The "lightning" delay

#1
Volingatorland

Volingatorland

I'm more of a hockey guy.
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#1
As most of you know that were at the game, there was a delay during sunny skies due to lightning. The storm never came close to Nissan Stadium.

Now I know the lightning policy is in place for the protection of the players and fans, but I think the 8 mile radius is a bit much. The SEC needs to reduce that to 5 miles, which while still a safe distance, would reduce the number of delays and keep the game going. That 90 minute delay meant I had to miss the 4th quarter to make it back to Knoxville at a reasonable hour. I'm just kind of venting, but anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
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#2
#2
Well that's not the safety directors fault that you had to make it back to Knoxville at a "decent hour". I understand what you're saying but there is a reason it's 8 miles. Better safe than sorry
 
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#3
#3
I understand why you would be upset and think 5 miles would be enough. But as soon as they do and someone gets hurt by a strike, everyone will be yelling to push it back to 25 miles. Sometimes better to just be happy with what we got.
 
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#4
#4
My thought is you do whatever necessary to protect the players and the fans. I think it's a great policy, and just something we have to deal with. When you think about how quick lightning can strike, and how rapid it moves around, 8 miles is actually pretty small.
 
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#5
#5
I do think it's a bit too much of a pendulum swing toward caution.

Not because the science is wrong, I have a feeling they got that right (horizontal range of lightning strikes once a strike observed, time of wait after last strike spotted, etc.). But because their risk analysis seems off.

Risk analysis is all about balancing likelihood of an event occurring against severity of the result if it does occur.

I'd love to see the risk analysis of lightning strikes at games in large college and pro stadiums. Seems to me all those lightning rods built into the high walls of the stadium sides would mitigate a huge % of the risk to players on the field and fans in the stands. But I don't know, maybe people get hurt more often than I'm aware of in these kinds of venues.

I absolutely agree with these safety measures at most high school, middle school, and peewee fields, where stands are low and often no lightning rods have been erected. I would imagine incidents are more frequent in venues like that.
 
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#6
#6
TV might dictate the policy pretty soon -- they do everything else
 
#7
#7
Isn't it a six mile radius? The second delay was due to a strike 5.9 miles sway.

You don't mess with lightning. I'm sure that there's some basis for that distance. It takes a while to get everybody to safe places. Seems like they could imcorporate storm
direction and speed though.
 
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#8
#8
Serpent710 said:
Well that's not the safety directors fault that you had to make it back to Knoxville at a "decent hour". I understand what you're saying but there is a reason it's 8 miles. Better safe than sorry
Click to expand...

When I was in boot camp, mind you it was 15 years ago, the range to suspend outdoor training was 5 miles. Unless something new has surfaced, I just don't understand why that's not good enough.

Thunder Good-Oil said:
Isn't it a six mile radius? The second delay was due to a strike 5.9 miles sway.

You don't mess with lightning. I'm sure that there's some basis for that distance. It takes a while to get everybody to safe places. Seems like they could imcorporate storm
direction and speed though.
Click to expand...

Exactly the reason it should be 5 miles. I don't think there was a single strike in that radius.
 
#9
#9
Control what you can control and the safety factor is what it is. It took 1.2 hours to get through the first quarter. Why? TV timeouts. We now have a running clock, however the effort to shorten the length of the game ended has actually because of Advertising and TV time outs.

We would have been midway through the 4th Quarter when the delay hit but 6 minute TV timeouts in the first and second quarters made this game boring. We have now come 360 degrees from where we were 4 years ago in 4 hour games.
 
#11
#11
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Isn't it a six mile radius? The second delay was due to a strike 5.9 miles sway.

You don't mess with lightning. I'm sure that there's some basis for that distance. It takes a while to get everybody to safe places. Seems like they could imcorporate storm
direction and speed though.
Click to expand...

Well...5.9 miles away would be within the 8-mile radius.

Per the policy, it's 8 miles.
 
#12
#12
Educate yourself regarding the science that the policies are based on. Lightning can strike between 10 and 25 miles away from the storm, even if the skies are clear and blue. The policy should be more like a 15 mile radius.
 
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#13
#13
Our guys ate hotdogs and listened to music during the delay…. reported by Patrick Brown. Some were dancing. :dance:
 
#15
#15
If you are close enough to hear thunder, you are close enough to be hit by lightening.
 
#19
#19
I could see some pretty decent lighting from my seats.

My only problem was that they kept taking TV timeouts after the delay.
 
#20
#20
Volingatorland said:
When I was in boot camp, mind you it was 15 years ago, the range to suspend outdoor training was 5 miles. Unless something new has surfaced, I just don't understand why that's not good enough.



Exactly the reason it should be 5 miles. I don't think there was a single strike in that radius.
Click to expand...

How many people did you have to move in boot camp when it happened though, and how long did it take?

Maybe there has to be a balance in the distance to declare the delay with how long it takes to get a stadium of that many people safely out of the stands and to safe areas (and it all be done before the lightning/ storm is right over the stadium and parking lot)?
 
#21
#21
Sudden Impact said:
Control what you can control and the safety factor is what it is. It took 1.2 hours to get through the first quarter. Why? TV timeouts. We now have a running clock, however the effort to shorten the length of the game ended has actually because of Advertising and TV time outs.

We would have been midway through the 4th Quarter when the delay hit but 6 minute TV timeouts in the first and second quarters made this game boring. We have now come 360 degrees from where we were 4 years ago in 4 hour games.
Click to expand...

Yeah but good luck getting things changed based around the advertisers for each network and their commercials. That's where all the larger amounts of money come in for the networks and the teams/conferences involved; they essentially call the shots.

Unfortunately, that's the one thing that none of them are ever going to try to change.
 
#22
#22
It seemed a little odd the concert on the river bank continued. That was the only thunder i heard. I was thankful for the cool air.
 
#23
#23
From the NOAA - An Approaching Thunderstorm: When to Seek Safe Shelter: Lightning can strike as far as 10 to 15 miles from the area where it is raining. That's about the distance you can hear thunder. If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance. Seek safe shelter immediately.
http://www.weather.gov/media/gid/lightning.pdf
 
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