Tag: hurricane

Saints cancel Cardinals preseason game with Hurricane Ida approaching

Saints cancel Cardinals preseason game with Hurricane Ida approaching

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The NFL initially rescheduled the New Orleans Saints’ final preseason game at the Caesars Superdome on Saturday, Aug. 28 in the face of inclement weather, but now they won’t be playing the Arizona Cardinals at all. Hours after announcing the decision to move kickoff to an earlier time slot, the Saints have now said that their preseason will end early.

It’s a tough call, but it’s what’s best for everyone’s safety with a major hurricane on the horizon. Tropical Storm Ida strengthened into a hurricane on Friday afternoon, and it is expected to intensify further over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico this weekend before slamming into the Louisiana Gulf Coast on Sunday. The New Orleans mayor’s office has already ordered citywide voluntary evacuations (with mandatory evacuations ordered to those communities outside the protective levees).

Losing that opportunity to put any further snaps on game tape will hurt the players on the fringe of both teams’ rosters, but it isn’t worth putting anyone at risk or clogging transportation routes in or out of New Orleans. Stay tuned for further news and updates with the NFL’s roster cuts deadline just around the corner on Tuesday, Aug. 31. And if you’re anywhere close to Ida’s projected landfall, be prepared.

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New Orleans weather report: Final Saints preseason game rescheduled ahead of Tropical Storm Ida

New Orleans weather report: Final Saints preseason game rescheduled ahead of Tropical Storm Ida

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After consulting with the National Weather Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the NFL, the New Orleans Saints have moved their last remaining preseason game at Caesars Superdome (with the Arizona Cardinals) up to 12:00 p.m. CT from its previously scheduled kickoff at 7 p.m. CT.

With Tropical Storm Ida barreling towards the Louisiana Gulf Coast and forecast to make landfall Sunday afternoon as a major hurricane, this gives visitors from out of town time to exit the area and for locals to finish their last-minute storm preparations. Be sure to practice an abundance of caution.

The Saints are sitting at .500 in the preseason, having defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars last week after collapsing late against the Baltimore Ravens a week earlier. Arizona isn’t playing star quarterback Kyler Murray or projected starters like rookie receiver Rondale Moore and cornerback Robert Alford; it remains to be seen which Saints players will observe from the Caesars Superdome sideline. Four-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara has been a notable inactive in each exhibition game so far.

Still, the real story here is Ida. If you’re in the area be sure to check with your local meteorologists and look to guidance from the National Hurricane Center as the storm continues to approach the northern Gulf Coast.

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Could Augusta and the Masters be in the path of Tropical Storm Eta? Sure, it’s 2020

Yes, it’s early, but the National Hurricane Center predicts Tropical Storm Eta could hit Florida and beyond during the Masters Tournament.

Fair warning: This story could prove to be as premature as a Florida presidential pollster.

But in what might be one of the most 2020 things imaginable, there’s a chance Augusta National Golf Club could have a tropical storm overhead or nearby during the run-up to next week’s Masters.

Tropical Storm Eta – former Category 4 Hurricane Eta – crashed into Central America on Tuesday with 140-mph winds at landfall. Full estimates of the tremendous damage in Nicaragua and Honduras might not be available for days or longer.

The National Hurricane Center, as of 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, predicts the storm will curve north across Central America before reaching open water again Friday, then cross Cuba on Sunday morning and possibly reach Florida’s peninsula Monday as a tropical storm. The very early track has the storm passing just offshore of the peninsula and possibly making landfall in Florida not too far south of the Tampa area.

Tropical Storm Eta could impact Florida and beyond next week. (National Hurricane Center as of 2 p.m. Wednesday)

Again, this is very early. But it’s worth keeping an eye out in regard to the Masters, because many storms that travel up the west coast of Florida keep trucking right into Georgia. Heavy rains are frequent in such scenarios.

Of course, it could go east into the Atlantic. It could turn sharply across Florida. It could fizzle out. It’s a storm and it could go just about anywhere – these things are more difficult to read than a sidehill, downhill putt on No. 18 with a green jacket on the line.

Still, it’s not out of the question that by Tuesday, Wednesday or even Thursday – the first day of the coronavirus pandemic-delayed Masters – of next week, the storm could bring heavy rains to Georgia. And as the NHC says on its weather maps, “Hazardous conditions can occur outside of the cone.”

With the major championship having been moved from April to November, we’re already in for a Masters unlike any other. Not saying this storm is going to impact Georgia at all, but the way this year is going, the top players in the world might want to make sure to pack their rain gear.