Super Bowl weather history: Every time rain, wind, cold or snow complicated the big game

James Crabtree-Hannigan

Super Bowl weather history: Every time rain, wind, cold or snow complicated the big game image

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°, Coldest Super Bowl day
53 Feb. 3, 2019 Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium 64°  

James Crabtree-Hannigan