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Opening Day and the curveball of weather

While this year may go down as one of the coldest Opening Days, studies show a warming trend.
Credit: AP
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, April 1, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

When we think of baseball we think of the warm weather and sunny days instead of snow.

While Cleveland kicked off their season in Detroit, both stadiums had snow in the forecast with temperatures in the 30s. The coldest day on record in Cleveland was set just a few years ago, on April 8, 2016, when the high only reached 34 degrees.

While the Cincinnati Reds aren’t expecting snow, they are expecting one of the coldest starts to the season. The record for the coldest high in Cincinnati is 38 degrees back on April 16, 1935.

Climate Central and their team of meteorologists have been studying the cities with Major League Baseball teams to find a warming trend during baseball season.

Most cities have been about 2 degrees warmer over the past 50 years of data with the Toronto Blue Jays being the warmest, 5.2 degrees of warming. It was found that during the 50 years of data, Cleveland has warmed over 3 degrees while Cincinnati has had a 2-degree increase.

Credit: 10TV/WBNS
Credit: 10TV/WBNS

If we continue to see warmer seasons, we could see a trend in more home runs.

Hot, humid air is less dense than cold air. This means that there is less friction or fewer air particles for the ball to travel through on a humid day.

Kirk Lombardy, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Cleveland, explains, “you can also think about it like the ball being on the moon. Since there is no air, the ball would go further because there is no wind resistance against it."

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