Chiefs vs. Bengals weather updates: How cold is it at Arrowhead Stadium for AFC championship game

Sam Jarden

Chiefs vs. Bengals weather updates: How cold is it at Arrowhead Stadium for AFC championship game image

Late January football means unpredictable and wild weather.

We certainly saw that last weekend in the divisional round. A snowy afternoon in Buffalo proved to be a home field disadvantage for the Bills, who failed to find their rhythm on a slick and icy playing surface in a 27-10 blowout loss to Joe Burrow and the Bengals. 

Burrow and his Cincinnati teammates seemed unfazed by the wintry conditions last time out, but they need to prepare for another chilly game in the conference championship. The weather forecast for Kansas City on Sunday evening doesn't call for any snow, but it does call for frigid temperatures dipping below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. 

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Here's an in-depth look at the weather conditions you can expect this Sunday as the Chiefs host the Bengals for the second year in a row in the AFC Championship:

How cold is it at Arrowhead Stadium?

Per Weather.com, the conditions in Kansas City for the game will be cold but clear.

When the game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. local time), it will be around 23 degrees Fahrenheit. It will start getting slightly colder when the sun sets shortly after kickoff, but only by a few degrees. Temperatures are expected to hover around 20 degrees, dipping into the high teens in the later in the game. 

No snow is expected, so the playing surface at Arrowhead Stadium should be clean and dry throughout the evening. 

It should be noted that Saturday's high is 53 degrees Fahrenheit before dropping to 17 degrees overnight. That's quite a drop in temperature for just one day.

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Will it snow during AFC Championship?

There is no snow expected for the game this weekend. The forecast for the Kansas City area shows no signs of precipitation on Sunday afternoon or night. 

That might be slightly disappointing news for Bengals fans, who watched their team look right at home in the snow last weekend against the Bills. Joe Burrow was at the top of his game despite the elements, racking up 242 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. 

Of course, the Chiefs are no strangers to wintry weather either. Their divisional round matchup against the Jaguars last week was played in cold, wet conditions, but the snow stopped shortly before kickoff and didn't return to the area until after the game had ended. 

Sam Jarden

Sam Jarden Photo

Sam Jarden joined Sporting News as an intern in 2020 and returned as a content producer in 2022. In between, he spent a year and a half at Turner Sports, managing the social media accounts for Bleacher Report, NBA on TNT, NBA TV and others. A proud UNC alumnus, he spends his free time following the Tar Heels, Buffalo Bills and Newcastle United FC, and has been known to occasionally hit the links.