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Mark Twain once said, "Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get." Since baseball is played outside, and since many of us will be watching the games at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies open up the season against the Nationals, it's logical to consider the weather for the week.
Twain also said, "Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it." With that in mind, lets turn to Tom Thunstrom of PhillyWeather.net and see what type of undershirt Cole Hamels clothing should be Wednesday night.
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The Phillies open up the season with a three game series against the Washington Nationals Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. What's going to be the best day to catch a game down at Citizens Bank Park?
Right now I'd say Thursday might be the better of the three games to go to as it will be during the day (viva the Business Person's Special!) and temperatures will be in the low to mid 50's...it might get cloudy during the game but it should be dry. Wednesday's not a bad second choice but it will be cooling off through the 40's during the game. Monday's chance for showers and clouds will make that the least ideal game to attend weather-wise.
When we last saw Cole Hamels in Philadelphia, he was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt on a very warm Indian Summer October day, got overheated, had trouble getting out of the first inning and by the time he took the sweatshirt off for the second inning, the Phillies were already in a big hole. How should Cole layer up for his expected start on Wednesday night at 7:05?
I think Cole can safely don the long-sleeves for Wednesday's game. The temperature at the start of Wednesday's game will be near 50 but will drop off into the 40's as the game progresses. Wind will be blowing in from left field but it will die off quickly as the evening progresses.
From March 31st through April 30th, the Phillies will play 14 games in Philadelphia. What's your best guess as to how the weather will play out for the month?
The first 10 days of the month or so look to average just above normal, which would be highs around 60 and nighttime lows around 40 in Philadelphia on average between April 1-10. There are signs of a decent cold snap by April standards between April 11-15 for the Cubs series and the start of the Astros series, which could mean a couple of days with temperatures not getting out of the 40's in Philadelphia. Temperatures will start to warm up some as we get to the Mets series April 18-20. By the end of the month and the Padres series we should see weather that is more Spring-like. April is typically the cruelest month weather-wise as we can go from 80's and Spring-like warmth to 40's and a raw wind very quickly. Hopefully for Phils fans we won't see a repeat of April cruelty in the standings and we can actually get through the month with a winning record.
You said it! Thanks Tom!
