What to expect when Ohio State plays its first December home game

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Excitement is building for Ohio State's first-round playoff game next week against Tennessee, which will also mark the first time the Buckeyes have ever played at Ohio Stadium in December.

What can the teams expect? And, well, what can fans expect, being outside for hours on the third Saturday of the month?

Home field weather advantage... probably

This time of the year, we all know that central Ohio weather can start doing its thing. We can basically have any type of weather you can think of from rain to snow, to wind or calm, very warm, and of course exceptionally cold. But could it be a true advantage?

Luckily, we have data for both Columbus and Knoxville that dates to the 1870s, and it is clear, Columbus has colder weather this time of the year.

Type	Columbus	Knoxville
Record High	69° (2013)	75° (2013)
Record Low	-10° (1989)	0° (1901)
Record Snow	4.3" (1981)	1.5" (1973)
Average High	39.1°	48.5°
Average Low	25.3°	31.1°

What is wild to see is that both cities experienced the warmest Dec. 21 in the same year, in 2013, when it was 6 degrees warmer in Knoxville. The record lows for the date are both quite cold, with Columbus' being about 10° colder. In fact, Columbus has been below zero four times on Dec. 21. Also, our record coldest maximum temp, 11° (1989) has only been bested 3 times in Knoxville for the daily lows.

Clearly, Columbus also has had more snow on Dec. 21 as well. The record for the date is nearly 3" higher in Columbus, but I tend to look back at the frequency for the date as well. Knoxville has only had measurable snow twice on Dec. 21. Columbus, on the other hand, has had measurable snowfall 29 times, or 21% of the dates on record. What is wild too, Columbus has had 1" or more of snow on the ground in nearly a quarter of all Dec. 21s on record. Going higher, no problem, 3" or more on the 21st, 11% of the time, and half a foot, yup 1% of the time! Knoxville has had an 1" on the ground once on the 21st (1%), back in 1973.

Now, Knoxville is the more tolerable place to live on Dec. 21, as the high temp is about 9.5° warmer, and the low temp is nearly 6° higher too. But we aren't comparing the easier spot to live, this is football weather! I think the advantage goes to the team that is used to practicing, living, going to class, and of course playing in this cold weather. Advantage: BUCKEYES!

Looking back on temperatures for Dec. 21, which is usually the first day of winter, the temps can be all over the place. For the record, this year, Winter starts at 4:20 a.m. on the 21st.

Temps	Highs (# of times)	Lows (# of times)
60s	5
50s	18	4
40s	45	10
30s	55	34
20s	17	58
10s	6	25
0s		11
-0s		3
-10s		1

For the 21st day of the last month of the year, it does appear to be fairly wet/snowy here in Columbus. Nearly half of all the days on record (since the late 1870s) have had precipitation of some sort, 46% of the time. 23% of the time, we have had 1/10" or greater amount of precip, and 4% of the time, we have had a 1/2" or greater. Yes, 1% of the time, or twice, we have exceeded 1", and both times it was all rain, on very warm afternoons.

As far as snowfall goes, that number is a little lower than the overall precipitation number, but still clocks in at nearly 1/5" of all days, 21%, having measurable snowfall. 4%, or 6 times on December 21st have we had 1" or greater of snow, and once we have been over 3" on the date.

Oh, by the way, back in 1960, there was 10" of snow already on the ground on Dec. 21. We have reliable records on snow depth going back to 1948, and in almost 1/4 of that time, 24%, we have had 1" or greater on the ground on Dec. 21.

What can we expect for the Saturday night game on the 21st?

At this point, we are looking like we will be running in the "below normal" range for next Saturday night's game. While we list above the normal highs/lows, the lows typically happen around sunrise each day, and not at the 8 p.m. kickoff for the game. However, indications are that we are still in for a chilly night. In fact, highs may struggle above freezing for highs on the 21st. A storm system will push to the east of us next Thursday (19th) and spill in cold air behind it for Friday and into the weekend.

If highs struggle to the low 30s, being 3-7 hours after sunset, with a bit of a breezy west-northwest flow, we should have temps that would be roughly in the middle 20s at kickoff for the game. Let's assume a 10-mph wind, that would drop wind chills, or "feels like" temps, into the middle teens during the game. Also, in this type of weather pattern, it could be possible if the winds stay more northwesterly, that we could in fact have some scattered snow flurries too.

Will it be cold... likely. Will it be awesome... 100% yes! One thing about winter weather patterns, is they are active, so we will constantly monitor this the next week+, and tweak the forecast as more and more data becomes available. The Buckeyes forecast and the Christmas forecasts are some of the most anticipated for the next few weeks, and Storm Team 4 will keep a close eye on each.