Is MLB Opening Day Too Early?

Opening Day of Major League Baseball will be the earliest ever in the U.S. Though it may not be the case this week, late March and early April has had its fair share of rain, cold and even snow in recent years.

The 2026 regular season begins Wednesday night in San Francisco as the Giants host the New York Yankees. Thursday's Opening Day features 11 games in the Northeast, Midwest, South and West from New York to Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle. This is the earliest Opening Day here in the U.S., excluding recent one-off openers overseas.

The recent upper Midwest record blizzard, contrasting with the historic March heat may have you feeling a little whiplash on the question of whether it's a little early for baseball's regular season, at least outdoors.

Let's lay out the data and arguments for and against starting the season this early.

What's Average?

The map below shows shows average high temperatures on the date of the 2026 home opener for each of the 30 Major League Baseball home cities. While some home openers are on Opening Day, other teams will have to wait until next week.

As you might expect, there's quite a spread. Average highs in Milwaukee and Toronto in late March are only in the 40s. That's one reason each city has a retractable roof stadium.

But most of the Northeast and Midwest cities east of the Mississippi River have average Opening Day temperatures in the 50s. Contrast that with the 70s and even low 80s in most of the southern tier cities, allowing the roof to be open on Opening Day if there isn't rain or it's not too hot.

Then there's the wind. March is the windiest month over much of the East from Florida and the Deep South to the Northeast, according to Alaska-based climatologist Brian Brettschneider. April is the windiest month in much of the Plains and Mississippi Valley.

And while more rare for Opening Day, the last snow of the "winter season" usually happens in either March or April in many cities in the Northeast, Midwest, Plains and Rockies.

This doesn't sound like baseball weather, does it?

(MORE: March's Typical Frustrating Weather)

A History Of Spring's Worst For Opening Day

Last year, only one Opening Day game was delayed by weather, a 90-minute delay in the start of the Twins-Cardinals opener in St. Louis due to rain.

But other recent years haven't been so lucky.

2018

Following two rainouts – Cincinnati and Detroit – on Opening Day, March 29, 2018, the New York Yankees' home opener in the Bronx on April 2 was snowed out. Central Park's 5.5 inches of snow that day marked the city's snowiest April day in 36 years, and more than the average for the entire month of March.

In the first three and a half weeks of the 2018 season, there were 28 games postponed by weather. Six games were postponed on April 15 alone, including a doubleheader in Detroit and games in Chicago, Cleveland, Kansas City and Minneapolis.

There may not have been a worse stretch of Opening week weather in any recent year other than early April 2007 in Cleveland.

It started with the team's home opener on April 6. Cleveland pitcher Paul Byrd was just one strike away from the game becoming official in the fifth inning – a no-hitter, no less – when visiting Seattle Mariners' manager Mike Hargrove insisted the game should be delayed due to snow. An hour and 17 minutes later, the game was officially suspended.

The snow and cold lingered for three more days, wiping out the entire series with Seattle. After a foot of snow blanketed the field, Cleveland ended up moving their following three-game home series to Milwaukee, which has a retractable roof, in a bit of Major League coincidence.

1973

Among the many challenges in April Wisconsin weather before Miller Park (now American Family Field) and its retractable roof were built, 1973 was probably the worst case. Almost a foot of snow fell in Milwaukee the day before Opening Day 1973, and snow kept falling the next three days.

After the storm, knee-deep snow buried some seating areas of County Stadium. Up to 200 people helped clear both the field and stands as best as possible, including former owner and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. That's something you're used to seeing fans of the Buffalo Bills or Green Bay Packers do.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, a helicopter had to be brought in on the morning of the rescheduled opener three days later to act as a giant dryer because the field was so soggy, even though it was covered by a tarp during the storm.

(MORE: Top 10 MLB Weather Games)

The Earlier, The Better

Ok, enough Debby Downer with the worst of spring weather. Let's make the case for starting as soon as possible.

First, as alluded to earlier three northern cities — Milwaukee, Seattle and Toronto — have retractable roof stadiums. Lingering spring snow or cold? As long as it's not a major snowstorm making driving dangerous, the game goes on. It's just the pre-game tailgate outside Milwaukee's American Family Field might resemble a late-season affair outside Lambeau Field, instead.

Secondly, this weather isn't all that much colder than, say, the latest a World Series could last. Last year, Game 7 was on Nov. 1. Those average highs are only a few degrees warmer than late March or early April in Boston, Cleveland, Detroit or Minneapolis.

You can have weather delays any time of year. Slow-moving thunderstorms in the middle of summer can postpone a game in, say, Pittsburgh, just as a snowstorm might postpone an April game in Denver.

There's even a climate change angle. Spring has trended warmer in much of the country since the 1970s, according to a study by Climate Central. So, late March, while still volatile, could be trending in the direction of more favorable temperatures to host Opening Day in northern cities like Chicago.

And when has any league ever pushed its start date later, or cut back its regular season? As former NBC Sports executive Don Ohlmeyer once said, "The answer to all your questions is: Money."

Speaking as a native of the upper Midwest, we need baseball to start early. It's an unofficial holiday, a jolt of adrenaline and one more sign that more persistently warm weather is on the way.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.