'Potential' tropical storm off Atlantic Ocean could impact NFL Week 3 games

A "potential tropical cyclone" forming in the Atlantic Ocean could heavily impact some NFL games Sunday, possibly bringing heavy winds and rain onto fields and stands.

The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for portions of the East Coast on Thursday, as the center warned a "life-threatening storm surge" was possible for portions of the Southeast and mid-Atlantic coasts.

The center said the possible storm effects could begin Friday and continue through the weekend as the storm moves north.

"Heavy rainfall from this system could produce localized urban and small stream flooding impacts across the eastern mid-Atlantic states from North Carolina to New Jersey Friday through Sunday," the center said.

If the current forecast holds up, the storm could impact three NFL games slated to start Sunday afternoon:

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• New England Patriots at New York Jets
• Buffalo Bills at Washington Commanders
• Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens

How will NFL games be affected by possible tropical storm?

The current forecast predicts sustained winds will decrease by the time kickoff starts, but it could still create conditions that are not ideal for teams and fans Sunday.

John Feerick, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, told USA TODAY Sports that the Bills-Commanders and Colts-Ravens games should avoid the worst of the potential storm, with "the worst of the rain" on Saturday night.

"There still might be some rain around. At that point, the storm will have lost quite a bit of wind intensity, so I don't think we're talking about necessarily a windswept rain or anything like that during the day," Feerick said.

However, conditions might not be favorable at MetLife Stadium for the Jets and Patriots, Feerick added.

"I would say if there's a game that's potentially more impacted by rain and potentially a windswept rain, it's probably the Patriots-Jets game on Sunday," he said. "Certainly things can still change between now and then."