Super Bowl 55 kickoff forecast: Partly cloudy and cool

TAMPA — Super Bowl Sunday will likely start with some lingering rain early but showers won’t put a damper on the NFL’s 55th championship game.

After a line of showers moves through early Sunday, skies will start to clear by midmorning, said Spectrum Bay News 9 meteorologist Josh Linker, well ahead of the 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

The forecasted high for Saturday is 76 degrees. Temperatures will be around 62 degrees at that point and could drop down to the high 50s by the end of the game.

“There will be a little bit of a breeze so for those fans lucky enough to be going to the game, it’s not T-shirt and shorts weather but it’s not coat weather, either,” Linker said.

Saturday’s forecast isn’t postcard-perfect, but it shouldn’t be a washout, either. That’s good news for those headed to outdoor Super Bowl events like the NFL Super Bowl Experience in Tampa, Linker said. Clouds will dominate, however, giving the day kind of a dreary feel. There is also a strong chance of rain but nothing heavy or prolonged is expected.

“The rain chance is about 40 percent but it doesn’t really mean there’s going to be more than a passing shower in any given neighborhood,” Linker said. “You can have your umbrella with you but you’re probably not going to need it and by the time you realize it’s raining it might be finished.”

There is a better chance that a round of gusty showers and perhaps strong thunderstorms will move over Tampa Bay early Sunday from about midnight to 6 a.m. as a cold front moves through, Linker said. The rain will be over by mid-morning Sunday and cloudy skies will give way to sun later in the day.

The front will bring drier air but not the kind of cold temperatures that the area saw earlier this week. Highs will climb to the low 70s.

A warming trend is on tap for next week, with highs in the mid to upper-70s and only a slight chance of rain on Monday and Tuesday.