Wednesday, August 14, 2019

2019 Little League World Series: Thunderstorms may impact opening games

By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather meteorologist




The Little League World Series (LLWS) begins on Thursday, Aug. 15 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, as 16 teams battle to be crowned world champions.
Each summer, eight U.S. teams and eight International teams punch their tickets to Williamsport to play against one another in an 11-day baseball tournament. This year, the LLWS will take place from Thursday, Aug. 15 to Sunday, Aug. 25.
The U.S. teams consist of eight different regions: Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest and West. The International teams include the regions of Asia-Pacific, Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Europe-Africa, Japan, Latin America and Mexico.
The 2018 LLWS Champion, Honolulu, Hawaii, failed to quality for this year's tournament. However, the Central East Maui Little League team from Wailuku, Hawaii, the winners of the West Region, will try to make it two championships in a row for the Aloha State.
2018 LLWS champions- Hawaii
Honolulu's Mana Lau Kong, right, takes a selfie with his team as they celebrate after winning the Little League World Series championship baseball game against South Korea in South Williamsport, Pa., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar).

The opening-round games will take place on Thursday, Aug. 15 and Friday, Aug. 16.
The first game is an international battle slated for 1 p.m. EDT Thursday as Sydney, Australia, takes on Willemstad, Curacao. The first game featuring U.S. teams will take place after the conclusion of Australia-Curacao, in which Barrington, Rhode Island, (winners of the New England region) takes on South Riding, Virginia, (winners of the Southeast region).
The weather may not fully cooperate for the first two days of play, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Rinde.
"The LLWS could be a little bumpy on Thursday and Friday as a weak storm system moves across the area, bringing the chance for a few showers and perhaps a thunderstorm," Rinde said.
LLWS feature 8-14-19

No day is expected to be a total washout. However, players and those attending any of the games may be required to seek shelter at the first sight of lightning or rumble of thunder. Delays in play will be possible if rain falls too heavily.
High temperatures on Thursday and Friday will reach the upper 70s to lower 80s.
While no day through Sunday has a 0% chance of rain, the upcoming weekend looks to bring the best chance for dry weather.
"The weekend looks to escape mostly dry with high temperatures rising from the mid-80s on Saturday to near 90 F on Sunday," Rinde said.
Players and fans will want to remain hydrated, especially, this weekend, as the addition of humidity will send AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures 10 degrees higher than the actual air temperature.
The Major League Baseball (MLB) Little League Classic game this year will take place on Sunday evening, Aug. 18 as the Chicago Cubs take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. This will allow all little league players to mingle together and watch some of the best players in the world play baseball in Williamsport. It should remain dry for this contest with temperatures falling into the 70s throughout the game.
Download the AccuWeather App and use AccuWeather Minutecastto monitor any storms that may impact the area.
Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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