Best and worst football Saturdays

The best stadiums for a football Saturday are California Memorial Stadium and Stanford Stadium (score 97, Comfortable); the roughest is Pitbull Stadium (score 72, Rough)

Most stadiums fall in one band: 86 of 136 score Mixed (75 to 89). Ranked on weather alone.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Heat and cold

Hottest

Share of kickoffs that feel 85° or hotter during the game. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stFlorida InternationalPitbull Stadium57%
  2. 2ndMiamiHard Rock Stadium56%
  3. 3rdFlorida AtlanticFAU Stadium54%
  4. 4thSouth FloridaRaymond James Stadium49%
  5. 5thArizona StateMountain America Stadium46%
Coldest

Share of kickoffs that feel below freezing during the game. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stWyomingWar Memorial Stadium27%
  2. 2ndMinnesotaHuntington Bank Stadium22%
  3. 3rdWisconsinCamp Randall Stadium19%
  4. 4thAir ForceFalcon Stadium18%
  5. 4thMichiganMichigan Stadium18%

1 more stadium share 4th place at 18%.

Humidity

Muggiest

Share of kickoffs with a dew point of 65° or more, the line where air turns sticky. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stFlorida InternationalPitbull Stadium85%
  2. 2ndFlorida AtlanticFAU Stadium82%
  3. 2ndMiamiHard Rock Stadium82%
  4. 4thHawai'iAloha Stadium and Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex77%
  5. 5thSouth FloridaRaymond James Stadium63%
Driest air

Average dew point during the game. Lower is drier. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stWyomingWar Memorial Stadium23°
  2. 2ndAir ForceFalcon Stadium24°
  3. 3rdNevadaMackay Stadium29°
  4. 3rdColoradoFolsom Field29°
  5. 5thUNLVSam Boyd Stadium30°

Rain, snow and fog

Rainiest

Share of kickoffs with measurable rain during the game. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stFlorida InternationalPitbull Stadium18%
  2. 2ndApp StateKidd Brewer Stadium16%
  3. 3rdFlorida AtlanticFAU Stadium14%
  4. 4thMiddle TennesseeJohnny "Red" Floyd Stadium13%
  5. 4thPittsburghAcrisure Stadium13%
Least rain

Share of kickoffs with measurable rain during the game. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stStanfordStanford Stadium1%
  2. 1stColorado StateCanvas Stadium1%
  3. 1stMarylandSECU Stadium1%
  4. 1stOklahomaMemorial Stadium1%
  5. 1stCharlotteJerry Richardson Stadium1%

2 more stadiums share 1st place at 1%.

Snowiest

Kickoffs since 2018 with snow falling during the game. 39 of 136 stadiums have 3 or more. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stMinnesotaHuntington Bank Stadium27
  2. 2ndWyomingWar Memorial Stadium24
  3. 3rdCentral MichiganKelly/Shorts Stadium18
  4. 3rdOhioPeden Stadium18
  5. 5thWisconsinCamp Randall Stadium17

1 more stadium share 5th place at 17.

Foggiest

Share of kickoffs with fog reported during the game. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stOregon StateReser Stadium4%
  2. 2ndOregonAutzen Stadium3%
  3. 2ndMichiganMichigan Stadium3%
  4. 2ndEastern MichiganRynearson Stadium3%
  5. 2ndUCFFBC Mortgage Stadium3%

2 more stadiums share 2nd place at 3%.

Wind and sky

Windiest

Share of kickoffs with gusts of 25 mph or more during the game. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stWyomingWar Memorial Stadium43%
  2. 2ndHawai'iAloha Stadium and Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex26%
  3. 2ndNebraskaMemorial Stadium26%
  4. 4thTexas TechJones AT&T Stadium25%
  5. 5thIowa StateJack Trice Stadium24%
Calmest

Share of kickoffs with gusts of 25 mph or more during the game. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stSan Diego StateStubHub Center0%
  2. 2ndUSCLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum1%
  3. 2ndSan Diego StateSnapdragon Stadium1%
  4. 2ndUCLARose Bowl1%
  5. 2ndGeorgia SouthernAllen E. Paulson Stadium1%

2 more stadiums share 2nd place at 1%.

Clearest skies

Share of sky reports that are clear or nearly clear. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stHawai'iAloha Stadium and Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex93%
  2. 2ndUCLARose Bowl87%
  3. 3rdArizonaArizona Stadium86%
  4. 4thBoise StateAlbertsons Stadium84%
  5. 5thColorado StateCanvas Stadium83%

1 more stadium share 5th place at 83%.

Grayest skies

Share of sky reports that are broken, overcast or hidden by fog. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stWisconsinCamp Randall Stadium39%
  2. 2ndCentral MichiganKelly/Shorts Stadium37%
  3. 3rdMichiganMichigan Stadium35%
  4. 3rdEastern MichiganRynearson Stadium35%
  5. 5thWestern MichiganWaldo Stadium34%

3 more stadiums share 5th place at 34%.

Day and night

Best under the lights

Points the 7:30 kickoff scores above the noon kickoff. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stFlorida AtlanticFAU Stadium+27
  2. 2ndHawai'iAloha Stadium and Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex+26
  3. 2ndMiamiHard Rock Stadium+26
  4. 4thFlorida InternationalPitbull Stadium+24
  5. 5thUCFFBC Mortgage Stadium+23

That list compares noon with 7:30 on a typical Saturday. For the times games were actually played, see Worst kickoff times.

Worst under the lights

Points the 7:30 kickoff scores below the noon kickoff (a negative number). The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stAir ForceFalcon Stadium−10
  2. 2ndWyomingWar Memorial Stadium−9
  3. 3rdUtah StateMaverik Stadium−7
  4. 3rdMassachusettsWarren McGuirk Alumni Stadium−7
  5. 5thNorthern IllinoisHuskie Stadium−5

4 more stadiums share 5th place at −5.

That list compares noon with 7:30 on a typical Saturday. For the times games were actually played, see Worst kickoff times.

Biggest drop after dark

Average fall in how it feels between the first and last report of a 7:30 game. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stAir ForceFalcon Stadium8°
  2. 2ndArizonaArizona Stadium7°
  3. 2ndColorado StateCanvas Stadium7°
  4. 2ndUtah StateMaverik Stadium7°
  5. 5thNew Mexico StateAggie Memorial Stadium6°

11 more stadiums share 5th place at 6°.

Through the season

Gets better by November

November's typical score minus September's. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stArizona StateMountain America Stadium+40
  2. 2ndUNLVSam Boyd Stadium+32
  3. 2ndSouth FloridaRaymond James Stadium+32
  4. 4thFlorida AtlanticFAU Stadium+31
  5. 5thFlorida InternationalPitbull Stadium+30
Gets worse by November

November's typical score minus September's (a negative number). The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stWyomingWar Memorial Stadium−26
  2. 2ndMinnesotaHuntington Bank Stadium−22
  3. 3rdWisconsinCamp Randall Stadium−20
  4. 4thBuffaloUB Stadium−19
  5. 5thNorthern IllinoisHuskie Stadium−18
Wildest swings

How far the score swings from one kickoff to the next. Higher swings more. The top 5 of 136 stadiums.

  1. 1stArizona StateMountain America Stadium22
  2. 2ndFlorida AtlanticFAU Stadium20
  3. 2ndTexas StateBobcat Stadium20
  4. 2ndMiamiHard Rock Stadium20
  5. 5thSam HoustonElliott T. Bowers Stadium19

6 more stadiums share 5th place at 19.

The weather score for each stadium, by kickoff time, is on the page for each stadium.

How these are counted
  • Every list ranks the same 136 college home stadiums by the same Saturdays as the weather score: each regular-season Saturday from Aug 29 to Dec 6, 2018 to 2025, at noon, 3:30 and 7:30, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes after kickoff, read at the nearest airport.
  • Only a college team’s home field is ranked: pro stadiums, bowl grounds and neutral sites such as Lambeau Field and the Cotton Bowl are left out, as is any ground where most games since 2018 were neutral-site games. Two stadiums on one airport with the same home team count once. On every measure except the weather score, stadiums whose values print the same share a rank; the weather score ranks on the unrounded score, so two stadiums can print the same number and one still rank above the other.
  • Rain: 3 stadiums are left off the two rain lists because their airport’s rain gauge does not report rain, and their scores carry no rain term: Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Michie Stadium, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
  • Rain: 4 more stadiums sit on an airport whose gauge does not report rain, so their rain is read from the nearest working gauge within 25 km: CEFCU Stadium, FAU Stadium, Glass Bowl, McLane Stadium.
  • Gusts and sky come from hourly airport reports, which undercount a brief peak and a passing cloud. That affects every stadium alike.
  • Airport readings can differ from the stands, most for a stadium by a lake or the coast. Indoor stadiums are not in the table.
  • It describes what these Saturdays were like. It is not a forecast and it says nothing about home advantage.

Weather observations: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet at Iowa State University. Rain: NOAA MRMS radar and CoCoRaHS volunteer gauges (CC BY 4.0). Game data: CollegeFootballData.com.