What can slow Bolt down? Endless rainfall. Jamaica's Usain Bolt, right, and Ecuador's Alex Quinonez compete in a men's 200-meter semifinal during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics Wednesday in London. DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP Photo
Good thing for the Falcons and the Ravens: The Georgia Dome means their preseason game is indoors. Map provided by the National Weather Service
I am one of three (known) Green Bay Packers fans in this Tulsa World newsroom, so if there's ever a remote chance that I can sneak a Packers reference into a blog, I better take it!
If you are looking for more local weather information,
here's something I wrote up this morning on the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report. It's depressingly bad. If you are interested in the local Tulsa area forecast,
click here.
Now, your sports weather forecasts...
Olympics: Usain Bolt's 200 meter final
If you are like me, you are a bit depressed watching London get endless rainfall and cooler temperatures as our local drought conditions worsen. Plus, it's not ideal for top athletic performance.
However, according to Yahoo, London weather will be perfect for Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's 200 meter final tonight:
"It is actually going to turn into quite a pleasant evening," said Robin Thwaytes, forecasting expert for the Met Office, the United Kingdom's official weather service,
according to Yahoo."It is going to get a little warmer, the temperature will be up to 21 or 22 degrees (70 to 72 degrees Farenheit). There will be no wind and the clouds will have broken, so in every way it is going to be pretty much perfect conditions for a race like this. Earlier, there will be some wind, and most of the day it will be cloudy, but that is going to clear."
NFL preseason: Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills: 6:30 p.m. tonight (all times Oklahoma time)
Ralph Wilson Stadium is an outdoor stadium located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York.
The keyword is "outdoor," because the Buffalo area, according to the National Weather Service, is going to get rained on tonight:
"Occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 66. Northeast wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between 0.5 and 0.75 of an inch possible."
There is also a 60 percent chance of rain in the Buffalo area during the day.
Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons: 6:30 p.m. tonight
Georgia Dome, as the name implies, is a dome, which is a good thing. Check out the weather service's Georgia map to see what weather they might be experiencing otherwise if the game wasn't indoors.
New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots: 6:30 p.m. tonight
Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts is southwest of Boston and also close to Providence, Rhode Island.
The Suffolk County forecast for the area shows partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies tonight with temeperatures in the 60s and 5 to 10 mph winds. Sounds perfect for football!
Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles: 6:30 p.m. tonight
Lincoln Financial Field is in south Philadelphia and like Gillette Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium, is outdoors.
The weather service forecasts a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, which is mostly expected a half-hour after kickoff. Good news for the starters who will probably be out of the game by then, bad news for the backups trying to make the team.
Rainfall amounts between 0.1 and 0.25 of an inch is expected without a thunderstorm, with 7 mph south winds and lows in the mid-70s.
Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears: 7:30 p.m. tonight
Soldier Field is indeed outdoors, near the south side of Chicago.
Alas, that's not good for the teams tonight, as the weather service forecasts occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm. With a 90 percent chance of precipitation, between 0.25 to 0.5 of an inch is expected to fall on Chicago tonight. Winds up to 15 mph might also be troublesome for kickers.
Green Bay Packers at San Diego Chargers: 7:30 p.m. tonight, televised on ESPN
Qualcomm Stadium is an outdoor venue in the Mission Valley area of San Diego.
It looks to be a good night for a football game in that area, with the weather service forecasting a mostly clear night, lows in the 70s and calm 5 mph northwest winds.
--Althea Peterson
