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Penn State-West Virginia weather updates: Weather delay called after lightning at season opener

john leuzzi, usa today network
·5 min read

No. 8 Penn State is two quarters away from picking up a statement win on the road to open up the college football season.

But before the Nittany Lions can reach that feat, it looks like they will have to take down Mother Nature first.

The Nittany Lions season opener vs. West Virginia will be entering an extended halftime, as dark skies and lightning are being detected within the area in Morgantown, West Virginia to send this old rivalry game into a lightning delay. Per the NCAA's lightning delay policy, game competition is suspended for 30 minutes for every lightning strike within an eight-mile radius.

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At time of writing, Penn State leads West Virginia in Morgantown 20-6 at halftime after Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar connected with wide receiver Harrison Wallace III for an 18-yard touchdown reception just before halftime. It was the second time this afternoon that Allar connected with Wallace III for a score.

Penn State vs West Virginia weather updates

All times Eastern.

4:23 p.m.: After 2 hours and 19 minutes, the second half is underway in Morgantown between Penn State and West Virginia. Nittany Lions get the ball first.

4:19 p.m.: Per Penn State's football communications account on X, the game will resume on Fox at 4:23 p.m. ET:

4:13 p.m.: Players have begun to head back onto the field in Morgantown. The second half is just around the corner.

4:03 p.m.: Per West Virginia, the game is set to resume tentatively at 4:23 p.m. ET. Gates set to open up at 4:08 p.m. ET.

3:50 p.m.: West Virginia announced on X that the 30-minute clock has been restarted after another lightning strike was detected within the area. Penn State and West Virginia have been delayed for close to two hours due to inclement weather in Morgantown.

3:09 p.m.: An update from The Athletic's Penn State beat reporter Audrey Snyder:

3 p.m.: No official word yet from either the Penn State or West Virginia programs or the NCAA on when the second half will start. The storm is still making its way through Morgantown per weather radars. Here's a look from Fox's broadcast on how quickly the storm came into Morgantown near the end of the first half:

2:45 p.m.: Conditions don't look to be getting better in Morgantown as the rain continues to come down. Per an updated look at The Weather Channel's radar, the heart of the storm looks to be approaching the stadium.

Here's another look from field level:

2:36 p.m.: Fox's in-studio halftime show from Los Angeles just showed an updated look at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown and rain looks to be still coming down and the skies are still dark.

2:28 p.m.: A closer look at the radar from WGAL Meteorologist Ethan Huston. WGAL is an NBC affiliate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

2:14 p.m.: Official word from West Virginia on X (formerly Twitter) on the lightning delay, suspending play:

2:13 p.m.: Fox's Gus Johnson announced on the network's broadcast that the game is in a lightning delay. Skies are rather dark in Morgantown.

2 p.m.: Here's a look at the weather system that is moving in on Morgantown right now.

Penn State-West Virginia weather forecast

According to The Weather Channel, thunderstorms are possible around 2:30 p.m. ET. Thunderstorms are expected to continue through 9 p.m. ET, which could impact the second half considerably.

Here's an hour-by-hour forecast for the remainder of Saturday's game (as of 2:30 p.m. ET):

All times Eastern.

  • 2 p.m.: Thunderstorms (75% chance of precipitation)

  • 3 p.m.: Heavy thunderstorms (88% chance of precipitation)

  • 4 p.m.: Thunderstorms (68% chance of precipitation)

  • 5 p.m.: Thunderstorms (76% chance of precipitation)

  • 6 p.m.: Heavy thunderstorms (94% chance of precipitation)

  • 7 p.m.: Thunderstorms (100% chance of precipitation)

  • 8 p.m.: Scattered thunderstorms (52% chance of precipitation)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Penn State-West Virginia weather updates: Weather delay called after lightning