The window of the 10-day forecasts finally has encompassed February 2.
In most years, it’s Groundhog Day. This year, it’s also Super Sunday -- with the game to be played in conditions that could be bad enough to keep Punxsutawney Phil indoors.
According to Weather.com, the newly-released February 2 forecast calls for a high of 35, a low of 25, and a 30-percent chance of snow. Also, winds will be manageable, at only eight miles per hour.
At Accuweather.com, the high and the low are one degree higher, with a note that snow showers are “possible.”
The best news is that, for now, the forecast doesn’t include the kind of storm that could prompt the NFL to change the date or time of the game. As NFL senior executive Eric Grubman recently explained it, the league would move the time of the game with at least 24 hours of advance notice. The date of the game would change only with 36 hours of advance notice. Ideally, the league would prefer 72 hours -- three full days -- to move the game.
The league previously has said that the contingency plans include moving the game to Saturday, February 1, Monday, February 3, or Tuesday, February 4. The worst-case scenario would entail bumping the game to the following weekend.
In late 2010, the NFL moved a Sunday night game between the Vikings and Eagles to Tuesday night, due to a major blizzard that hit Philadelphia. Asked at the time whether the development made the NFL regret giving a Super Bowl to New Jersey, a league spokesman declared that the NFL is the “ultimate reality show.”
For now, the chances of an ultimate degree of reality unfolding on February 2 are slim.