Frigid -16C or muggy 28C? How Super Bowls stack up through history
Holding the mammoth championship game in the middle of winter poses a unique set of challenges for the competing teams
The Super Bowl is one of the world’s biggest events, packing stadiums with tens of thousands of roaring fans while millions more watch and party from home.
Weather is an underrated player in these championship games. How do you protect 73,000 people from temperatures in the minus double digits? And how is it that the coldest Super Bowl on record unfolded on the Gulf Coast?
DON’T MISS: New Orleans celebrates, Canada shivers on Super Bowl Sunday
The Super Bowl started in 1967
The National Football League (NFL) started its iconic championship game on Jan. 15, 1967. Thermometers reached a toasty 22.2°C that evening at the Los Angeles Coliseum when the Green Bay Packers powered to win the inaugural title over the Kansas City Chiefs.
This weekend will see Super Bowl LIX unfold in New Orleans as the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off to earn the coveted rings.
Even though the Caesars Superdome is an indoor arena, weather won’t be a problem coming or going with above-seasonal temperatures on the big day.
Holding a mammoth event in the middle of the winter is a risky gamble. The NFL usually gets around that pesky seasonal worry by holding the Super Bowl in warm southern cities—or in northern cities that have indoor stadiums.
California hosted the warmest Super Bowl
Given the weather this time of year, it’s no wonder that 41 of the 59 championship games have been played in Florida (17), California (13), or Louisiana (11).
The warmest big game on record was Super Bowl VII on Jan. 14, 1973, which saw the Miami Dolphins score a decisive victory over the team from Washington, D.C.
Temperatures at kickoff that mid-January day reflected sunny southern California’s climate, coming in at a cozy 28.8°C according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Louisiana and Minnesota held the coldest games
Out of all the northern cities in which they’ve held the Super Bowl—including Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and just outside New York City—it turns out that this year’s host city once hosted the coldest outdoor title game.
Super Bowl VI unfolded on Jan. 16, 1972 at New Orleans’ old Tulane Stadium, an open-air arena that exposed visitors and players alike to the elements.
RELATED: From blizzards to bats: 6 games played in ridiculous weather
A cold snap gripping the U.S. that day sent morning temperatures plunging to -26°C in Chicago and -11°C in Atlanta, with subfreezing readings all the way to the Gulf Coast. Kickoff in New Orleans that evening saw temperatures dip to 3.8°C, making for the coldest outdoor game in history.
It’s been even colder on Super Bowl Sunday. Fans shivered on their way to watch Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minn., on Feb. 4, 2018. Conditions inside U.S. Bank Stadium came in at a comfortable 21.1°C despite readings outside the stadium falling to -16.6°C by kickoff.
New Orleans is a city rich in history
Founded by French settlers in the early 1700s, New Orleans is famous for a party atmosphere—which truly shines during Mardi Gras—fuelled by its rich musical history. (Jazz was born in the Big Easy, after all.)
A solid swath of the city resides below sea level, an engineering feat of both levees and drainage pumps installed in the early 20th century. Hurricanes and rainstorms have occasionally overwhelmed New Orleans’ intricate drainage system—including the infamous levee failures after Hurricane Katrina.
New Orleans sweats in muggy air throughout the year. The heart of the summer features an average high temperature of about 33°C with a soupy nighttime low of just 25°C.
Steady rains throughout the year contribute to the city’s whopping average annual rainfall of nearly 1600 mm—which is more than twice Toronto’s yearly average rainfall.
While it does get cold in New Orleans, snow is exceptionally rare here. The city often goes a decade or longer between bouts of measurable snow. The city’s largest snowstorm in history occurred on Jan. 21, 2025, when more than 20 cm of snow blanketed the northern Gulf Coast.