Weather a factor:
Meteorologists work to keep fans, golfers safe at tournament
With chances for storms in the forecast, meteorologists will be working almost around the clock to keep everyone at the tournament safe.
TOWN OF ERIN – Among a few universal truths in sports is this: Golf and lightning are a bad mix.
Again on Wednesday, the folks running the U.S. Open at Erin Hills found themselves dealing with heavy thunderstorms moving across eastcentral Wisconsin. Practice rounds were suspended late in the afternoon because of weather conditions.
Severe storms also moved through the area on Monday.
That’s just part of doing business when you operate a $120 million international sporting event outside in the summer.
“Ultimately we’re not in control,” said Mike Butz, the United States Golf Association senior managing director of open championships and association relations. “There is no question that God has a huge role in this.”
Meteorologists associated with the USGA as well as National Weather Service meteorologists are working on-site at Erin Hills. With chances for storms in the forecasts for the remainder of the week, they will be working almost around the clock to keep everyone at the tournament safe.
The weather teams will be using “the most sophisticated weather equipment there is,” Butz said.
That includes the use of ground- and satellite-based lightning detection equipment, said Ben Miller, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sullivan, about 30 miles southwest of Erin Hills.
The equipment allows forecasters to know the location of storms that are generating lightning.
“It takes the combination of the two — the cloud flashes from space and the ground strokes from sensors (on earth,) adds those together and puts out a plot of everything,” Miller said.
The goal is to give staffers enough lead time to clear people from the golf course, if necessary.
“We coordinate with (meteorologists at Erin Hills) and the USGA to notify them as far ahead of time as possible when there is a threat of lightning, because obviously it’s going to take some time for them to get everybody off the course,” Miller said.
Lightning is the biggest threat because of its frequency. Each year, thunderstorms produce an estimated 20 to 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in the United States, according to the Weather Service.
There are an estimated 500 golf facilities in Wisconsin, and all of them have to be aware of the threat posed by lightning.
For fans attending the U.S. Open, it’s important to be aware of the weather and pay attention to the warnings and advisories that golf course officials issue during the open, the USGA says.
The USGA will communi-
cate safety information to fans through special alerts that will appear on all message boards and video boards at Erin Hills.
Suspension of play for dangerous conditions will be indicated by one prolonged air-horn blast, and grandstands will be cleared immediately, the USGA says.
Keeping large crowds
safe from weather hazards during southern Wisconsin’s festival-filled summers is a focus of the Weather Service, Miller said.
“We have events all the time throughout the summer that have thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people who are out in the open without adequate shelter,” Miller said. “We know exactly where those places are, when (the events) are taking place.”
The Weather Service has contact information for the different events
and notifies organizers when threatening weather approaches.
Forecasters will be keeping an eye on the weather for the remainder of the tournament.
“Thursday doesn’t look too bad, and Sunday doesn’t look too bad,” Miller said. “Friday and Saturday, the (storm) chances are higher.”
In the end, the weather is in control.
“We’re as prepared as we possibly can be,” Butz said. “There are just never any guarantees.”