The Coldest Super Bowl Ever Will Make You Shiver Just Thinking About It

You guys, it happened. January is finally over, and the calendar has flipped to February. Now that what felt like the longest 31 days ever have passed, you can prepare for all of the exciting events happening this month. First off, the Super Bowl. I know you probably have your snacks and game-watching plans on lock, but you might be interested in brushing up on a little football trivia before the big game. I've got you covered, and this weather-related factoid will totally impress your fellow football fans. So, what was the coldest Super Bowl?

Before I get to the answer, there are a couple of qualifiers. First off, Super Bowl LII (which will be played on Sunday in Minnesota) is forecast to be the coldest one on record, but since it hasn't happened yet, I'll stick with the current record holder. Also, most of the games played in the coldest temperatures were in cities with domed stadiums, according the The Washington Post. So that means even though there were some bone-chilling temperatures outside, players and fans were warmer during the actual game thanks to stadiums with the ability to shut out the cold by closing the roof.

With that, though, the coldest Super Bowl on record thus far was Super Bowl XVI played in 1982. The high temperature outside the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, was a frigid 16 degrees as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals.

According to The Oakland Press, the 1982 contest in the Silverdome actually saw a low temperature of 13 degrees, but Super Bowl goers escaped the cold thanks to the dome, which was sporting a temperature of 72 degrees. It appears that this chilly record is about to change after Sunday's game is played because reports are indicating that Minnesota is preparing for record low temperatures.

High temperatures currently forecast for Sunday, Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis might only reach the single digits, according to The Weather Channel. Super Bowl LII attendees will be grateful to watch the Philadelphia Eagles take on the New England Patriots from inside the domed stadium, since there are reports that the wind chill in Minneapolis could plunge below zero.

Again, the newly built U.S. Bank Stadium will have warmer temperatures inside, but I'd still recommend a good dose of hot chocolate to keep warm.

Before Super Bowl LII takes over the record for the coldest Super Bowl played, you can take a look at some of the other runners-up. The current second-coldest Super Bowl game played was (surprise, surprise) also in Minnesota. Super Bowl XXVI was played in the now-demolished Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in 1992, and the high temperature was 26 degrees (which probably sounds like a treat to fans preparing to watch the chilly 2018 contest).

It's time to get down to the real cold, though, and learn which Super Bowl was the coldest game played in the elements. That honor goes to Super Bowl VI, which was played in 43-degree New Orleans at Tulane Stadium in 1972. While 43 degrees doesn't sound too bad (Midwesterner speaking here), the game saw the Dallas Cowboys play (and beat) the Miami Dolphins, so it's likely their fans were used to slightly warmer game-time temperatures.

OK, 43 degrees isn't warm by any means, but if you expand your question to wondering what the coldest NFL game ever played was, then you'll be greeted with the answer of the 1967 NFL Championship Game, according to USA Today. It's commonly referred to as "The Ice Bowl," and that gives you a pointed clue as to what the temperatures were like when the Green Bay Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys on the frozen Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The contest that decided which team would go on to play in the first ever Super Bowl was played in unimaginable cold: 13 degrees below zero. With wind chills reaching below 50 degrees (um, nope!), The Ice Bowl remains the record holder for the coldest game in NFL history.

Now that you're all set with meteorology expertise that could rival Al Roker (as it pertains to football, of course), you can get ready to drop some weather knowledge on your football-loving pals as you watch Super Bowl LII from the comfort of your warm house.