World Cup final weather: Sky clear and mostly sunny after storms clear Canadian wildfire smoke

The Athletic has live coverage of Argentina vs Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.

This World Cup has been hot and, at times, stormy, with a sizeable chunk of its 104 games set to be played above 90F (32C).

Spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, it has been the warmest edition since the previous World Cup in North America, when the U.S. hosted it solo in 1994.

Extreme heat and humidity has affected how matches are played and thunderstorms have provided a greater logistical challenge.

Under the thunderstorm protocol in place, a match must be suspended if lightning or electrical discharge is detected within an eight-mile radius of the stadium involved.

Once that happens, a 30-minute countdown begins, but resets if another strike is detected before it ends. On June 22, the game between France and Iraq became the first World Cup game delayed by the storms, stopping for more than two hours.

To help understand which games will be most affected, The Athletic is working with Aaron Mentkowski, chief meteorologist at WKBW-TV Buffalo, to provide a daily forecast. Aaron will join live coverage to explain what’s happening during storm delays.

Spain vs Argentina

Sunday, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kick-off 3pm local time

A pleasant day for the World Cup final. Skies have cleared out after yesterday’s storms and the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, and it will be mostly sunny today. For the 3pm ET start of the match, the temperature will be near 82F (28C), winds will be northwesterly at 5 to 15 miles per hour, and the humidity levels will be comfortable.