Heavy rain, wind gusts forecast for Saturday

The 49ers are back in the playoffs, but they will have to deal with more than just a division rival in the wildcard round.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Lorber said that fans should expect the forecast for Saturday's matchup between the 49ers and Seahawks to include heavy rain.

After a break in the weather, the heavy rain was expected back today and falling throughout the weekend with few interruptions (though Lorber added the rain should be slightly warmer than the past week). Accuweather is also forecasting Saturday to be especially breezy, with wind gusts up to 24 miles per hour.

That means Saturday's 1:35 p.m. kickoff will all but certainly be played in the wet weather. While the playoff history of 49ers home rain games isn't long, they've picked up a few more games than normal during this season.

Yes, the 49ers lost in Week 1 during a downpour in Chicago to the lowly Bears, who finished the season with the worst record in the NFL. But in the few games impacted by the rain since, the 49ers have fared much better.

The 49ers destroyed the Cardinals in Mexico City while it rained in Week 11, with the 38-10 win a stark reversal of what we had seen from them in previous rain games. Before that, Kyle Shanahan's offense had consistently underperformed in heavy rain.

It's rained at Levi's Stadium a few times on gamedays this season, including in the week ahead of Week 2's win over the Seahawks and up to kickoff (though most of the rain dissipated during the game) and during the 49ers' Week 14 destruction of the Buccaneers.

Now, with the playoffs about to start and the Seahawks coming back to town, forecasts show more than an inch of rain is expected on Saturday and wind speeds could reach upwards of 25 miles per hour.

In the 49ers' long history of playing in the playoffs, they've had more than a few home games at Candlestick Park where there's been some rain in late December and January, and even a few memorable games where the rain made a major impact.

The most memorable one in a positive way for 49ers fans is likely the 1996 wild-card round, when the 49ers beat the Eagles 14-0 in monsoon-like conditions. But they've also have lost a few games in the heavy weather, like the 1987 divisional round, when the Vikings upset the 49ers 3624 on a sloppy field, and the 2011 NFC Championship Game, when a light-but-steady rain may have caused punt returner Kyle Williams to muff two punts as the 49ers lost to the Giants 20-17 in overtime.

But this will be the first time Levi's Stadium hosts a playoff game in the rain. While it's been years since there were any complaints about the actual grass field at Levi's, seeing how it holds up on Saturday will be a test — especially after the field was not covered by a tarp on Wednesday, which was the wettest and windiest practice day the 49ers have had since they went to Colorado Springs in November.

And while the 49ere didn't practice on the stadium's grass, Wednesday could be seen as a preparation day for Saturday's weather — and a sign that the red and gold expect the weather to have a significant impact on the game.