Stage Collapse

Scary times for concertgoers at the Indiana State Fair over the weekend with the stage collapse at the Sugarland concert. A strong line of storms rolled through the area just after 8 in the evening and the National Weather Service had a warning out 16 minutes prior to the storms hitting the fairgrounds. Of course, what people will tell the media is they had no warning. But the announcer did mention over the loudspeaker that storms were in the area and informed the fairgoers where to go for shelter. Maybe some of the people didn't realize the severity of the storms, or didn't know a warning had been issued. It's difficult to say without being there, but it's something meteorologists have discussed in great detail at conferences and workshops. What do you do with thousands of people at a large outdoor event when storms are near? The fact of the matter is this is not the last time something like this will happen. Severe storms are no strangers to large outdoor venues (just like the storm that rolled over Bill Snyder Family Stadium last fall at a football game). So, we can learn something from this tragic event in Indiana. Wind gusts of 60-70 mph were reported as the storms moved through(certainly enough to bring down a stage that already has a huge amount of weight up high with the lights)


It's going to get hot again this week as kids head back to school. It shouldn't be as hot as it was in July, but we'll be close to 100. Look for storms off and on this week too. We still need the rain!!