Weather Forecast for Saturday’s Purdue Game At Notre Dame Stadium

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Purdue Boilermakers will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Eastern under mostly sunny skies and a thermometer that reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the latest Accuweather forecast.

The weather will stay in the low 80s throughout the game, with a 7 percent chance of rain falling somewhere in the South Bend area during that four-hour stretch.

The tailgating lots open at 8 a.m. for this game. If you’re there early, you may want a green long sleeve shirt as temperatures will be in the mid-60s. By 10 a.m., the mercury will rise to 70 and it’ll hit 80 just before kickoff.

The last three Sept. 18 games have all been against the Michigan State Spartans. In 2010, the temperature at kickoff of the infamous “Little Giants” game was 61 degrees, with overcast skies. The Irish and Michigan State Spartans also played on Sept. 18, 2004 in Spartan Stadium, with a 68 degree kickoff on a clear night. Notre Dame won that game, 31-24.

In 1999, the 24th ranked Irish hosted the Spartans in a game under sunny skies, temperatures in the high 70s and a light breeze from the southeast. The Spartans prevailed, 23-13, to drop the Irish to 1-3. (The last time Notre Dame played Purdue on Sept. 18? 1976 at Notre Dame Stadium, where it was upper 70s on the gauge.)

The record high for Sept. 18 at Notre Dame is 94 degrees in 1906; Thomas A. Barry’s Irish didn’t start their season that year until October. The record low is 35 degrees in 1900; Pat O’Dea’s Irish would open against Goshen High School the following week.

Last year, the high was 63 and the low 45.

Don’t forget to wear sunscreen and green attire and go Irish!