Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fans at Frigid Chiefs Playoff Game Underwent Amputations, Hospital Confirms
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
March 9, 2024

Share

Temperature for the Dolphins-Chiefs playoff game was minus 4 degrees with a windchill of minus 27.

The amputations involved mostly fingers and toes.

More surgeries expected over the next two to four weeks as “injuries evolve.”


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Some of the people who attended the near-record cold Kansas City Chiefs playoff game in January had to undergo amputations, a Missouri hospital said Friday.

Research Medical Center didn’t provide exact numbers but said in a statement that some of the 12 people who had to undergo amputations after the cold snap had been at the game. The amputations involved mostly fingers and toes. The hospital said more surgeries are expected over the next two to four weeks as “injuries evolve.”

The University of Kansas Hospital said it also treated frostbite victims after the game but didn’t report any amputations.

Windchill of Minus-27 Degrees

The temperature for the Dolphins-Chiefs wild-card playoff game was minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, and wind gusts made for a windchill of minus 27 degrees F. That shattered the record for the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history, which had been 1 degree F, set in a 1983 game against Denver and matched in 2016 against Tennessee.

The wild-card game was played the same day the Buffalo Bills were supposed to host the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that game was pushed back a day because a snowstorm in New York made traveling to the game too dangerous.

The game in Kansas City went on as scheduled because the frigid weather didn’t present similar problems getting to Arrowhead Stadium.

While a blizzard dumped up to 2 feet of snow in Buffalo that weekend, the snow wasn’t the problem in Kansas City, where the big concern was what the National Weather Service called “dangerously cold” windchills.

Frostbite Can Occur in 30 Minutes

Frostbite can occur on exposed skin within 30 minutes, said Dr. Megan Garcia, the medical director of the Grossman Burn Center at Research, in answering one of the top questions she is asked. The timing can be even shorter if there is a windchill, she said.

Fans were allowed to bring heated blankets into the stadium and small pieces of cardboard to place under their feet on the cold concrete.

The coldest game in NFL history remains minus 13 Fahrenheit for the 1967 NFL Championship when the Packers beat the Cowboys at Lambeau Field in a game that came to be known as the Ice Bowl. The windchill that day was 48 below zero.

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Seek Help Finding Missing 14-Year-Old Girl

DON'T MISS

Soria Confirms She is Running for State Senate Against Esparza

DON'T MISS

Trump Tries to Use White South Africans as Cautionary Tale

DON'T MISS

Experts Say Fresno Dark Money Group Should Disclose Funding Sources Now

DON'T MISS

Former Ambassador to Russia McFaul Will Speak in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Early Morning Pedestrian Crash

DON'T MISS

Clovis Money Dispute Leads to Pistol-Whipping, SWAT Callout

DON'T MISS

Putin and Trump Will Speak on Tuesday About the War in Ukraine

DON'T MISS

Clovis Father Arrested After Road Rage Shooting, SWAT Standoff With Child in Car

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for Mahmoud Khalil? A Fight to Keep His Case in New York.

UP NEXT

Trump Tries to Use White South Africans as Cautionary Tale

UP NEXT

Experts Say Fresno Dark Money Group Should Disclose Funding Sources Now

UP NEXT

Former Ambassador to Russia McFaul Will Speak in Fresno

UP NEXT

Fresno Woman Killed in Early Morning Pedestrian Crash

UP NEXT

Clovis Money Dispute Leads to Pistol-Whipping, SWAT Callout

UP NEXT

Putin and Trump Will Speak on Tuesday About the War in Ukraine

UP NEXT

Clovis Father Arrested After Road Rage Shooting, SWAT Standoff With Child in Car

UP NEXT

What’s Next for Mahmoud Khalil? A Fight to Keep His Case in New York.

UP NEXT

Social Security Employees Warn of Damage From DOGE

UP NEXT

Schumer Postpones Book Tour Amid Backlash to Voting With Republicans

Experts Say Fresno Dark Money Group Should Disclose Funding Sources Now

5 hours ago

Former Ambassador to Russia McFaul Will Speak in Fresno

6 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Early Morning Pedestrian Crash

6 hours ago

Clovis Money Dispute Leads to Pistol-Whipping, SWAT Callout

6 hours ago

Putin and Trump Will Speak on Tuesday About the War in Ukraine

6 hours ago

Clovis Father Arrested After Road Rage Shooting, SWAT Standoff With Child in Car

6 hours ago

What’s Next for Mahmoud Khalil? A Fight to Keep His Case in New York.

7 hours ago

Social Security Employees Warn of Damage From DOGE

7 hours ago

Schumer Postpones Book Tour Amid Backlash to Voting With Republicans

7 hours ago

Democracy Is on the Line in Israel and America Right Now

8 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Help Finding Missing 14-Year-Old Girl

Authorities are searching for a 14-year-old girl who was last seen Monday morning in Fresno, the Fresno Police Department said in a statemen...

3 hours ago

Fresno police are searching for Hazel Gordo, 14, who was last seen Monday morning near First Street and Gettysburg Avenue. (Fresno PD)
3 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Help Finding Missing 14-Year-Old Girl

4 hours ago

Soria Confirms She is Running for State Senate Against Esparza

People rallied in support of US President Donald Trump outside the US embassy in Pretoria, South Africa on Feb. 15, 2025. The president and his allies accuse South Africa of discriminating against and killing white people, and warn that it could happen in America if attempts to promote diversity aren’t stopped. (Joao Silva/The New York Times)
4 hours ago

Trump Tries to Use White South Africans as Cautionary Tale

5 hours ago

Experts Say Fresno Dark Money Group Should Disclose Funding Sources Now

6 hours ago

Former Ambassador to Russia McFaul Will Speak in Fresno

fresno
6 hours ago

Fresno Woman Killed in Early Morning Pedestrian Crash

A money dispute between acquaintances escalated into a violent robbery, prompting a Tactical Operations callout by Clovis Police, resulting in the arrest of .James Johnson, 46, of Clovis, and Nathan Medina, 36, of Fresno. (Clovis PD)
6 hours ago

Clovis Money Dispute Leads to Pistol-Whipping, SWAT Callout

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, March 14, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
6 hours ago

Putin and Trump Will Speak on Tuesday About the War in Ukraine

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend