Thunderstorms possible for ‘Notre Dame’ vs. Purdue; weather forecasts iffy for Saturday afternoon and early evening in Notre Dame, IN
The Fighting Irish might just have to wait a bit longer to make another attempt at their first win of the season, if the elements do not cooperate.
They are set to host Purdue in The House That Rockne Built on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The actual kickoff presumably comes some minutes later, with the game likely running past 7 p.m.
But less than 48 hours before game time, forecasts warn of thunderstorms possibly rolling in before, or during, the game.
Three major weather sources predict thunderstorms in the area Saturday afternoon, either a 51% chance before the game, a 60% chance later in the game, or a 30% chance starting mid-afternoon.
Now, these days, in many places including northern Indiana, it is not just that the weather can vary and change quickly. The forecasts themselves, the predictions, can also change dramatically.
That would time the storms for a bit later in the second half, lasting through what would have been the normal time frame for concluding the game.
The Accuweather forecast is a bit of a mish-mash. Their daily forecast, also embedded below, simply says Saturday will be warm and mostly cloudy. Yet the hourly forecast is predicting a 51% chance of thunderstorms from roughly 1 p.m. until 3 p.m., and cloudy at game time. (Clicking on the link for the hourly forecasts, one might then have to scroll down and click again for “Saturday.”)
NCAA
“NCAA Guideline 1 E – Lightning Safety” is a part of the NCAA’s 2013-14 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook, at p.16 (as opposed to the 2025 NCAA Football Rules Book, which is a separate publication).
NCAA guidance calls for a game to be suspended, and an outdoor stadium evacuated, as a thunderstorm approaches. When lightning and thunder are within six miles, the stadium should already have been evacuated:
“… Lightning awareness should be heightened at the first flash of lightning, clap of thunder, and/or other signs of an impending storm such as increasing winds or darkening skies, no matter how far away. These types of activities should be treated as a warning or ‘wake-up call’…. Lightning safety experts suggest that if you hear thunder, begin preparation for evacuation …
* * *
The following specific lightning safety guidelines have been developed with the assistance of lightning safety experts. Design your lightning safety plan to consider local safety needs, weather patterns and thunderstorm types.
• As a minimum, lightning safety experts strongly recommend that by the time the monitor observes 30 seconds between seeing the lightning flash
and hearing its associated thunder or by the time the leading edge of the storm is within six miles of the venue, all individuals should have left the athletics site and be wholly within a safer structure or location. Individuals just entering the outdoor venue should be directed to the safer location.
• Please note that thunder may be hard to hear if there is an athletics event going on …”
(emphasis added)
If the storm is passing, the NCAA cites expertise calling for a 30-minute wait after both the last audible thunder and last flash of lightning are at least six miles away.
In other words, after the storm starting leaving, everyone would need to wait until the lightning and thunder were at least six miles away, and heading off, and then wait another half-hour.
Of course, if lightning and thunder resumed later within six miles, the delay would have to start all over again.
One would have to keep checking back, as game day, and even game time, approaches, to see how the somewhat variegated forecasts might ebb and flow.
