San Francisco 49ers and fans alike bake at Levi’s Stadium amid Northern California heat wave

Anyone trekking from Sacramento to the Bay Area on Sunday to watch the San Francisco 49ers would be mistaken for thinking they brought the heat along for the ride.

Such is the setting for what’s slated to become the hottest 49ers game played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

The Week 5 NFL contest between the 49ers (2-2) and Arizona Cardinals (1-3) was set for 1:05 p.m., typical of an early-season NFC West showdown. What’s atypical is the October spike in the temperature, expected to make the heat in Santa Clara more akin to the desert environs of the visiting Cardinals.

“It’s going to be hot,” said Nicole Sarment, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office. “It’s forecast to be the hottest 49ers game ever (at Levi’s Stadium).”

The temperatures at kickoff was 95 degrees as an excessive heat warning from the National Weather Service remained in effect, part of a broader late-season heat wave affecting the West Coast. By halftime, weather sensors around Santa Clara topped 99 degrees.

In anticipation of the heat, the 49ers sought a wardrobe change, but the NFL this week denied the team’s request to wear white uniforms, instead of the team’s customary red jerseys worn at home, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Friday, as reported by 49erswebzone.com .

That said, the team plans to swap out its gold pants for white pairs, with the hope of bringing some heat relief.

Fans in the stadium will have preparations of their own to make. The team has advised fans to hydrate – with water – before and during the game. Stadium rules allow fans to bring water and umbrellas inside, which could help, particularly in the sun-soaked sections of the 10-year-old stadium.

Prior to Sunday, the hottest regular-season 49ers game at Levi’s Stadium was played with a high of 88 degrees against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 3, 2021, ESPN reported .

The heat may be familiar – even a reprieve – to the visiting Cardinals, whose homebase in Glendale, Arizona, fell under an excessive heat warning of its own Sunday, with temperatures expected as high as 109 degrees .

But the retractable roof over the Cardinals’ stadium stands to make Sunday’s Bay Area heat uncomfortable even for the visiting team.

In Sacramento, the temperatures are expected to run a bit higher than in the Bay, with a high of 100 degrees on the forecast for Sunday and Monday as a heat advisory remains in effect.

The 49ers travel next to Seattle, where any weather concerns won’t be heat-related, to face the Seahawks on “Thursday Night Football.”