How Hurricane Helene could impact Braves vs. Mets in Atlanta: What to know about expected Category 3 storm

The storm was officially upgraded to a hurricane Wednesday morning

The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets began what might be the most important series of the 2024 MLB regular season on Tuesday night, with Atlanta taking the first game of the three-game set. The Mets are a half-game up on a wild-card spot, the Braves are a half-game back of Arizona and the No. 6 seed. New York can clinch a postseason berth with two wins out of three games. The Braves cannot clinch a playoff berth this series, but this is their best (last?) chance to gain significant ground. However, there is a problem this week: Hurricane Helene and the weather. 

Heavy rain is in the Atlanta forecast for both Wednesday and Thursday as the storm approaches the Florida Gulf Coast. MLB has not made any changes to the schedule as of early Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday's and Thursday's games are both currently slated to be played at 7:20 p.m. ET.

Here's a look at the hourly forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday evening, per First Alert Weather.

The storm, which was officially upgraded to a hurricane Wednesday in the National Hurricane Center's 11 a.m. update, is expected to make landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 3 hurricane with winds over 110 mph, bringing with it "life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rains to a large portion of Florida and the southeastern United States," according to the NHC. 

The projected path of Hurricane Helene has it impacting Georgia later in the week. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has already declared a state of emergency. Here's the latest from CBS News:

The forecast makes it a near certainty that the Braves-Mets series will be impacted in some way. The league is expected to coordinate with both clubs as well as independent weather sources before making a call about rescheduling games, CBS Sports has learned. 

MLB is in a scheduling crunch for this pivotal series as the regular season wraps up Sunday and the 12-team postseason gets started Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Mets are set to close out the regular season in Milwaukee with a three-game set against the Brewers, while the Braves will host the Royals from Friday through Sunday (weather permitting).

So what might MLB do if one or two Braves-Mets games has to be rescheduled? Here are two potential options.

Move games to a neutral site

When the weather forecast presents enough of a concern, MLB will move games to a neutral site. Entire series have been relocated in the past. Here are three examples:

• Sept. 14-15, 2008: Chicago Cubs at Houston Astros in Miller Park (Milwaukee). Moved due to Hurricane Ike.
• Aug. 29-31, 2017: Texas Rangers at Houston Astros in Tropicana Field (Tampa). Moved due to Hurricane Harvey.
• Sept. 11-13, 2017: New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays in Citi Field (New York). Moved due to Hurricane Irma.

The Astros vs. Cubs series in 2008 is notable for Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter, MLB's first neutral site no-hitter.

Playing at a neutral site is not optimal -- the entire series should be played in the same stadium with the same conditions -- but if Hurricane Helene forces the league to relocate Wednesday's and/or Thursday's game, then it has to be relocated. The Rangers are on the road this week, so Globe Life Field in Arlington stands out as a possible alternate site, though that is just my speculation. A short-ish flight from Atlanta and the retractable roof ensures no weather issues.

Make the game(s) up Monday (if necessary)

This is the least-desirable option. MLB could simply postpone Wednesday's and Thursday's games, and if the weekend's outcomes say they must be played to decide the postseason race, then they would be made up next Monday, on the off-day between the end of the regular season and the start of the Wild Card Series. If the games have no bearing on the race, then they won't be made up, and it could be a 160-game season for the Braves and Mets. Given the standings though, it seems likely the game will matter to one or both teams.