Team Weather Playbook

St. Louis Cardinals Weather Playbook: Midwest Heat, Mississippi Valley Setting

By Kevin Roth, sports meteorologist. How weather affects the St. Louis Cardinals at home and on the road.

Home advantage

Busch Stadium sits in downtown St. Louis a half mile from the Mississippi. Summer conditions are hot and humid with July averages around 90 degrees. South and southwest wind blows out to center and right. River-valley setting means wind at the field can differ from surface observations at STL a few miles west.

Division road environments

NL Central takes the Cardinals into Wrigley wind, GABP hitter-friendly Cincinnati, Milwaukee retractable, and PNC Park Pittsburgh river wind. Wrigley direction is the biggest day-of variable in the division.

For DFS and bettors

Hot humid summer nights with south wind are the friendliest hitting conditions at Busch. Rain delays and evening thunderstorms in June through August shift start times and can invalidate morning-of forecasts.