After a week that included an ice storm, snow and once-in-a-generation single-digit temperatures, the Dallas-Fort Worth area had temperatures in the mid-50s under bright, sunny skies in the hours before kickoff Sunday for Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium.
The stadium's retractable roof has been closed all week and will remain so for the game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Forecasters had predicted temps in the 40s with a chance of rain, which would have added another hurdle to fans trying to get to the game.
That's a far cry from Friday, when giant chunks of ice fell from the stadium's roof and injured six people.
One of them, veteran photographer Win McNamee, told *The Dallas Morning News* that he didn't think he'd survive.
"Honestly, while it was hitting me, I was thinking I'm going to die here," said McNamee, who said. "It was pretty frightening."
None of the injuries were considered life-threatening. McNamee was scheduled to fly home to Washington, D.C., to undergo surgery on his left shoulder, which was broken in four places.
McNamee was at the stadium to take snow-related photos when he heard what he described as jet engines and spotted an "avalanche of ice."
"I had nowhere to go," he said. "It hurt pretty bad."
Ice and snow fell about 200 feet from the southern area of the stadium roof as the sun finally appeared and temperatures warmed Friday afternoon.
