The NFL's opening weekend will have several games played in searing summerlike heat and humidity, including some matchups in stadiums without a roof or the option of air conditioning. Other games have a risk of thunderstorms that could lead to lightning delays during Week 1 of pro football's regular season.

NCAA's opening weekend was a warning

Last Saturday, a member of the University of Iowa marching band suffered cardiac arrest in 90-degree heat in Iowa City and later was removed from life support by his family, according to the Daily Iowan.

That wasn't the only game played in torrid heat.

The Texas Longhorns opened their season last Saturday playing in 100-degree heat in Austin. According to KXAN-TV, 13 people were transported to hospitals during the game, some for heat-related illnesses.

NFL heat concerns in Week 1

We don't expect any weather issues in Seattle for opening night, where the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks host the New England Patriots.

And the game in Melbourne, Australia, shown in the U.S. Thursday night between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will have zero heat concerns, since it's the equivalent of early March in the Southern Hemisphere.

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But there are several games where heat may be a factor.

First and foremost, these four games in the Southeast played outdoors will see highs either in the upper 80s or low 90s, with typical summer humidity.

• Tampa Bay at Cincinnati (1 p.m. EDT)
• New York Jets at Tennessee (1 p.m. EDT)
• Chicago at Carolina (1 p.m. EDT)
• Cleveland at Jacksonville (1 p.m. EDT)

This could have some impact considering each team's starters have not yet played a full game of snaps.

And road teams in more northern climates (Bears, Browns, Jets) that may not have had as much extreme heat in recent weeks may struggle by the late first half or second half of these games.

(MORE: Heat safety survival guide at the game)

It won't be as hot either in Philadelphia (Commanders at Eagles) or in Pittsburgh (Falcons at Steelers), but the warm, humid combo could still be a challenge for players and fans alike.

Both Houston (Bills at Texans) and Indianapolis (Ravens at Colts) have the option to close their roofs and use air conditioning.

Electrifying weather?

With all that heat and humidity around, it's no wonder we can't rule out a threat of at least a passing thunderstorm or two that could impact outdoor games.

This thunderstorm risk is in play for all the games above, except Indianapolis (they have a retractable roof).

You may want to bring along rain gear walking to and from games in Houston and Minneapolis (Packers at Vikings), given a threat of at least a few thunderstorms there.

We also can't rule out a stray storm for the Sunday night opener between the host New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.

And finally, it's too soon to tell if a cold front will be close enough to bring a threat of thunderstorms to the Monday night opener in Kansas City between the host Chiefs and Denver Broncos.

If you're going to any of these games, turn on rain and lightning alerts on The Weather Channel app and obey any instructions from stadium officials regarding possible lightning delays.

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.