chicago and St Louis. The storm was so severe in north-suburban Northfield that a falling tree landed on a 46-year-old woman, sending her to the hospital in critical condition, NBC Chicago reported.
Only 128 game scores had been reported through the new MaxPreps system the IHSA is using, leaving 51 games without any record at the close of business. Of those 51 games, some are no doubt finished but unreported, although that usually accounts for just a few every week. We suspect many were suspended or postponed as well, without official notice showing up on the IHSA website.
The severe weather was expected to clear on Saturday, leaving behind much cooler air and perhaps a brief shower. As with the games in Week 1, most of the suspended games, we expect, will be finished Saturday.
“Now that a cold front has pushed through the area, some drier and cooler weather can be expected over the weekend,” wrote WAND-TV (NBC affiliate, Decatur). “A lingering shower is still possible early Saturday near I-70, but that chance won’t last long. The sky will clear from northwest to southeast into the afternoon. Highs tomorrow will only reach the middle 70s! High pressure takes over tomorrow night, clearing the sky out and calming the wind. Ideal radiational cooling will take place allowing our temps to crash out into the lower 50s.”
Describe how the NWS could use evidence and scientific understanding of why air masses move to predict where the front edge of the storm might be at 8:15 PM. See Next Generation science standard MS-ESS2-5 for more information.
