CLEVELAND — Game 7 of the World Series means that either the Cubs will snap a 108-year World Series drought, or Cleveland will win it all for the first time in 1948. On Wednesday night, it’s guaranteed to happen. Guaranteed!
Unless . . .
As game time approached, so did rain.
According to the National Weather Service’s afternoon update, “a cold front draped across southern Lower Michigan into Illinois will slowly drift southeastward as a low moves northeast through the area, allowing for increased cloud cover and rain chances tonight. Rain is presently located all across Lower Michigan and the Chicagoland areas and is drifting eastward. Given the warm temperatures from today and the increase in moisture ahead of the front, will probably see precipitation fill in as it moves into Ohio with modest instability.”
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Rain was expected “along the I-71 corridor” which includes Cleveland, “after midnight,” but local TV stations predicted the rain could start as early as 10 p.m. ET. Weather Underground’s estimate was “rain possible at 11:15 p.m.”
Either way, the weather is just a factor to monitor throughout the course of Game 7. Cleveland manager Terry Francona tried to laugh it off in his pregame press conference, saying, “We moved up the start of the game seven minutes, so we’ll be fine.”
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First pitch is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. Temperatures in Cleveland are extremely pleasant, especially for November. The high in the city was 75 degrees on Wednesday, with a forecast of 71 for first pitch.