Ever since Hurricane Hazel blew off the roof to Riddick Stadium's open-air press box the day before NC State hosted Florida State on Oct. 16, 1954, foul weather has had significant impact on Wolfpack football through the years.

Saturday, Hurricane Joaquin may — or may not, depending on the storm's path and the ever-changing weather predictions — wreak havoc on the Wolfpack's ACC opener against Louisville. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Heavy rain is expected throughout the weekend, regardless of the actual storm path. Assistant athletics director for outdoor facilities Ray Brincefield says the golf-course-rated field, with state-of-the-art drainage and a thick layer of sand underneath that was installed prior to the 2009 season, can handle the amount of rain in the forecast.

"The field can safely handle four to five inches of rain over the course of a couple of days," Brincefield says. "No system can really handle hurricane-type rain for very long, but fortunately this storm has been stalling over the last day or so."

You would expect as much for something built on the bed of a research pond.

Hazel, a Category 4 monster, was the first big storm to impact a Wolfpack football game, though rains associated with other unnamed storms made a soupy mess at Riddick. Hazel still ranks as one of the state's deadliest and most destructive storms in history, causing 19 deaths and more than $136 million in damages across North Carolina. Unlike the rest of the state from Raleigh east, the storm had little impact on NC State's campus other than the press box roof and a cupola on Becton residence hall.

Remnants of Hurricane Ginger dumped rain on Carter-Finley Stadium in 1971, in a soggy 27-7 loss to North Carolina, and Hurricane Diana was a wet blanket in a 34-30 loss to Furman in 1984, but it really wasn't until the late 1980s and early 1990s that the middle part of the state regularly was slammed by football season hurricanes.

Hugo, which did so much damage to South Carolina coast and the North Carolina Piedmont, rolled in just before the State-North Carolina game in Chapel Hill in 1989. The Wolfpack brought needed relief to half the state and additional misery to the other half with its 40-6 victory over the Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium.

In 1996, North Carolina had a hurricane a month from June until September. Arthur, Bertha and Edouard softened the grounds for the destructive Fran, the last major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) to hit the North Carolina coast. Overall, it caused some $2.5 billion in damage to the state. The day after Fran made landfall, NC State opened its season by losing to Georgia Tech 28-16 at Carter-Finley on a beautiful, clear day, though electricity wasn't fully restored to the stadium, and many generators were needed to power the television broadcast of the game.

The 1999 hurricane season was also active in North Carolina and caused billions of dollars in damage, between hurricanes Dennis, Floyd, Harvey and Irene.

Dennis put a damper on South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz's triumphant return to Carter-Finley Stadium, with the Wolfpack scoring the game's only touchdown on a blocked punt in a 10-0 victory. The Gamecocks lost four of their eight fumbles that night, and Holtz, who lost only one game in Carter-Finley as head coach of the Wolfpack from 1972-75, matched that total in a few soggy hours.

The only upside — the world finally got an answer to the long-asked question: How much does Holtz weigh soaking wet? The coach went through seven rain jackets that night and claimed to never have seen such a storm during a game. However, to be fair, Holtz has also been known to exaggerate.

Two weeks later, Floyd brought more than 20 inches of rain and 500-year flooding to the eastern half of the state, forcing East Carolina to move its home game against Miami to Carter-Finley. The Pirates won in a stunning upset, bringing a few smiles to their constituency following the decimating storm that killed more than 50 people.

In 2008, Hurricane Hanna dumped five inches of rain on Carter-Finley just before the NC State-William & Mary game. For the first time in the stadium's history, a tarp was rolled out to protect the playing surface and by game time the storm had passed.

The Pack managed to hold on for a 34-24 victory in what was supposed to be redshirt freshman Russell Wilson's home debut as starting quarterback. Wilson, however, missed the game because of a concussion he suffered at South Carolina the week before, and the Pack had to rely on Harrison Beck to come off the bench for the win.

Wilson was injured again three weeks later, and South Florida was completely unaffected by an ugly downpour, scoring seven times before intermission in a 41-10 upset.

Hurricanes haven't always brought the worst weather — or luck — to Wolfpack football. Sometimes, it's just a heavy storm.

Dick Sheridan's Pack won a nationally televised game over 16th-ranked Clemson on Oct. 25, 1986, in a beautifully wretched downpour on a State Fair weekend, a 27-3 victory that made the rest of the ACC take notice of the league's newest coach.

Two years later, Sheridan's team took a 28-23 victory over Iowa in the Peach Bowl, a game that was played in a constant deluge that contributed to the bowl-record 14 turnovers (eight fumbles, six interceptions) between the two teams.

Perhaps the most fortuitous debut in Carter-Finley Stadium happened during a soaking rainstorm on Sept. 2, 2000. Under first-year coach Chuck Amato, the Wolfpack was pushed to double-overtime against Arkansas State in a deluge that an old baseball coach I knew would liken to "a tall cow peeing on a flat rock."

A fresh-faced quarterback named Philip Rivers, making the first of his NCAA-record 51 starts under center, led the Wolfpack back from a 10-point second-half deficit, including a 74-yard drive at the end of regulation that led to a game-tying field goal. In the heavy rain, Rivers completed 29 of 57 passes and threw for three touchdowns.

Regardless of the weather, Saturday's game will certainly be played rain or shine, though lightning can be a factor. Last year, the NC State-Boston College game was interrupted for almost an hour because of a passing thunderstorm that delayed the 30-14 loss.

For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @PackFootball and @PackGuestSrvcs on Twitter or check in with www.gopack.com before kickoff.

Stay safe.