Football is notable for being played no matter the weather conditions, but that doesn't mean low temperatures, high precipitation or wind can't make games unpleasant for all involved.
That's why, historically, the NFL has had a significant bias toward warm-weather cities when selecting where to put the biggest game of the year.
Still, of course, Mother Nature hasn't always cooperated. And recently, as dome stadiums have become more common, the warm-weather rule has been loosened.
Here's a rundown of notable Super Bowl weather events, including the number of times it's rained during a Super Bowl, windiest and coldest Super Bowls, snow in the Super Bowl and more.
MORE: Which NFL city has hosted the most Super Bowls?
How many times has it rained during a Super Bowl?
While many Super Bowls have had at least a trace amount of rain detected near the stadium, the only Super Bowl truly played in the rain was Super Bowl 41 in 2007. That game was played in Miami, and the Colts beat the Bears. The showers also helped set the mood for Prince's halftime show, which is widely considered to be one of the best of all time.
Windiest Super Bowl
Wind, of course, can be a bit tough to quantify, but some games stand out above the others.
Super Bowl 14, at the Rose Bowl in 1980, had gusts of up to 30 mph. Super Bowls 18 (Tampa) and 23 (Miami) both had gusts of around 25 mph. There was a gust of 29 mph just before kickoff of 2016's Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco, but less wind during the actual game.
The rainiest Super Bowl was also a rather windy one. The 2007 Miami rainstorm came with gusts of 20 mph.
Coldest Super Bowl played outdoors
Super Bowl 6 was the coldest played outdoors. The game was held at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans on Jan. 16, 2972, when the kickoff temperature was 39 degrees and the high temperature was 43 degrees.
Since 2000, the coldest outdoor Super Bowl was Super Bowl 48 in 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The kickoff temperature was 49 degrees, and the high was 55 degrees.
Has it ever snowed during a Super Bowl?
It has never snowed during a Super Bowl being played outdoors.
The most snowfall for any Super Bowl Sunday was in 2006, when the game was played inside Ford Field in Detroit. There was 1.1 inches of snowfall that day.
There was lots of snow in Arlington, Texas, the week before Super Bowl 45 in 2011, and an ice storm hit Atlanta on the day of Super Bowl 34 in 2000. Another near miss was Super Bowl 48. The Monday following the Super Bowl, about 8 inches of snow fell in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Has a Super Bowl ever been postponed?
No, a Super Bowl has never been postponed or delayed due to weather.
The only Super Bowl delay in history was the 34-minute stoppage caused by the Superdome power outage during Super Bowl 52 in 2013.
Are Super Bowls always in domes?
Most Super Bowls are held outdoors. Of the 54 Super Bowls, 20 have been played in domes.
Since 2000, however, the majority of Super Bowls have been played indoors. Twelve of the past 20 Super Bowls have played indoors, including seven of the past 10.
Twenty of the first 27 Super Bowls were played outdoors. The first domed Super Bowl was Super Bowl 12 in the Superdome in 1978.
Super Bowl weather history
Game | Date | City, stadium (bold if indoors) | Kickoff temperature | Notes |
1 | Jan. 15, 1967 | Los Angeles, L.A. Coliseum | 72° | |
2 | Jan. 14, 1968 | Miami, Orange Bowl | 68° | |
3 | Jan. 12, 1969 | Miami, Orange Bowl | 73° | Light rain during game |
4 | Jan. 17, 1970 | New Orleans, Tulane Stadium | 61° | 0.57 inches of gameday rain |
5 | Jan. 17, 1971 | Miami, Orange Bowl | 70° | |
6 | Jan. 16, 1972 | New Orleans, Tulane Stadium | 39° | |
7 | Jan. 14, 1973 | Los Angeles, L.A. Coliseum | 84° | |
8 | Jan. 13, 1974 | Houston, Rice Stadium | 50° | |
9 | Jan. 12, 1975 | New Orleans, Tulane Stadium | 46° | |
10 | Jan. 18, 1976 | Miami, Orange Bowl | 57° | |
11 | Jan. 9, 1977 | Pasadena, Calif., Rose Bowl | 58° | |
12 | Jan. 15, 1978 | New Orleans, Superdome | 70° | |
13 | Jan. 21, 1979 | Miami, Orange Bowl | 71° | Light rain |
14 | Jan. 20, 1980 | Pasadena, Rose Bowl | 67° | |
15 | Jan. 25, 1981 | New Orleans, Superdome | 72° | |
16 | Jan. 24, 1982 | Pontiac, Mich., Silverdome | 72° | |
17 | Jan. 30, 1983 | Pasadena, Rose Bowl | 61° | |
18 | Jan. 22, 1984 | Tampa, Tampa Stadium | 68° | Wind gusts up to 25 mph |
19 | Jan. 20, 1985 | Stanford, Calif., Stanford Stadium | 53° | |
20 | Jan. 26, 1986 | New Orleans, Superdome | 70° | |
21 | Jan. 25, 1987 | Pasadena, Rose Bowl | 76° | |
22 | Jan. 31, 1988 | San Diego, Jack Murphy Stadium | 61° | |
23 | Jan. 22, 1989 | Miami, Joe Robbie Stadium | 76° | Wind gusts up to 25 mph |
24 | Jan. 28, 1990 | New Orleans, Superdome | 72°, 67° | |
25 | Jan. 27, 1991 | Tampa, Tampa Stadium | 71° | |
26 | Jan. 26, 1992 | Minneapolis, Metrodome | 73°, 26° | |
27 | Jan. 31, 1993 | Pasadena, Rose Bowl | 61° | |
28 | Jan. 30, 1994 | Atlanta, Georgia Dome | 72°, 44° | |
29 | Jan. 29, 1995 | Miami, Joe Robbie Stadium | 76° | |
30 | Jan. 28, 1996 | Tempe, Ariz., Sun Devil Stadium | 68° | |
31 | Jan. 26, 1997 | New Orleans, Superdome | 67° | |
32 | Jan. 25, 1998 | San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium | 67° | |
33 | Jan. 31, 1999 | Miami, Pro Player Stadium | 73° | |
34 | Jan. 30, 2000 | Atlanta, Georgia Dome | 72°, 34° | Ice storm |
35 | Jan. 28, 2001 | Tampa, Raymond James Stadium | 65° | |
36 | Feb. 3, 2002 | New Orleans, Superdome | 72°, 56° | |
37 | Jan. 26, 2003 | San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium | 81° | Hottest Super Bowl |
38 | Feb. 1, 2004 | Houston, Reliant Stadium | 59° | |
39 | Feb. 6, 2005 | Jacksonville, Fla., Municipal Stadium | 59° | |
40 | Feb. 5, 2006 | Detroit, Mich., Ford Field | 68°, 30° | 1.1 inches of gameday snowfall |
41 | Feb. 4, 2007 | Miami Gardens, Dolphin Stadium | 67° | Rainiest Super Bowl; 0.92 inches on gameday |
42 | Feb. 3, 2008 | Glendale, Ariz., Univ. of Phoenix Stadium | 70°, 61° | |
43 | Feb. 1, 2009 | Tampa, Raymond James Stadium | 66° | |
44 | Feb. 7, 2010 | Miami Gardens, Sun Life Stadium | 60° | |
45 | Feb. 6, 2011 | Arlington, Texas, Cowboys Stadium | 52° | Snowstorm during week before game |
46 | Feb. 5, 2012 | Indianapolis, Lucas Oil Stadium | 44° | |
47 | Feb. 3, 2013 | New Orleans, Mercedes-Benz Superdome | 71° | |
48 | Feb. 2, 2014 | East Rutherford, N.J., MetLife Stadium | 49° | |
49 | Feb. 1, 2015 | Glendale, Univ. of Phoenix Stadium | 66° | |
50 | Feb. 7, 2016 | Santa Clara, Calif., Levi's Stadium | 76° | 29 mph gust before kickoff |
51 | Feb. 5, 2017 | Houston, NRG Stadium | 76° | |
52 | Feb. 4, 2018 | Minneapolis, U.S. Bank Stadium | 70°, 2° | Coldest Super Bowl day |
53 | Feb. 3, 2019 | Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium | 64° |