CFP National Championship Game: NRG Stadium roof leaks pregame with Houston under a tornado watch
Severe weather is threatening Houston during Monday night’s CFP National Championship Game and even making an impact under the domed roof of NRG Stadium.
In the hours before kickoff between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington, rained leaked through the roof and onto the turf at NRG Stadium. Video captured water drizzling onto the Michigan end zone during pregame preparations.
Meanwhile, fans outside the stadium were seen rushing to get inside as weather conditions worsened with high winds, rain and lightning.
The weather in Houston started early Monday with rain and lightning. Per Click2Houston, a high wind advisory was put into effect until 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
By pregame, Houston and the surrounding areas were under a tornado watch that extended through 9 p.m. with the game scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. local time.
Storms are expected to remain scattered through Monday afternoon. Individual cells will be capable of producing tornadoes through about 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. Following that risk, a line of thunderstorms is expected to slide across Southeast Texas from west to east through 7 p.m. This line will pack a predominant risk of damaging winds, though an embedded tornado cannot be entirely ruled out.
The Chronicle advised readers tailgating at the the game to turn on weather alerts on their phones and be prepared to quickly find shelter in the event of a severe weather warning. There were no signs in the lead-up to kickoff of the storms having an impact on the game outside of the water leaking through the stadium roof.
This isn’t the first time rain has made its way onto a CFP championship game field in a domed stadium. Water leaked onto the Georgia sideline at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium during the 2018 championship game against Alabama.
