If the predictions of one almanac are correct, we could be in for the coldest Super Bowl ever when the AFC and NFC champions square off on Feb. 2, 2014, in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Farmer's Almanac, a 197-year-old publication based in Maine, hits newsstands Monday. And along with a host of useful gardening tips and corny jokes, the Almanac has some ominous news for football fans and residents of the Northeast. The Almanac is predicting a colder-than-normal winter for two-thirds of the country and heavy snowfall in the Midwest, Great Lakes and New England. That includes a winter storm expected to hit the Northeast around the time of the Super Bowl.
"It really looks like the Super Bowl may be the Storm Bowl," said Sandi Duncan, the Almanac's managing editor.
Using a secret formula based on planetary positions, sunspots and lunar cycles, the Almanac has been used by farmers, gardeners and wedding planners alike since its first publication in 1818. While the scientific reliability of the Almanac is questionable, it says its forecasts have been used to plant gardens and plan weddings correctly around 80 percent of the time.
While the league is surely prepared for a cold Super Bowl, it will be interesting to see how the NFL will handle a game played in freezing weather. This will be the first outdoor Super Bowl staged in a cold weather environment. The coldest Super Bowl ever was played in 1972 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, when the Cowboys knocked off the Dolphins in 39-degree weather.
On Feb. 2, 2013, the high in East Rutherford, N.J. was 29 degrees and the low was 19.
