TAMPA, Fla. — The sound of a few rumbles of thunder could happen well in advance of the booming cannons at the Bucs game Sunday.
A big-time winter storm is forecast to swoop down from the Midwest and into the Southeast and along the east coast over the weekend, bringing a good amount of snow and wind along its path. When all is said and done, parts of the western Carolinas could be measuring snow in the feet!
In the Tampa Bay area, of course, it won't get cold enough for flakes to fly. Instead, showers and scattered storms will line up along a cold front late Saturday night into Sunday morning and move into the region.
Some of those thunderstorms could be on the strong to severe side. The chance of severe weather isn't great — a marginal risk or level one of five from the Storm Prediction Center — but there's enough of a possibility for damaging winds. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out, either, especially overnight into very early Sunday morning.
Sounds pretty dicey for the Bucs vs. Eagles matchup, right? Nope. So far, so good: The home team and guests will likely avoid the bulk of the messy weather by the 1 p.m. kickoff and enjoy increasing sunshine well after the cold front passes earlier in the day.
The temperatures won't be too bad, but they'll be dropping well into the game in the wake of the cold front. Cooler air will usher in from some west to west-northwest winds at a brisk 20-25 mph or so.
Expect mostly sunny skies and cooler conditions to start the new week.
