Braves have more rain delays than any team in MLB

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Atlanta Braves fans say it seems heavy downpours keep popping up right over SunTrust Park in Cobb County.

There was another rain delay Tuesday night.

Severe Weather Team 2’s Brian Monahan says it may not be just coincidence that the storms are forming right over the stadium.

For the 11th time this season, the grounds crew at the new home of the Braves were busy rolling the tarp on the field at the start of a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay Tuesday night.

On their first visit to SunTrust Park, Teresa Balcer and her husband, Robert, told Monahan that they took the pelting rain in stride.

"You come prepared. We have excellent ponchos. Just so it's not lightning. You go with the flow," Balcer said.

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Just a night earlier, Heidi Hausler said she sat through the 10th rain delay of the season.

"Monday night, there was an hour where they had the tarp out, but we just kind of sat in our seats and waiting for it to roll by," Hausler said.

Nearly a quarter of the games the Braves have played at SunTrust this season have been stalled by rain.

While rain has been above average across north Georgia this year, a recent study by the University of Georgia found heavy summertime rainfall is more frequent near SunTrust Park, especially during the afternoon and evening hours.

The reason: The urban heat island. As moisture combines with buoyant hot air over the Atlanta metro, storms form near Interstate 285 and can drift slowly right near SunTrust Park.

Michael Leverhett, who stopped by the new park for the first time Wednesday, told Monahan he was trying to will the rain away just before the game.

“Not today; we chose today's game because the rain comes toward the end of the day," Leverhett said.

A lot of fans asked why not put a retractable roof on SunTrust?

Monahan asked the Braves that question and they told him it's something they never really considered in the design plans.

Cox Media Group