The Phillies’ opening day is threatened by rain once again. Here’s the latest forecast.

Update: Phillies’ opening day against the Atlanta Braves has been postponed and rescheduled to Friday at 3:05 p.m.

After last year’s playoff collapse, Phillies fans have been waiting months for the 2024 season to finally begin.

They may have to wait an extra day.

Opening day for the Phillies is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park against the Atlanta Braves. But the scheduled first pitch at 3:05 p.m. might get pushed back as a storm moves up the coast.

The Phillies faced a similar dilemma last year and decided to delay the first home game of the season to avoid what forecasts showed as an 85% chance of rain and a potential lightning harvest. Ultimately, the worst never came, and, in fact, it turned out to be a beautiful day for baseball, with no rain and temperatures about 80 degrees — a rarity for home openers.

“It’s always a challenge. You try to make the best decision with all the information you have,” said John Weber, a Phillies senior vice president in charge of ticket operations. “At the end of the day, the goal is to get the game in.”

Will the Phillies end up pushing back opening day to Friday? Or, with last year’s miss on their minds, will they push forward until the last moment in hopes of getting the game in on time?

A storm will track up the coast, and it looks as though the Shore is going to get a dousing, and it almost certainly will rain in Philly, forecasters said Wednesday morning.

The bigger issue question was: When will the rain shut off? Computer-model guidance in the last two days has gone back on forth on the timing and duration of the rain. On Wednesday, the National Weather Service saw a 70% chance of rain at gametime.

But, “there is an outside chance that the rain ends by the scheduled mid-afternoon starting time,” said Paul Dorian, a Valley Forge-based meteorologist with the Arcfield weather service.

If the game is postponed, be advised that Friday won’t be a day at the beach. It should be sunny and a few degrees warmer, but winds will be howling in from left-center, gusting to 30 to 40 mph, said John Feerick, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

At least Kiteman won’t be involved in the pre-game festivities.

Weber said everyone wants opening day to be played on schedule, but if weather forces a move, the Phillies will make the decision in conjunction with Major League Baseball.

The Phillies are opening the season against the Braves, but their three-game series is spread across four days, with Friday built in as an off-day.

“You want to have an opening day so your fans can come celebrate the opening of the baseball season, and if you do have a rainout or an issue, you do have the next day,” Weber said. “But that doesn’t always guarantee anything. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be 65 degrees and perfect if you move it to a different day.”

It’s not just Thursday the Phillies need to worry about. Thanks to the league pushing opening day up to March, the Phillies are scheduled to play 16 games at Citizens Bank Park through the end of April. Here in the Northeast, it’s a period known for volatile weather that can quickly fluctuate from sunny, summer-like conditions to blisteringly cold evenings soaked with rain.

Adding to the complexity is a new schedule rolled out last year that has the Phillies facing every other MLB team at least once. So if there’s the threat of rain during the final game of a series against a team they don’t face again at home, it’s much more likely Phillies fans would be forced to sit through a lengthy rain delay rather than endure a postponement.

“I’m smart enough to know we’re going to have some challenges,” Weber said. “You just have to try to deal with it, and keep the fans front-and-center.”

Weather postponements are certainly nothing new for baseball. Last season, 42 of the 2,430 games were postponed and rescheduled, according to MLB. The Phillies were part of six of those postponements — four at home, two on the road. Since 1986, MLB has averaged nearly 37 postponements a year due to weather issues, reaching as high as 65 in 2021.