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Fans who can’t wait for the start of one of tonight’s biggest games, Ohio State at Oklahoma, will have to wait a little bit longer, thanks to some uncooperative weather.
Kickoff may not be for another hour, but a huge storm looks to be headed towards Norman, and stadium staff have evacuated fans, due to concerns about lightning.
Lightning in area here in Norman, announcement told fans to leave stands pic.twitter.com/kux4cpGQLF
— Doug Lesmerises (@DougLesmerises) September 17, 2016
Even without lightning, the winds are clearly not messing around.
Goal posts swaying HARD In Norman. #OSUvsOU pic.twitter.com/6HmELtgB5R
— Rob Stone (@RobStoneONFOX) September 17, 2016
And now, the official start time has been moved to 9 p.m. ET (8 Central):
The 8 p.m. start time is based on a 30-minute delay after last lightning strike, then 90 minutes for normal pregame.
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 17, 2016
This isn’t Ohio State’s first foray into tough weather this season, as last week’s game against Tulsa was delayed coming out of halftime thanks to lightning and storms. Must be something with Ohio State and teams from Oklahoma.
Current weather forecasts show the storms ending sometime between 8-9 PM, so it seems likely the game will be played without too much more of a delay, but how the elements impact the actual game, beyond the start time, remains to be seen.