Washington Nationals fans have been eagerly awaiting the start of the 2026 season. While expecting a return to the postseason may be a stretch, this is a very fun, exciting roster that could make some noise if they can get strong seasons out of James Wood, Dylan Crews, and Brady House. However, as the Nationals travel to Wrigley Field to take on the Cubs, Mother Nature seems to be throwing both teams a curveball.
Unpredictable weather across the country is pretty much par for the course each spring. A large portion of the rain delays we see each season come during the spring as the temperatures are all over the place and snow melts away. However, only the Nationals-Cubs matchup seems to be in peril today and the storms coming could bring baseball-sized hail to the area and threaten the first game of the season.
Weather forecast for Nationals' season opener against Cubs could get very sketchy in a hurry
For the moment, it appears as though Opening Day will start on time. According to the best forecasts we have at the moment, the rough weather probably isn't arriving until around 4 PM EST today, although that is obviously subject to change. Assuming a relatively brisk pace of play, there is a decent chance that enough of the game can be played to be counted as official before the hellscape descends on Chicago.
However, that does mean there are probably going to be a lot of fans at Wrigley Field when the weather shows up. While that wouldn't be a big problem in the face of regular storms, it is a completely different animal when it comes to giant pieces of hail flying down. To anyone who is attending the game in person, stay vigilant and keep yourselves safe.
We'll provide updates during the course of the day if the forecast changes and if there is a rain delay. For now, you can expect to see at least some baseball played today, but anything beyond that is at the mercy of some pretty gnarly Opening Day weather.