NFC Championship Game Weather Report: Wind advisory in effect for Sunday

The Seattle area is under a wind advisory for Saturday night and carrying into Sunday afternoon and that means the Seahawks-Packers NFC Championship Game may be a blustery one.

Per Seattleweather.com, the advisory begins 10PM this evening and runs through noon tomorrow, but their forecast for Sunday reads:

Sunday...Windy...Showers. Rainfall amounts a tenth to a quarter of an inch possible. Highs in the lower 50s. Southwest wind 15 to 30 mph. Gusts to 50 mph Decreasing to 40 mph in the afternoon.

The National Weather Service's report states:

* TIMING...WINDS WILL INCREASE DURING THE EVENING HOURS THEN
WILL SLOWLY DECREASE DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY.

* WIND...SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH

Now, according to Cliff Mass' weather blog, things won't be all that crazy, with "sustained winds around 15 mph with gusts to 20-25 mph," but even winds up to 20 MPH can become a huge factor on the gameplay. So, either way, it could get interesting for both teams' passing games.

Just to go ahead and plug this article I wrote recently, there's some in coaching circles that might believe a rushing yard is more valuable than a passing yard, particularly with respect to wintery, windy, outdoor Playoff football games. A little over one year ago this week, the Seahawks faced off against the New Orleans Saints in divisional round action, and winds were howling off of Elliott Bay in excess of 20 miles per hour. Rain was part of the equation as well. Seattle relied heavily on their run game in that one, rushing the ball 35 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns on their way to a 23-15 win to move to the NFC Championship Game. Russell Wilson completed just nine passes.