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Although fans were excited to see kickoff between Florida State and No. 10 Alabama on Saturday afternoon, they had to wait just a little bit longer.
Kickoff was scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET, but the game was delayed before it started due to lightning in the area.
Here's everything you need to know about the weather delay between the Tide and Seminoles.
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Alabama-Florida State weather updates
A little over 30 minutes before kickoff, Bryant-Denny Stadium was placed under a delay due to lightning in the area. Most of the fans cleared out of the stands, and both teams were required to go back to their locker rooms.
We’re in a lightning delay here in Tuscaloosa. Everyone has cleared out except for the student section.@wsfa12news @wsfa12sports pic.twitter.com/Kc0jpmjuOi
— Davis Baker (@DavisBakerTV) September 19, 2026The Tide and Nole players were on the field going through warmups when the delay started:
Just announced in the press box: We're in a lightning delay here in Tuscaloosa. Pregame warmups have stopped.
— Curt Weiler (@CurtMWeiler) September 19, 2026The local doppler radar showed storm cells moving into Tuscaloosa:
Storms moving through Tuscaloosa have caused a lightning delay. pic.twitter.com/eEuymPRlnB
— Danielle (@dkelley21) September 19, 2026It sounds like this may be a lengthy delay, according to the ABC broadcast crew.
Anytime there is lightning within the area, officials are required to wait 30 minutes until the last lightning strike or clap of thunder to resume. The 30-minute clock restarts anytime there is another strike or thunderclap.
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College football lighting protocols
Per NCAA rules, play can resume 30 minutes after the last visible lightning strike. Here's an official excerpt from the NCAA rulebook:
Electrical charges can linger in clouds after a thunderstorm has seemingly passed, so activity should remain suspended until 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder is heard or the last strike of lightning is seen. This 30-minute clock restarts for each lightning flash seen or thunder heard.
If the venue is consulting with a professional meteorologist that is using real-time lightning cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground data, other criteria can be considered for determining earlier, safe resumption of play.
We will update this story whenever we get more information, or when there is clarity about when the game will resume.
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