Winter Classic Weather Forecast Improves, But Rain Still An Obstacle

Rain in Philadelphia on Tuesday is keeping the NHL's ice crew down, as well as keeping us away from our first live, in-person look at the progress on the field and around Citizens Bank Park, but we'll be at the ballpark beginning Wednesday with updates from the scene.

In the mean time, while the crew continues to try and build ice under the threat of rain, they're also looking down the line to game day, when rain also threatens the Winter Classic. The forecast looked grim on Monday, when weather.com projected a 60 percent chance of rain and temperatures of 45 degrees.

A day later, there's already good news, and it just goes to show how quickly weather forecasts can change. Via weather.com yet again:

Down to "few showers" and only a 30 percent chance of precipitation, under the same cloudy skies and 45 degree temperatures. That's acceptable, and hopefully as the week progresses, that chance of rain continues to dwindle. You can't move hockey pucks through puddles.

For more on this year's game, head over to SB Nation's Rangers blog, Blueshirt Banter, and Flyers blog, Broad Street Hockey. For everything Winter Classic in the build-up to the game, head over to our NHL Winter Classic StoryStream.