Is the Bills field heated? How Highmark Stadium deals with snow in Buffalo

The Buffalo Bills embrace the elements, possibly more than any other team in the NFL. Sure, the Packers and Steelers turn out despite the bitter cold, but few NFL teams deal with mountains full of snow like appear at Highmark Stadium seemingly every year.

Ahead of Sunday Night Football against the 49ers, another wave of snow bucketed down on Highmark. And as usual, the team called on fans and volunteers to come in and help shovel away all that snow in time for kickoff.

What about the snow that falls during the game? Do the Bills have heating under the field to keep ground from freezing and the snow from sticking?

Do the Buffalo Bills have a heated field?

Nope.

Highmark Stadium does not have a heating element under the field. The New Highmark Stadium currently under construction nearby won't have one either. Instead, the roofless stadium will have "radiant heating and a canopy that covers 65 percent of seats" protecting fans from the snow, but not the field or the players.

As I said earlier, the Bills are fully committed to the elements. When people say "football weather" in Buffalo, they mean several feet of snow.

That's not an exaggeration either. Scenes from Buffalo before the Bills take on the 49ers

The process to clear the snow remains remarkable simple: Man power and time.

Which NFL stadiums have heated fields?

There are five stadiums in the NFL with heated fields, including the homes of the Steelers, Chiefs, Packers, Eagles and Broncos.

• Acrisure Stadiums, Pittsburgh, PA
• Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
• Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
• Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
• Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA

That's right, the Steelers and Packers, of "Frozen Tundra" fame have heating under their fields.

So when you see players slam to the turf in Buffalo, just remember there's a decent chance the ground they're falling on is frozen.

Bills vs. 49ers weather forecast on Sunday Night Football

The so-called "Lake Effect" is responsible for the dumping snow. During the game, they're expecting flurries at least. Accuweather expects it to be 30 degrees at kickoff with a "RealFeel" of 12 degrees. The wind will be whipping at 18 mph.