The Buffalo Bills were originally scheduled to host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, but the weather had different plans. Snowy conditions and high winds caused the NFL to postpone the game to Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The extreme weather continued in Orchard Park, New York on Saturday and Sunday, with snow and significant winds.
On Monday, the forecast during the day calls for a 34 percent chance of snow and a 52 percent chance of snow at night. Winds will be 10 to 15 mph during the day before slowing slightly to 5 to 10 mph at night, per weather.com. At 2 p.m. ET, the real feel is 6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Crews have cleared the parking lots and the field, a significant improvement from where the stadium was the last two days during the peak of the storm.
Bills stadium ops crew with an outstanding job on the lots on a tight turnaround for game day. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownBills) January 15, 2024
And the tarp is off the field with the lake effect snow cleared out & sunny skies. #Bills #PITvsBUF pic.twitter.com/0upiKqDiJd
There was still a significant amount of snow in the seats a few hours before kickoff.
The 100’s on the #Bills sideline five hours before kickoff. Get ready for snow on your seats, if you can find them. #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/qxxZpeZYSL
— AJ Feldman (@AJFeldmanTV) January 15, 2024
Just over five hours from kickoff. About 50 or so shovelers working in the seating bowl. Not much being done to the seats themselves, just the aisles. @News_8 #Bills #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/oS43yWUhPf
— AJ Feldman (@AJFeldmanTV) January 15, 2024
Here is a look at the scene at Highmark Stadium during Sunday's originally scheduled time of the game:
Update: This would’ve been kickoff. pic.twitter.com/vdX6bXSKzA
— Trainwreck Sports (@TrainwreckSprts) January 14, 2024
There was very little visibility and snow was piled high in the stands.
The Bills asked for help shoveling out the seats, with the team paying fans $20 an hour, as well as providing food. Fans showed up and assisted in true Buffalo fashion. Some fans did the job shirtless, despite the freezing temperature and tough condition and they look more than thrilled to be there, helping out their team.
Snow from seats goes in the trough so it can be pushed out onto the field and it can be hauled/pushed away.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 14, 2024
Bills shovelers do it as you would expect.
(Instagram/Mcalex112) pic.twitter.com/P66cHL7lQO
Even if the stadium had a dome, the travel would still have been an issue in conditions like this. Trying to fit 71,000 people in the seats, in the parking lot and on the roads in the area would have created a dangerous situation and caused traffic jams that would have made it difficult for emergency vehicles to use the routes. Travel bans were put in place during some periods of the storm that would have interfered with the original game time.