Yankees Home Opener Canceled As Snow Blankets NYC

THE BRONX, NY — Major League Baseball teams don't usually have to worry about snow ruining opening day. But a springtime snowstorm blowing through New York City spoiled the Yankees' Monday afternoon home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The game scheduled for 1:05 p.m. was postponed until 4:05 p.m. Tuesday as the winter weather system blanketed the city with snow. The storm is expected to drop up to five inches of flakes by early Monday afternoon.

The field and seats at Yankee Stadium were seen covered in the white stuff Monday morning in a video posted to Twitter by Erik Boland, who covers the team for Newsday.

The Yankees announced the postponement less than an hour before the gates at the Bronx ballpark were slated to open at 10 a.m.

The flakes are expected to taper off by the time Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery was scheduled to throw out the first pitch. But a small chance of rain in the Bronx will linger until around 2 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

(Lead image: Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)