LSU-Clemson weather updates: Storms in Baton Rouge delay kickoff significantly

Saturday night's Clemson-LSU game between the two Tiger teams was expected to be one of the biggest games of Week 1. Unfortunately for us fans, kickoff for the game itself has to wait.

Roughly 45 minutes before kickoff in Baton Rouge, some massive rain and lightning descended upon Death Valley. As a result, the scheduled 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff has been delayed.

Here's the latest on the Clemson-LSU weather delay. MORE: Lane Kiffin is flanked by Theo Von, Livvy Dunne as he arrives for LSU debut

Due to the rain and lightning in the area, the LSU game has been delayed for at least 90 minutes.

Teams playing across the southeast have encountered some record-high temperatures, and it was quite warm in Baton Rouge throughout the day on Saturday. With how humid it gets there, it's no surprise that the heat and humidity has given way to storms.

When the ran arrived, LSU fans already in the stadium were undeterred:

The downpour and lightning was prevalent throughout Death Valley:

This is crazy. Big lighting bolt and roll of thunder rolls. Students roar and then jump into an "L-S-U" chant.#LSUpic.twitter.com/awpO5H0nKm — Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) September 5, 2026

This is crazy. Big lighting bolt and roll of thunder rolls. Students roar and then jump into an "L-S-U" chant.#LSUpic.twitter.com/awpO5H0nKm

Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) September 5, 2026

Fans were also spotted looking for cover in the bowels of Tiger Stadium:

My favorite part about all of this is whoever is playing the music at Tiger Stadium. Fans got treated to "Have you ever seen the Rain?" by Creedance Clearwater Band:

For now, it appears as though the game will start somewhere after 9 p.m. ET. Players from both teams are required a 90-minute warm-up period, and as of 7:30 p.m. ET, the teams have not come out of the locker room.

In somewhat of a positive development, some media members spotted the sun coming out a little after 7:30 p.m.

It appears that as of 7:42 p.m., the rain has lightened significantly:

Per NCAA rules, play can resume 30 minutes after the last visible lightning strike. Here's an official excerpt from the NCAA:

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.

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.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.