With news emerging that England’s crunch knockout tie with Mexico is set to be moved forward to dodge a storm heading the way of the Azteca, Three Lions fans will be wondering exactly how bad the forecast must be to cause the change.
Fans have already begun nicknaming the incoming weather system “Hurri-Kane” on social media. And meteorologists are now predicting that Mexico City is to be hit by lightning, flash floods and torrential rain that could cause havoc in and around the Azteca Stadium.
In a forecast report, Mexican meteorologist Orlando Aurquia warned on Meteored Mexico that conditions this weekend will remain “favourable for the development of scattered storms”. Some will be “strong” and leave “significant accumulations of rain in a short time, as has happened in recent days”.
Aurquia said most of the capital can expect between 10mm and 20mm of rain, but warned “some areas may exceed 25mm”. He added: “The possibility of localised flooding, waterlogging on roads and strong currents will remain.”
The weather expert said the biggest storms are expected “between 3pm and 9pm”, bringing “frequent lightning”, the possibility of hail and wind gusts of more than 35km/h.
Southern, western and south-western districts of Mexico City are expected to be worst hit, with “accumulations of more than 30mm” possible over the weekend. It’s the lightning that could prove the biggest headache for FIFA.
Under the governing body’s safety rules, play cannot start or continue if lightning is detected within eight miles (13km) of the stadium. Once a strike is recorded, there must be a 30-minute wait before the match can begin or resume – and every fresh lightning strike resets the countdown.
Despite the forecast, flights are not set to be impacted by the adverse weather according to current reports. England’s clash against Mexico is not the only game set to be impacted.
The Daily Star understands that Brazil’s clash with Norway on Sunday evening is likely to be moved from 9pm to a slightly later kick off time.
This would be done to allow fans to watch both games without disruption. It is not known at exactly what time the last 16 clash, which is taking place at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, would be moved to.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
#Mexican #super #storm #England #kickoff #chaos #time #change
