Some of you are learning more about nor’easters than you ever thought you needed to know. Weather.gov defines a nor’easter as a storm along the East Coast of North America, so called because the winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast. These storms are most frequent and most violent from September to April and we’ve got one coming that has already impacted the sports calendar and will impact some individual games while they are being played.
Some nor’easters bring rain, some bring snow, and some bring both. While we still have warm temps on land and in the ocean, this one is going to bring rain. But, the constant among virtually all nor’easters is wind. Coastal flooding is expected as a result of this storm, but even areas that aren’t going to get soaked are going to feel the effects of Mother Nature.
MLB Games Impacted by the Nor’easter
Cubs vs. Red Sox:The Red Sox and Cubs, who are both playoff-bound, were set to play Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Fenway Park in a series that doesn’t really matter for Boston, but does matter for Chicago in terms of seeding for the NL Playoffs.
Major League Baseball made the decision to alter the schedule to where the teams will play a split-doubleheader on Friday, with Game 1 at 1:05 p.m. ET and Game 2 at 6 p.m. ET. Then the teams will play on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET, at least as of now, but this modified schedule may not work out either. The forecasted winds show gusts up 35-40 mph throughout the day on Friday and Saturday with a whole lot of rain. The rain is slated to be the heaviest Saturday night into Sunday morning.
If the teams are able to get the games in, Sunday’s off day could be a huge advantage with the playoffs beginning on Tuesday. If the games cannot be played, we’ll see what MLB decides to do. It really depends on what happens with the NL Wild Card standings.
Orioles vs. Yankees: The Orioles/Yankees series is likely to be impacted by the weather as well, but that series doesn’t really have any bearing on the playoff picture in the AL. The Yankees have already locked up the top Wild Card spot and thus these games can be canceled with no issue. If the teams finish with 159 games, that is still more than 98% of the scheduled games, so win total bets should be honored at DraftKings, Fanduel, and others.
College Football Games Impacted by the Nor’easter
There are no changes to the schedule, but there could be some betting opportunities as a result of the weather.
Army (-3, 48) at Temple: Philly will get some effects from the storm, though not much. Friday night’s Army/Temple game may get some wind gusts up to 25 mph with sustained winds around 15 mph. Rain may impact the game a bit. Obviously wind has very little effect on Army with their offensive scheme. We’ll see if it impacts the Owls.
Howard at Rutgers (-44.5, 56.5): A similar story here in Piscataway, NJ, where these two teams will have some wind to contend with, though there might be a little bit more rain in the forecast. The total on this game had moved up slightly at DraftKings as of Wednesday night, but we could see that swing the other way if the forecast gets any worse or bettors speculate on the impact that it could have.
Virginia Tech (-14, 48.5) at Boston College: This is the biggest example of the weather impact this week, as this total had dropped 5.5 points from where it had opened at Circa on Sunday. Wind gusts will be pushing 40 mph in Chestnut Hill, MA, with sustained winds in the 20 mph range. Fortunately, Alumni Stadium is an AstroTurf field, so it won’t be a big mud puddle from the overnight and early-morning rains, but it’s supposed to start raining late Friday night and rain all day on Saturday. Thunder isn’t in the forecast, really, so we shouldn’t have a lightning delay, but you never know.
UCLA (-1.5, 56) at Maryland: No precipitation here, but wind gusts are forecasted to hang around in the 20-25 mph range until about 6 p.m. in College Park. With this game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET, the breezes could throw some deep balls off-line. This total rose quickly on Sunday when it opened and has gradually gone down from 59.5 to 56.5 as of Wednesday night.
Wisconsin at Penn State (-10, 44.5): This game has the possibility for some 25 mph gusts with a 5 p.m. ET local kickoff. Rain isn’t expected to be a factor at all, but breezes could impact play selection a tad in Happy Valley.
Expect impacts to FCS games New Hampshire vs. Sacred Heart (Fairfield, CT), Lehigh vs. Penn (Philly), Stony Brook vs. Fordham (Bronx, NY), Presbyterian vs. Marist (Fairfield, NY), Colgate vs. Villanova (Philly), New Haven vs. Merrimack (New Andover, MA)
NFL Games Impacted by Nor’easter
Titans vs. Giants (-3, 39.5): There are some other games with moderately questionable conditions, but none quite like this one in the Meadowlands. The wind should die down a bit over the course of the game, but we’re looking at gusts pushing 30 mph with some residual rain. Not surprisingly, the total has fallen into the 30s, with piggybackers likely to push it down further as kickoff approaches.
