Tigers keeping an eye on Minneapolis 'bomb cyclone'; Thursday travel could be trouble

Detroit — At this point in 2018, the Tigers already had three weather postponements, on their way to six for the first month of the season.

So far in 2019, the Tigers have dodged the weather bullet that often comes with playing April games in the Midwest.

They might not be so fortunate this week, with a so-called "bomb cyclone" looming ahead of the Friday-Sunday series scheduled against the Twins in Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is about to be blasted by a brutal winter storm that could drop more than a foot of snow between early Thursday morning and Friday morning. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is reporting dozens of cancellations and lengthy delays, with that number expected to grow significantly.

The Tigers are expected to fly charter into MSP early Thursday evening, after their series finale against the Indians at Comerica Park.

"Premature today to predict," Ron Colangelo, Tigers vice president for communications, said Wednesday when asked if there were contingency plans being discussed. "(We) should have a better idea by tomorrow."

The Twins no longer play in a dome, making storms like this problematic. Early last April, Minneapolis got dumped with heavy snow, and more than 75 team employees, including the team president, had to grab shovels to dig out the Target Field stands and field

Friday's 8:10 p.m. series opener certainly is in jeopardy of a cancellation — especially if the Tigers have trouble flying in Thursday — with the weather set to improve slightly for Saturday and Sunday, when games are scheduled to start at 2:10.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984