2015 US Open Forecast: Heat and Humidity Returns to New York City For Opening Rounds

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

August 29,2015; 11:54PM,EDT

 

 

The 2015 U.S. Open tennis championships are set to return to Flushing, New York, beginning Aug. 31 and continuing through Sept. 13.
The first week of play will see rounds one through three take place and summery weather will greet spectators and athletes at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Very warm to hot conditions will be in the offing throughout the week, with temperatures near 90 F, which is about 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.
Humidity is going to be moderately high, not terrible, but certainly more humid than it's been, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek.
Arthur Ashe Stadium fills up with spectators for the championship match of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament between Serena Williams, of the United States, and Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Conditions through the middle of the week will be mainly dry, although the best chance for a pop-up shower or thunderstorm will be on Monday, Dombek said.
"It's only a small chance that [a shower] happens and [the] vast majority of the time, it's going to be rain-free," he said.
There may also be a shower or thunderstorm around on Thursday with the greatest threat coming during the afternoon.
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The weather could impact play as the tournament progresses, but starting in 2016, showers and thunderstorms will have less of an impact when it comes to producing delays, as a new retractable roof is scheduled to be finished about Arthur Ashe Stadium, the tournament's primary venue.
According to the tournament's website, this is the first time "a stand alone support system has been constructed for a retractable roof over an existing stadium."
This year, the U.S. Tennis Association has set up meteorological equipment around the stadium and also is working with a Canadian wind-testing company "to measure conditions, seeking to ensure they will remain similar when the roof is open or closed," the Associated Press reported.
A view from the upper seating section in Arthur Ashe Stadium shows the framework of a retractable roof over the main court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, home to the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Although rain delays could still plague this year's U.S. Open, fans will be able to watch matches from beneath the shade the roof provides. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)