Winter Classic 2012 Weather Forecast Much Better As Game Day Nears

We weren't worried too much about the Winter Classic weather forecast on Monday, even though it called for a 60 percent chance of rain for January 2 in Philadelphia. It was a week early. It's hard to project things from that far out.

And as the week has progressed -- we're now just four days from game day -- the weather.com forecast has improved dramatically.

It's dropped to a 30 percent chance of rain to a 30 percent chance of snow showers and now, just a 20 percent chance of any form of precipitation. It's looking more like it's just going to be an overcast, windy day in the low 40s come game time at 1 p.m. this coming Monday. Via weather.com:

The crew at Citizens Bank Park was able to paint the logos and the lines on the ice Thursday morning in preparation for the game, and the ice will be skated on for the first time on Friday when the media -- including us -- get a chance to take a spin. We'll obviously be chiming in with updates from our experience, as well as the quality of the ice, on Friday.

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.