schulzte 18 Report post Posted December 27, 2008 64 degrees for a high today in Chicago with rain and 40 degree temps to follow, this Winter Classic is looking iffy for New Years Day. They might have to start over again with the ice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MacK_Attack 108 Report post Posted December 27, 2008 (edited) Supposed to be back down in the 30s tomorrow, which will allow them to get the ice back up to standards. Monday is going to be the only iffy day for maintaining ice, even then, the temp. will be around 41F. I don't think it'll be an issue. Supposed to be 28-31F on Thursday. Plus, I read that the ice-making and maintenance system in place can keep the ice surface frozen in temperatures in excess of 70F. They can't paint the lines or white-wash the ice until it stops raining, though. Edited December 27, 2008 by MacK_Attack Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tazer 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2008 Supposed to be back down in the 30s tomorrow, which will allow them to get the ice back up to standards. Monday is going to be the only iffy day for maintaining ice, even then, the temp. will be around 41F. I don't think it'll be an issue. Supposed to be 28-31F on Thursday. Plus, I read that the ice-making and maintenance system in place can keep the ice surface frozen in temperatures in excess of 70F. They can't paint the lines or white-wash the ice until it stops raining, though. 31 degrees and 30% of snow showers on Jan 1. THat should be fine. Rain is the only thing that will hurt us. Looking at the Day before and day after Jan 1. Its 27 degrees Sunny and the day after is 30 degrees snow showers...so if what ever weather is coming is either early or late thats what you can expect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thedisappearer 291 Report post Posted December 27, 2008 I'm in Nebraska. Chicago gets my weather a day later (it was 61 here yesterday). It's 25 degrees and windy. It's supposed to say about this temp for the next week. I think we're all good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrossoverThrash 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2008 Its going to be fine, local news says around 30 few snow showers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jedi 1,865 Report post Posted December 27, 2008 Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports had a pretty good story about the weather issues surrounding the Winter Classic, including the possibility of postponing the game a day. Puck Daddy Love the quote near the end... Despite the gloom from some media, the Jan. 2 contingency is more a concern for rain than slightly above-average temps. Otherwise ... two teams playing on bad ice? In the NHL? Get out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackhawksFan 4 Report post Posted December 27, 2008 Per weather.com: Thu Jan 1 Few Snow Showers 31° 27° Could be a little colder, but that sounds good to me. The next few days won't be rainy like this. All the snow melted today, but tomorrow and forward should provide opportunity to finish up the ice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glubki 17 Report post Posted December 28, 2008 (edited) Never Mind - I just read about the chilling units they put in place - it looks like it wont be an issue... Edited For: Drunken stupidity... Edited December 28, 2008 by Glubki Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheWestWing 71 Report post Posted December 28, 2008 64 degrees for a high today in Chicago with rain and 40 degree temps to follow, this Winter Classic is looking iffy for New Years Day. They might have to start over again with the ice. Sheesh man, where do you get your news? Why not just post in the Panic thread???? 'According to NHL Facilities Operations Manager Dan Craig, the unlikely weather that hit Chicago Saturday has had little to no effect at all on the build-up for the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day. Maybe it set the crew back 12-18 hours, forcing them to wait to shave the ice with a Zamboni and paint it white until Sunday morning instead of doing it Saturday afternoon, but the rain helped and the 60-degree temperature had no affect at all. "We were ahead of schedule and we could even slide one more day if we had to," Craig told NHL.com. "We can go into a normal facility and build a sheet of ice in 48 hours. We are at our base right now. We just have to clean it up and get ready to paint. As soon as Mother Nature gives us the window, we're going to paint." ...When the members of the crew that did arrive Friday got to Wrigley Field in the evening, they didn't like what they saw. Due to the snow, then sleet, then rain and warm weather, there were scattered air pockets just below the ice surface. "What has happened is you have a layer of solid, then your snow and now your sleet, so it's like an Oreo cookie," Craig said. "Wherever there is snow, there is air trapped in there and we need to get water down into there to get rid of that." Craig said the crew was even thinking about melting the entire ice surface and starting from scratch. "There was a choice to be made and if we would have drawn straws (Friday) night the bet would have been we were pulling the sheet (Saturday) and starting over from scratch, which is not that big of a deal," he said. "It happens in other facilities, but it would have been a matter of timing and being able to dispose of it. The way it rained last night, the equipment kept up with it and we're ready to get right at this thing." So, instead of starting over Saturday the crew went onto the ice with drills and started making quarter-inch holes where the air pockets had formed. The base of the ice sheet is still solid, so there was no concern on Craig's end about that. "Where the white spots are there is air, so we drill down about a quarter of an inch and that allows the water to seep down and fill that up," Moffatt said. "It will turn from white to gray and it will be a nice solid sheet." ..."If you look at our schedule, last year at this time we were just laying down the mat and putting sand on the rink and I think we started to build the boards today," Renzulli said. "If you look outside, you can see we're well beyond that. The boards are up and the ice is down. Our network booths are up. The video boards are going up as we speak. We're well beyond where we were last year. Outside of Mother Nature taking a little turn on us we're doing pretty well." The weather forecast for Sunday is promising, with temperatures predicted to be in the high 20s or low 30s and only a 20 percent chance of precipitation. It could be windy, which can have an adverse affect on ice making, but then again, this is Chicago. Craig said it would take roughly 10 hours total to paint the ice white, seal it up "so it doesn't run away from us," and get the lines, circles, dots, trapezoids and logos painted. That's the goal for Sunday. "It all depends on how Mother Nature handles us," he said. "Our guys are prepared to work 24 hours a day. I have the best crew on the continent put together here so I have no worries about it whatsoever." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878 Report post Posted December 28, 2008 I think its a go just the ice may not be the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jwo 7 Report post Posted December 29, 2008 (edited) It was cold today in Chicago. I froze my butt off. Edited December 29, 2008 by Jwo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878 Report post Posted December 29, 2008 Well then that is a plus. Anyone know what the weather is like there today? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackhawksFan 4 Report post Posted December 29, 2008 Well then that is a plus. Anyone know what the weather is like there today? 30's, 40's. No precipitation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovin Jiri Fischer 147 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 On the radio (97.1) I heard them talking about that there's a possibility of it being postponed or cancelled. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrossoverThrash 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 Weather is fine here today, I don't expect the forecast for thursday to change either Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
