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The Bank will be raucous, but the atmosphere may be familiar to the Dodgers

The first two games of the division series will be played in Los Angeles-like weather conditions in Philadelphia, forecasters say.

Fans wave their Red October rally towels to celebrate the Phillies' return to the playoffs in downtown Westmont as the "Rally for Red October Bus Tour" stops in Haddon Township on Thursday. Yes, the passengers included the Phillie Phanatic.
Fans wave their Red October rally towels to celebrate the Phillies' return to the playoffs in downtown Westmont as the "Rally for Red October Bus Tour" stops in Haddon Township on Thursday. Yes, the passengers included the Phillie Phanatic.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

Citizens Bank Park is about to become a raucous Red Sea of Phillies partisans, but the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers may find the actual atmosphere familiar.

The weather Saturday in South Philly for Game 1 of the division series is going to be remarkably similar to that of Los Angeles’ Elysian Park neighborhood, home of Dodger Stadium, on Saturday — only a bit warmer around here.

Highs Saturday in Philly are forecast to approach 80 degrees, with virtually no chance of rain and temperatures in the mid-70s at game time.

Similar conditions are expected in Philly Monday. In both cases, the predicted readings actually could be at least a few degrees lower than those in Los Angeles in those early evenings.

October can be dicey in the Northeast with the threat of tropical rains, and when the nor’easter season typically gets underway as the temperature contrasts that drive storms sharpen across the Northern Hemisphere.

So, can anything go wrong during the first two games of the series?

“Not with the weather,” said Bobby Martich, meteorologist with EPAWA Weather Consulting, which provides forecast services to the Phillies. “Perfect as perfect can be.”

Forecasters are confident that strong high pressure, whose dry, heavier air discourages conditions that promote rain, will dominate at least through Monday night.

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly lists the chances of precipitation at absolute zero through the weekend, rising to a mere 1% Monday afternoon.

The next real shot of showers would be Tuesday night, when presumably the teams will be back in Los Angeles, where the weather will be similar to this weekend’s in Philadelphia.

If a fifth game is necessary, it would be played on Saturday, Oct. 11, in Philly, and looking ahead, AccuWeather Inc. has it sunny with a high of 71 degrees.

But don’t take that to The Bank. You may have noticed that outlooks that far in advance — and some not so far in advance — have a way of going awry.

AccuWeather did issue a long-range forecast on Thursday that does have a decent chance to verify.

In its winter outlook, it predicted that snowfall would be below normal.

We’re getting used to that.