The Winter Classic is a week away, and the initial weather report for Citizens Bank Park on Monday, January 2 isn't comforting for those who want to see NHL hockey played that day. According to weather.com, there's a 60 percent chance of rain for the Winter Classic.

It's obviously still an early forecast, so we'll be sure to keep an eye out on things as the week progresses. The one slightly encouraging sign is that it's not supposed to be 60 degrees on January 2, considering the unseasonably warm temperatures that have struck the Philadelphia area and much of the mid-Atlantic region over the last several weeks.

45 degrees isn't a bad temperature for sitting outside and watching a hockey game. But rain? That's a whole different animal, and as we learned last year in Pittsburgh, it can severely alter the game. The 2011 contest at Heinz Field was pushed from a 1 p.m. start to an evening start due to rain, and water still fell on the ice periodically as the Capitals and Penguins played under the lights. The playing conditions were not ideal.

Hopefully Mother Nature cooperates a little bit better in 2012, but the early forecasts aren't all that promising.

For more on the 2012 NHL Winter Classic, check in with Flyers blog Broad Street Hockey, Rangers blog Blueshirt Banter and our StoryStream.