Wind chills near 0 expected during Beaver Stadium hockey games. How to prepare
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wind chills could push feels-like temperatures to near 0 during games.
- Exposed skin during two-and-a-half hour games risks frostbite; bundle up.
- Penn State permits battery-heated gear and blankets inside Beaver Stadium.
State College will see frigid temperatures during Penn State’s inaugural Winter Sports Weekend. Fans will have to bundle up to prevent frostbite during the hours-long hockey games at Beaver Stadium.
Temperatures in the mid- to low-teens are expected, with wind chills bringing the feels-like temperature into the single digits.
“If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the wind won’t be a huge factor,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines. “Having said that, anytime it’s this cold and there’s a little bit of a breeze, you tend to feel that breeze.”
Temperatures in the teens are forecast during the women’s hockey game Friday afternoon, but the air will likely feel near zero due to the wind chill. Temperatures are forecast to be marginally more tame during the men’s game that starts at 1 p.m. Saturday, but pre-game tailgates could see wind chills below zero.
Having exposed skin during the duration of the typical hockey game, around two-and-a-half hours, could result in frostbite, Kines said.
“You know that there’s gonna be someone, whether it’s students or somebody else, that’s gonna be in the stadium with their shirts off during the hockey match,” Kines said. “You know that’s gonna happen.”
Penn State, which is strict with what it allows into Beaver Stadium, clarified in a social media post Tuesday that “battery-heated gear” and blankets would be allowed on site for the event.
The university also said warming stations would be available in the All Sports Museum at the stadium and across the street at Medlar Field. Pegula Ice Arena and the bubble across from the Jeffrey Soccer Complex will also have warming stations.
The stretch of extreme cold, which much of the country is also experiencing, has already prompted area school districts to issue two-hour delays for the entire week and cancel some after-school programs. The freeze has also prevented snow from this weekend’s storm from melting off some roads in Centre County.
This week’s temperatures are well below the upper teens to low 30s typical of late January, Kines said. The extreme cold is expected to taper off early next week, though temperatures aren’t forecast to get above freezing as of Thursday.
