Ian Happ gets one back from the wind!

This ball was blown out 35 (!!) ft by wind and pushed 8 ft right, creating a home run, per Statcast + @WeatherApplied

They all count !!!

Yesterday, Ian Happ hit an absolute tank for a home run. 109 off the bat. 32 deg LA.

... except, he didn't. Thanks to our friends at @weatherapplied.com we know that the wind cost him *113 feet* of distance -- which is now the largest stop in the data.

--> www.mlb.com/news/how-ian...

113 ft of distance but only 6 ft sideways: that's nearly a pure headwind. Between the LF Wrigley Rooftops building (~70 ft tall) and the LF scoreboard (~86 ft), the only wind blockage is the bleachers (~27 ft) and some trees on N Kenmore Ave. The ball and the 30 mph wind met head on in that gap.

"This is where the instinct of a player comes in." 🎯
Wind deviation technology shows how Shane Lowry's wind adjustment set up his eagle for the solo lead.

📺 Cognizant Classic Final Round | NBC & Peacock

PGA Tour debuts new broadcast tech enhancements at Pebble Beach The PGA Tour debuted a handful of tech enhancements at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week.

Busy week at Weather Applied Metrics. Maybe you’ve seen us?

From the Super Bowl to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, we’re thrilled to help uncover how wind and environmental conditions influence ball flight and play, bringing a new layer of insight to fans.

Different sports
Same environmental forces

Weather metrics, drone coverage among PGA TOUR broadcast enhancements at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am With one of the most scenic courses in the world hosting the first Signature Event of 2026, the PGA TOUR has unveiled a number of new broadcast enhancements aro

www.pgatour.com/article/news...

Levi’s Stadium is forecast to be warmer than both teams’ home stadiums at kickoff.

Warmer air = lower density = longer carry.

Rule of thumb: ~1/2 yard per 10°.

That’s roughly +2 ft vs Lumen and +7 ft vs Gillette at Levi’s.

Physics is always in play.

#SuperBowlLX
#weatherapplied
#playthewind

#SuperBowlLX is outdoors in Santa Clara. Conditions look ideal. ☀️

Some of the MOST memorable Super Bowls were shaped by weather.

Weather doesn't need to be extreme to matter however... physics is always in play.

#SuperBowl
#weatherapplied
#playthewind

Legendary weatherman Bill Martin's second act heads to the Super Bowl Weather Applied Metrics has been working with Major League Baseball for six or seven years, modeling every stadium to show how atmospheric conditions can move a baseball up to 30 feet, and now NBC is preparing to showcase the technology during the Super Bowl

Weather Applied Metrics has been working with Major League Baseball for six or seven years, modeling every stadium to show how atmospheric conditions can move a baseball up to 30 feet, and now NBC is preparing to showcase the technology during the Super Bowl

NBC Has a Fancy New Way to Measure Wind at the Super Bowl Super Bowl producer Rob Hyland says new technology can measure how wind impacts field goals and passes at Levi’s Stadium.

Here's an article from Front Office Sports about NBC preparing to use @weatherapplied.com data at the Super Bowl, should there be any sort of impactful weather at all.

frontofficesports.com/nbc-has-a-fa...

Royals moving walls in by 10 feet at Kauffman The Royals are moving the majority of their outfield fence in by 10 feet, drastically changing the offensive environment at Kauffman Stadium.

Looking at the cumulative impact of wind 🌬️ on fly-ball distance by ballpark from last season

🏟️ 20/30 MLB stadiums experienced a net-negative impact on distance from wind
⚾️ Kauffman Stadium ranked 3rd in total fly-ball distance lost to wind

#playthewind
#weatherapplied

Field goal trajectory graphic: Gray trajectory (no wind, neutral spin), misses wide right Blue trajectory (no wind, actual spin), misses short Magenta trajector (actual wind, actual spin) misses wide left

Unusual missed FG by Green Bay before the half because of wind and a leftward ball tilt/spin axis.

* With no wind and a neutral spin, it has distance, but misses wide right

* With actual spin and no wind, it's not wide, but misses short

* With actual spin/wind, it has distance, but misses left.

A 55-yard FG could see ~5 feet of lateral movement.
#PlayTheWind #WeatherApplied #Packers #Bears

Wind at uprights height (photos 1&2)
Wind at north end zone (photo 3)

Packers @ Bears — Wild Card Forecast: W winds 10–20 mph. Gusts up to 28mph.

Classic barrier effect at Soldier Field. Near field level, kicks drift opposite of the prevailing wind.

🏈 FG to north end zone: pushed left (slight tailwind)
🏈 FG to south end zone: pushed right (slight headwind)

NFL Wild Card Weekend Weather Forecast: Windy For Most | Weather.com There are six playoff games this weekend, all played outdoors. The common denominator to these will be wind, but Saturday's games could have a few more weather wild cards up their sleeves.

"There are six playoff games 🏈 this weekend, all played outdoors.

The common denominator to these will be 🌬️wind, but Saturday's games could have a few more weather wild cards up their sleeves."

weather.com/sports-recre...

Tommy Pham makes his case for MLB’s next big metric: He calls it PhamGraphs Pham proposes a statistical system that would account for how often a hitter faces high-leverage relievers and how defenders cope with wind.

Re: the Phamgraphs article, in which I'm mentioned, and this sentence: "If WAM can measure this for homers, perhaps they can measure it for outfield fly balls, as well."

@weatherapplied.com does measure the wind impact of every fly ball. Also, for every pitch.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/694...

Wind is rarley uniform. Terrain, coastlines, and buildings carve it into microclimates that can vary block to block or across a stadium.

Basic forecasts and live wind data often miss how wind behaves at ground level and inside sports venues.

Learn more!

blog.weatherapplied....

Wind field graphic showing 5-10 mph winds in the north endzone, 1-5 mph in the south end zone, and < 1 mph on the south half of the field.

Windy day in Seattle for Rams @ Seahawks. Our @weatherapplied.com model predicts a much bigger impact in the north side of the field. The south side has both vertical and horizontal eddies that result in dead spots, like the calm in the eye of a hurricane. Strongest winds in the north side end zone.

Kristie finally addresses that infamous windy corner kick 😂

If you’re curious about the basics of wind, check out our latest blog and subscribe as we keep posting how wind and other atmospheric variables impact sports.

blog.weatherapplied....

#playthewind
#weatherapplied

Panthers' unusual decision on opening kickoff leads to 'unbelievable' upset over Packers The Panthers made an unconventional decision to receive the opening kickoff in Week 9. But that choice helped them to the biggest upset of 2025.

The #Panthers made a similar choice a few weeks earlier.

Kyle Shanahan shares one of the ‘harder decisions’ he’s had to make as a coach in a while against the Browns The 49ers had to decide whether they wanted to score against the Browns toward the end of the half in the wind

This time of year in the #NFL, wind and weather start to factor more into strategy.

Last week the #49ers took the opening kickoff to make sure they had the wind at their back in the fourth quarter.

This is when 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 feels the 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 most 🌬️🏈

Kyle Shanahan put it simply:

“We wanted to make sure that if we needed to win it on a last second field goal or throw at the end of the game, that we had that in the fourth quarter if we could.”

🧵

Understanding how wind impacts sports starts with understanding wind itself.

The new WAM blog breaks down the basics:

• what drives wind
• how we measure it
• why it changes across space and time

blog.weatherapplied....

#weatherapplied #playthewind

NFL Kicker Breaks Down The Science of a Field Goal Ever wonder what it takes to hit a field goal in the NFL? Well wonder no longer! Watch Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, punter Braden Mann, and long snapper Rick Lovato show how to effectively kick a field goal. From timing to ball placement, every minute detail of a field goal is explained!

The Philadelphia Eagles FG unit breaks down the anatomy of a field goal:

Timing
Ball placement
Angle
Aim
Adjustments to #playthewind

A cool look inside the process, worth the watch: www.youtube.com/watc...

#weatherapplied
#nfl

How a Special Teams Revolution Suddenly Reshaped the NFL From knuckleball kickoffs to blocked field goals to 70-yard boots, the third phase of the game is no longer a forgotten frontier.

Innovation is alive and well in NFL special teams. Kickoffs are now experiments in physics. Low spin balls. Flatter launch angles.

Weather and air density shape every ball in flight.

Teams that understand their home stadium atmosphere can gain a real field position edge.

Baseball fly balls don’t travel in a vacuum.

Warmer air is less dense, and that means more carry. Our model shows roughly 4 extra feet per 10°F for home run-like balls. New blog is up with the full breakdown.

blog.weatherapplied....

MLS playoffs that once stretched into late fall and early winter will now finish in May, reducing both deep-cold games and extreme summer heat exposure.

Weather was a factor, but not the main driver.

This shift quietly reshapes the environments around MLS’s biggest matches!

Darker arrows represent higher wind speeds, except the circular eddy highlighted with black arrows.

As wind speeds change and directions shifts, the winds above the field will as well.

Wrigley is a very dynamic environment!

Based on the latest forecast, here are the projected winds above Wrigley Field at kickoff.

This is at 45 feet (top of the uprights) Field level looks similar, though speeds are a bit lower.

Who will #playthewind best?