Football Forecast: Will Snowy Weather Spread East?

The wild weather that brought this week's whopper snowstorms to the Pacific Northwest is now bringing the chill to the East, just in time for one of this weekend's big football games.

The NFL playoffs for American football move into the division championship round this weekend. The winners move on to the Super Bowl. The losers pack up and get an early start on their winter vacations.

In Foxboro, Mass., the New England Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens at 3 p.m. EST on Sunday (Jan. 22). According to the current forecast, the big storm that hit Seattle won't make it this far east by game time. However, the players will have to deal with cold weather. The temperature is forecast to be around 34 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-1 degree Celsius) on game day, and is expected to get colder as the game progresses. Winds will be blowing at 7 mph (23 kph) and there is a 20 percent chance of precipitation.

The Sunday night game, featuring the New York Giants at the San Francisco 49ers, will be on the other end of the weather spectrum. The weather won't be as cold, but it will be wet. Saturday's forecast includes a high temperature in San Francisco of 54 degrees F (12 degrees C), with a chance of showers. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. EST.

Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet and on Facebook.