New York Yankees players stand on the firs baseline during the national anthem before an opening day baseball game against the Houston Astros in New York, Tuesday, April 5, 2016.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Opening Day of the 2025 Major League Baseball season is Thursday, and the weather looks fairly good by late March standards in most of the country, with just a few exceptions.
There are 14 games Thursday and one other opener scheduled for Friday. Nine of those 15 games will be played outdoors in stadiums without retractable roofs. The other six have options to close the roof if the weather isn’t optimal.
Let’s break down these games by potential weather impacts.
Opening Day Forecast Thursday
(The icons above are for games played outdoors in stadiums without retractable roofs. Green contours show areas where rain or showers are possible. Arrows indicate areas of stronger winds possible.)
Small Concern: St. Louis
The good news is we’re not forecasting a major storm in the nation on Opening Day like we’ve had in recent weeks.
Therefore, we’re not expecting any rainouts for games played outdoors in stadiums without retractable roofs.
However, there is a slight chance of showers Thursday afternoon and evening in St. Louis, where the Cardinals host the Minnesota Twins.
For now, it’s too small to be overly worried about, but if you’re headed to the game, you may want to bring rain gear, just in case it rains as you’re walking to the stadium or you’re in the stands and a shower develops.
(FORECAST: St. Louis)
Roof Closed?
There are a few games where having a closed roof may be a good idea Thursday.
First, despite having the roof opened a record early date of April 12 two years ago, despite some sun, it’s probably chilly enough to keep the roof of Toronto’s Rogers Centre closed for the Blue Jays opener hosting the Baltimore Orioles.
A threat of rain could also prompt roof closures in Arlington (Red Sox vs. Rangers), Houston (Mets vs. Astros) and Seattle (Athletics vs. Mariners).
Rain and wind sweep through before the game between the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park on May 16, 2024 in Houston, Texas.
(Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Seasonably Cool
The two Opening Day games in the Northeast in the Bronx (Brewers vs. Yankees) and Washington, D.C. (Phillies vs. Nationals) will be a tad breezy and seasonably cool, but not too bad considering it’s still late March. A light jacket or hoodie may be all you need in what could feel more like October baseball.
No Worries For Most
There are seven games in which we’re not worried much at all about the weather.
For now, we think most of any showers or storms should stay away from Kansas City in the afternoon (Guardians vs. Royals), with warm temperatures, though also some wind.
Both Chicago (Angels vs. White Sox) and Cincinnati (Giants vs. Reds) should have pleasant late March temperatures.
The traditional pregame opening of the Chase Field roof in Phoenix (Cubs vs. Diamondbacks) is back in 2025, and weather won’t any obstacle to that on Thursday evening.
There are zero weather concerns in Southern California for the openers of the host L.A. Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
LoanDepot Park in Miami should have its roof open without any concerns about rain (Pirates vs. Marlins).
And on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays will host the Colorado Rockies in their Opening Day, but outdoors at Steinbrenner Field, after Tropicana Field’s roof was heavily damaged during Hurricane Milton.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
