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Bills vs. Ravens weather updates: Cold, chance of snow in Buffalo for playoff game

jacob camenker, usa today

The Buffalo Bills couldn't earn home-field advantage in the AFC despite their win over the Kansas City Chiefs, but they did earn the conference's No. 2 seed. That could prove crucial ahead of their divisional round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

The Bills will get to reap the benefits of some Buffalo winter weather in their playoff game Sunday. It is expected to be well below freezing during the contest and the chance for snow could require MVP candidates Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen to be at their peak form during the contest.

The Ravens are well-built to deal with the cold weather the Bills throw at them, so perhaps this won't be as big an advantage for Buffalo as it would be against a team like the Houston Texans or Miami Dolphins. Even so, the weather in Orchard Park figures to have an impact on Sunday's contest, even if it's only slight.

Here's what to know about the weather for Sunday's Bills vs. Ravens NFL playoff game:

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Bills vs. Ravens weather updates

There is a chance for inclement weather during the Bills vs. Ravens divisional round matchup on Sunday. However, it seems more likely that snow will fall after the game rather than during it, per Weather.com.

There is just a 24% chance of precipitation during the day on Sunday. While the Buffalo-Baltimore game will straddle the daytime and nighttime weather forecasts, it still doesn't seem likely that snow will begin falling in the Orchard Park area until after midnight.

Nonetheless, it is expected to be cold during the Bills vs. Ravens game. Temperatures will be below 20 degrees throughout the contest and the wind-chill will make them feel closer to single-digits throughout the contest.

That will make it important for players on both sides of the ball to keep warm, especially quarterbacks Allen and Jackson as they look to impact the game both on the ground and through the air.

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Buffalo weather forecast for Bills vs. Ravens playoff game

It's important to note that the Bills don't actually play in Buffalo. They play just outside of Buffalo in Orchard Park, so that will be the weather forecast to monitor before and during Sunday's game.

It is expected to be cold in Orchard Park on Sunday. Temperatures will drop below 20 degrees by kickoff and there is a chance for precipitation during the contest. The greatest chance for snow over the weekend will come on Saturday and after midnight on Sunday, but there is still a chance for precipitation during the contest.

Below are the full details of Sunday's forecast for Orchard Park, N.Y., according to Weather.com.

  • High temperature: 19 degrees

  • Low temperature: 11 degrees

  • Chance of precipitation: 24-74%

  • Wind: 5-15 mph

The wide variance in chance of precipitation stems from the game's start time. The Bills vs. Ravens contest is expected to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, which puts it on the fringe of the daytime and nighttime weather forecasts. The "daytime" portion of the forecast transitions to "nighttime" at 9 p.m. locally, during which the game's second half still figures to be in action.

That said, the hourly forecast paints a rosier picture for those hoping to avoid the snow. Below is a look at the hour-by-hour Orchard Park forecast for the Buffalo vs. Baltimore game, per Weather.com:

  • 5 p.m. ET: 17 degrees, Cloudy (18%), 6 mph

  • 6 p.m. ET: 17 degrees, Cloudy (24%), 5 mph

  • 7 p.m. ET: 16 degrees, Cloudy (24%), 5 mph

  • 8 p.m. ET: 16 degrees, Cloudy (24%), 5 mph

  • 9 p.m. ET: 16 degrees, Cloudy (20%), 5 mph

  • 10 p.m. ET: 16 degrees, Cloudy (15%), 4 mph

  • 11 p.m. ET: 15 degrees, Cloudy (15%), 4 mph

  • Midnight ET: 15 degrees, Few Snow Showers (33%), 4 mph

  • 1 a.m. ET: 15 degrees, Snow (72%), 4 mph

  • 2 a.m. ET: 15 degrees, Snow (74%), 6 mph

BILLS VS. RAVENS: More details about the weather in Orchard Park on Sunday

Will it snow in Buffalo on Sunday?

There is a chance of snow in Buffalo on Sunday. However, there is just a 24% chance of precipitation during the day while the number jumps to 74% overnight.

As such, it doesn't appear likely to snow during the Bills vs. Ravens game. The Winter Storm Watch in effect from the National Weather Service will run from late Sunday night through Wednesday morning, so the NFL shouldn't have a problem getting its last divisional round game in – even if it precedes the snowfall by just a few hours.

Coldest games in NFL history

Temperatures for the Bills vs. Ravens game are expected to get cold, but they won't be among the coldest games in NFL history. The honor of the coldest still belongs to the "Ice Bowl" between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, during which the temperature was 13 degrees below zero at kickoff.

The Bills played in the ninth-coldest game in NFL history when they hosted the Las Vegas Raiders in a 1994 divisional round playoff game. The kickoff temperature for that contest was zero degrees with a wind-chill of 32 degrees below zero, per Steve Howe of the Democrat and Chronicle.

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Below are the 10 coldest games in NFL history:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bills-Ravens weather updates: Will it snow in Buffalo?