It’s very rare to see a severe weather systems make landfall in California — but that’s exactly what’s coming, with Hurricane Hilary forecast to make landfall in Los Angeles as early as Sunday night or early Monday morning. Hilary was recognized as a Category 4 hurricane Friday morning though it’s expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching Southern California.
That’s becoming a big concern for the New Orleans Saints, who are currently scheduled to kick off with the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. They’re the only game on the NFL’s Sunday slate with a 6:05 p.m. CT/4:05 p.m. PT kickoff.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen shared that it’s something on their radar during his Friday press conference after practice with the Chargers: “I just heard that there’s gonna be a phone call today with the league and stadium, and we’ll see what happens.”
Allen added that the most important concern is for everyone to stay safe. New Orleanians know hurricanes well, and Allen agreed with the oddity of the situation, quipping “Yeah, I guess we brought it with us.”
Allen said representatives from the Saints, Chargers, and SoFi Stadium will join the NFL office in New York for a conference call reviewing their options ahead of Sunday’s preseason game. It would be simple enough to reschedule the game into an earlier broadcast window on Sunday given the lack of potential scheduling conflicts, but the matchup could just as easily be moved to another venue or canceled altogether.
We’ll see what the decision-makers choose to do soon. Stay tuned and, if you’re in the area, make storm preparations now.
