This World Cup is going to be hot and at times stormy, with a sizeable chunk of its 104 games set to be played above 90F (32C).Spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, it is likely to be the warmest edition since the last time the tournament was held in North America, when the U.S. hosted it solo in 1994.While extreme heat and humidity will affect how matches are played, thunderstorms could provide the greater logistical challenge.Under the thunderstorm protocol in place in the States, a match must be suspended if lightning or electrical discharge is detected within an eight-mile radius of the stadium involved.Once that happens, a 30-minute countdown begins, but resets if another strike is detected before it ends. Last summer, for example, Chelsea’s Club World Cup game against Benfica in Charlotte, North Carolina, took four hours and 38 minutes to complete after repeated lightning delays.
To help understand which games will be most affected, The Athletic is working with Aaron Mentkowski, chief meteorologist at WKBW-TV Buffalo, to provide a daily forecast. Aaron will join live coverage to explain what’s happening during storm delays.USMNT vs Australia Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington; kick-off at 12pm local time (PT), 3pm (ET) A beautiful day in Seattle for this match. Partly to mostly sunny skies at 12pm with a temperature of 75F (24C).It will be mostly sunny during the game with temperatures warming to near 80F (27C). Winds will be light out of the northwest at 5 miles per hour.Scotland vs Morocco Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts; kick-off at 6pm (ET)Another great forecast as we’ll have mostly sunny skies today in Foxborough.At 6 pm, under blue skies, the temperature will be near 80F (27C) with westerly winds of 5 to 15 miles per hour.Brazil vs Haiti Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; kick-off 8:30pm (ET)Another match that will not be impacted by the weather.Temperatures this afternoon will be near 83F (28C) under sunny skies. The sun will set at 8:32pm and for the start of the game skies will be mainly clear with a temperature near 80F (27C).During the game the temperature will drop to near 75F (28C) with westerly winds at 10 miles per hour.Turkiye vs Paraguay Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California; kick-off 8 pm local time (PT), 11pm (ET)The weather is going to be the winner again today as all four matches will enjoy great weather conditions. Sunny and pleasant today high temperature today of 75 F (28C).At 8 pm skies will be clear with temperatures near 67 F (19C). The sun will set at 8:32pm and at 10pm skies will be clear with a temperature near 62F (17C). Winds will be southwesterly at 5-10 miles per hour.Jun 19, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
