In case you've been buried under a rock this week, you might have heard a thing or two about the low temperatures. As it currently stands, the weather forecast is projecting between 0 and -5, depending on where you look. Even if it's a couple degrees warmer or colder, I think we can all agree it'll be crazy cold.
While it will be cold, and I won't even begin to pretend that I can handle that kind of cold, I don't think it will necessarily be the end of the world. For purposes of just the cold, the field itself should be relatively fine. Lambeau Field includes 30 miles of radiant heating pipes which can "maintain a root-zone temperature of 55-plus degrees". It won't make things warm for the players, but it would seem to keep the field in relatively good shape. And it would seem to indicate that the "frozen tundra" does not in fact actually freeze anymore.
The forecast indicates a 20 percent chance of snow. If the snow comes in, that could make things a little more interesting with regard to footwork. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio met with the media and said that he figure the game could be a normal one at a slightly slower pace, or there could be a lot of slipping and sliding. The one thing that will definitely be impacted by the cold is that the football will feel harder.
Of course, then I see this. If there is no precipitation it's do-able, but it's still gonna be really cold.
Arctic blast will now arrive Sunday. Look at the expected wind chill for the @packers game. pic.twitter.com/9AAndslDCq
— Mark Baden (@Mark_Baden) January 2, 2014