For anyone who watched the game this year, with the puck traveling across rain-soaked, horrible ice, one could only wish that the game would have been somewhere cool and dry. So I got to thinking, how does our weather compare to the cities that have hosted the event? I'm sick and tired of detractors going one way or the other, saying it would probably be too hot and sunny here, or too snowy. So, looking at average temps across the last 64 years for the month of January collected from this site, I summarized what I see as relevant data in the table below.
Buffalo |
Chicago |
Boston |
Pittsburgh |
Denver |
|
Avg Jan High (F) |
31 |
29 |
36 |
35 |
43 |
Avg Jan Low (F) |
18 |
13 |
22 |
20 |
16 |
Avg Jan Precip (in) |
3.0 |
1.7 |
3.8 |
2.8 |
0.5 |
Avg Jan Snow (in) |
23.3 |
10.7 |
12.0 |
11.3 |
8.2 |
Record Jan High (F) |
72 |
65 |
72 |
75 |
73 |
Record Jan Low (F) |
-16 |
-27 |
-12 |
-22 |
-25 |
Avg Evening Rel Humidity (%) |
73 |
66 |
58 |
64 |
49 |
Avg Wind Speed (mph) |
18 |
11 |
16 |
13 |
9 |
About the only somewhat legitimate concern by anyone not wanting to see the game here is in the average daily high temperature. However, given the average low and how it does cool down every evening here, that concern should be minimal. Digging deeper, we have much less precipitation than any city that has hosted the game, less humidity, less snow, and less wind. To me, weather wise, it would be a no-brainer to have a game here (or in Boulder, as I suggested in another post).