Clemson
Forecast:
“Clemson Tigers,not so scary. Now the Clemson Ligers, look out!”
Chief D-7 Meteorologist Bob Wevodau
I am not going to lie. This may only be the second game of the year for the Terps, but this is pretty much the Super Bowl of tailgating for the 2005 season. Any one who is anyone is going to be there. There is nothing like a Maryland-Clemson D-7 tailgate, who could forget the turtle piñata with my tightly whities inside, or the infamous burning of the Clemson Flag. Now it is back and should be as wild as ever. Oh and there is also a football game that day. Maryland is looking to dish out a little pay back from the horrific pass interference call last year down in South Carolina which pretty much began the Terps tailspin. We are back at Byrd for this game and back in our regular tailgate spot for the first time of the year. This one is really shaping up to be a classic both inside and outside of the stadium. Now on to the weather.
This tailgate, with it’s noon kickoff time will be our first morning tailgate of the season. MMmm, I can already smell the eggs and Bloody Mary’s. The average high for September 10th in College Park, MD is 81F°. The low is about 64F° (3 degrees warmer than the Navy games low??). The record high for the date is 98F° (1983, those were the days) and the record low is 44F° (1883). I for one am not calling on either of those to be broken, maybe if it was 2083.
The Farmers Almanac is calling for a pleasant and unseasonably crisp morning with mild afternoon temperatures. Not too shabby. The cool morning air could lead to some D-7 long-sleeved making their season debut. But I doubt they will be able to go the distance as we should warm up considerably as the day goes on.
The forecast for the September 10, 2005 “Terps-Tigers Tailgating Tussle” game is for great football weather. When you arrive at the parking lot at 6am you will be greated with a slight chill letting you know that the summer is indeed yielding to fall. It shouldn’t be that cold, but will feel chilly compared to the dog days of August. I’m calling for the morning temp to dip into the upper 50’s, say 57 maybe. The afternoon will warm up rather rapidly since the sun is still pretty high in the sky. After a cool start I think we can reach the upper 70’s, I’ll go 79 if you need an exact number. There should also be a nice 5-10 mph breeze kicking up around 10 am or so. Once again in the interest of public safety, I am issuing a sunburn advisory. Not as bad as the Navy game, but something to be aware of once you enter the stadium. Before noon you should be all right.
The game day sunrise for College Park, Maryland on September 10th is for 6:45 am. Keep in mind 6 hours before kick off is 6:00 am which is 45 minutes before sunrise, don’t count on roosters to get you up because you will be late! The sunset is scheduled for 7:24 pm. This also may be a factor since I anticipate plenty of post game tailgating. The moon will be a waxing crescent which everyone knows means about 39% illuminated.
Look here for further updates, as we get closer to game day.
Updated 9/7/05
Holy Crap! I don’t mean to pat myself on the back, but I was looking up the weather for Saturday in order to do an update and the forecast is calling for a high of 79 and a low of 58. The D-7 Tailgate forecast is for a high of 79 and a low of 57. I am starting to buy into my own hype. So the update, which really isn’t an update, but a re-posting of the original is for a great football day with a high around 80 and a low in the upper 50’s. Should make for a good one, oh and don’t forget the sunscreen. Go Terps!
The X-Factor: Just to show you some extremes that could happen and have happened on this particular date in weather history.
- 1919 - A hurricane struck the Florida Keys drowning more than 500 persons. (David Ludlum)
- 1960 - Hurricane Donna struck the Florida Keys, with winds gusting to 180 mph and a thirteen foot storm surge. The hurricane then moved north along the eastern coast of Florida and inundated Naples before moving out to sea. Hurricane Donna claimed fifty lives, injured 1800 others, and caused more than 300 million dollars damage. The Marathon/Tavernier area was almost completely destroyed, and in the Citrus Belt, most of the avacado crop was blown from the trees. Hurricane Donna wreaked havoc from Florida to Maine, with wind gusts to 100 mph along much of the coast. Hurricane Donna produced wind gusts to 121 mph at Charleston SC on the 11th, and wind gusts to 138 mph at Blue Hill Observatory MA on the 12th. The hurricane finally died over Maine two days later, producing more than five inches of rain over the state. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) September 10th, Not a Good Day for the Keys.
- 1987 - A late afternoon thunderstorm roared through Austin TX producing wind gusts to 81 mph, and 2.17 inches of rain in just sixty minutes. The high winds toppled six National Guard helicopters at the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, and damaged or destroyed numerous other aircraft. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
- 1988 - Cool air sweeping into the north central U.S. brought snow to some of the higher elevations of Montana. The town of Kings Hill, southeast of Great Falls, was blanketed with six inches of snow. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
- 1989 - Light snow fell in Montana overnight, with three inches reported at Fairfield. Billings MT reported a record low of 33 degrees. Unseasonably warm weather prevailed in the northeastern U.S., with record highs of 86 degrees at Caribou ME and 90 degrees at Burlington VT. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
***This is a disclaimer to remove all responsibility on myself if this forecast is wrong. Being that it is very difficult to predict the weather greater than 48 hours in advance, the odds of needing this disclaimer are about 100%. However I do believe this forecast will be pretty close to what we can actually look to expect.