Severe Weather in St. Louis

[Amy33Amy33]

There is a possibility of severe weather and tornadoes in St. Louis during championships. It would probably be a good idea to develop and go over your severe weather plans with your team

https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/severe-weather-forecast-outbreak-tornadoes-april-24-30-2016?cm_ven=FB_WX_JB_42216_17

I would imagine that a tornado going through a robotics competition would be more dangerous than normal given that robots would become very dangerous debris in the event of a tornado. Does anyone know if the venue has a severe storm and tornado plan in place?

[Doug Frisk]

The dome itself is a tornado shelter. In 2012 there were major storms that passed through. My Durango still looks like a golf ball from the hail denting it. But yeah, for teams that aren't familiar with tornado prep, they might want to do some reading.

[jds2001]

Being originally from STL, it is a tornado-prone area. Nothing to see here, move on.....

I'd imagine that EJD has a plan for if something were to happen, most likely involving shelter-in-place, or evacuation to the concourse. Pay attention to what the venue tells you to do, basically.

This comes up every year.....

[SenorZ]

Yikes.
As a team that's not used to "weather" this is especially concerning.

[SteveGPage]

As mentioned, we experienced that in 2012. The venue directed everyone into the dome and shut all the doors. The biggest concern was breaking glass in the walkways. The hail was so loud in the dome that you couldn't hear the music/announcer during the finals. Inside the dome was the safest place to be.


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[Hallry]

Severe weather has hit St. Louis a few times in the past:

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106039
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106104
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136914


As mentioned above, I would wager that the safest place to be is inside the Dome.

[CalTran]

Being originally from STL, it is a tornado-prone area. Nothing to see here, move on.....

I'd imagine that EJD has a plan for if something were to happen, most likely involving shelter-in-place, or evacuation to the concourse. Pay attention to what the venue tells you to do, basically.

This comes up every year.....

2012 it was shelter in place. They advised teams to stay in their seats, though to mixed effect. Up in the 400 seats, it got very loud.

[runneals]

'd imagine that EJD has a plan for if something were to happen, most likely involving shelter-in-place, or evacuation to the concourse. Pay attention to what the venue tells you to do, basically.

Major venues like this have emergency management plans that they put into place if there was a tornado watch/warning issued. Probably the bigger thing that you should be somewhat thinking about is safe places at your hotel and what to do if you are on a bus and see one. This should be all wrapped into the planning that your mentors/coach/safety captain does relating to risk mitigation and contingency planning -- having plans for when the worst should happen.
The SPC in Norman has some great tornado safety tips (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html) if you are interested.
PS I have been a trained spotter since 2009 and I've never once seen one (being from Iowa) :(

[MooreteP]

There's a history of tornado's and the FIRST Championship.

Atlanta in 2008 (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65861&highlight=Tornado)

2012 in St. Louis (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94763)

In 2012, I was working security on the floor, checking badges and wristbands, Keeping the photographers and videographers in their pens, when the storm started to erupt.

The Dome staff brought people from the streets inside for their protection.
Unlike Atlanta, The Jones Dome is made of structural steel, and was considered safer than the outside hallways with their large glass windows (shards!)

Unfortunately, there were some intoxicated baseball fans. One even went up to the judges and "greeted" them.
We enticed them out of the immediate arena, and the show went on. I don't think many people noticed this.

The sound of hail on the roof was distracting, but the show went on.
FIRST staff was very concerned and were communicating precautionary measures to us on the field.

I think we will all be safe in the EJD.

I am hoping that the weather won't adversely affect the MLB game between the Cardinals and the Nationals on Friday night.
It's just too amazing to see two high level sporting events within 10 city blocks of each other.
And who knows, if the Blues can get the monkey off their back, they may be playing next week too.

[BSV]

Speaking with my RL professional hat on, as a scientist who studies severe weather and interacts with operational meteorologists, emergency managers, etc. on a frequent basis for a well-known national agency:

Major venues like this have emergency management plans that they put into place if there was a tornado watch/warning issued.


If only this were true! Some of them do, but many of them do not. Unfortunately, I cannot find a published safety plan for America's Center / EJD online anyplace. I see that the Cardinals and Busch Stadium are StormReady Certified (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/stormready/com-maps/mo-sr.shtml), but not the dome.


Probably the bigger thing that you should be somewhat thinking about is safe places at your hotel and what to do if you are on a bus and see one. This should be all wrapped into the planning that your mentors/coach/safety captain does relating to risk mitigation and contingency planning -- having plans for when the worst should happen.
The SPC in Norman has some great tornado safety tips (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/safety.html) if you are interested.
PS I have been a trained spotter since 2009 and I've never once seen one (being from Iowa) :(

This is pretty good advice. The main thing is to seek shelter inside, away from windows, in the lowest level you can get.

The St. Louis NWS page is here: http://www.weather.gov/lsx/ -- and it should have up-to-date information.

I'll be monitoring it, and if I see anything I will tweet about it (@wxtrav) and tag #FIRSTChamp. Don't count on that, though, since the phone coverage is pretty sketchy in the dome area.

And whatever you do, don't let your team run outside to video the storm. I know it is amazingly cool (one reason why started doing what I do for a career), but I've seen too many bad things happen to people who thought they would be okay to not be concerned about it.

[itsjustjon]

Yikes.
As a team that's not used to "weather" this is especially concerning.

In California, its just "light drizzle", "cloudy" or "no clouds and some wind."

We are definitely not prepared for this weather :cool:

[Koko Ed]

I had a feeling scary 2012 St, Louis would happen this year.
It's beautiful here right now (me and Abbby came down early). The bad weather sounds like it's hitting during load in.

[Liam Fay]

As someone from San Diego, I will certainly have to brief myself on what to do.

[dradel]

It goes without saying that teams that are flying in should check with their airlines frequently

[Andrew Schreiber]

It goes without saying that teams that are flying in should check with their airlines frequently

*sigh* Once... ONCE I would like to fly without it being rescheduled. [1]

[1] Last year was delayed nearly 12 hours. I've also had the wonderful luck to be stuck in Dulles (or as I started calling it, Dullest) for 18 hours, Tampa for 4, Charlottesville for 6, and Charlotte for 4. I HATE flying.

[GaryVoshol]

Yikes.
As a team that's not used to "weather" this is especially concerning.

And teams from the Midwest would be concerned about earthquakes if they were playing in CA. It's all what you are used to.

We have a healthy respect for storms, but not excessive fear.

[The other Gabe]

this is making me realize that I'm "old" for remembering sitting in the Edwards dome as a tornado passed over it, while the 2012 Einstein matches played

[Hallry]

this is making me realize that I'm "old" for remembering sitting in the Edwards dome as a tornado passed over it, while the 2012 Einstein matches played

I remember sitting on the dome floor during that, I can't imagine how loud it must've been at the top of the stands.

[efoote868]

The dome itself is a tornado shelter. In 2012 there were major storms that passed through. My Durango still looks like a golf ball from the hail denting it. But yeah, for teams that aren't familiar with tornado prep, they might want to do some reading.

I remember that year. I walked back to my car a couple hours after the storms passed through, and there was still quarter sized hail on the ground.
$4000 in hail damage... Very expensive weekend. Thank goodness for insurance.

[BSV]

The April 28, 2012 storm produced $1.6 billion in hail damage. There was no confirmed tornado, but at the time it was the 2nd costliest hail storm in US history.

Yes, there is no need to panic. Just make sure your team knows that it is better to be inside, away from windows, interior room, lowest floor if there is a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning.

Chances are you won't have to use that knowledge, but you want to be prepared in the event that you do.

[216Robochick288]

The April 28, 2012 storm produced $1.6 billion in hail damage. There was no confirmed tornado, but at the time it was the 2nd costliest hail storm in US history.

Yes, there is no need to panic. Just make sure your team knows that it is better to be inside, away from windows, interior room, lowest floor if there is a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning.

Chances are you won't have to use that knowledge, but you want to be prepared in the event that you do.

If you are concerned about hail, bring a tarp in the event your windows get hailed on and smashed through. Place electronics you dont carry in (not advised, leave them at home or on your person) and make sure its about as waterproof as you can get. Saw a lot of broken windshields coming out of 2012, and q lot of water damage.

[Doug Frisk]

If you are concerned about hail, bring a tarp in the event your windows get hailed on and smashed through. Place electronics you dont carry in (not advised, leave them at home or on your person) and make sure its about as waterproof as you can get. Saw a lot of broken windshields coming out of 2012, and q lot of water damage.

Or park in covered parking.

[EOC]

Wednesday's forecast for St. Louis is not promising: Thunderstorms likely, some severe. On one broadcast the possibility of tornadoes was mentioned.
Those of us who live in St. Louis recognize this as normal spring weather; we have put up with it all our lives and are surviving quite well. However, the prospect of rain during the load in is not a welcome development.

[Koko Ed]

Bad day'sa comin'! (https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/severe-weather-forecast-outbreak-tornadoes-april-24-30-2016)

[b1nary]

as a native to st. louis, the weather out here is always "extreme", for lack of better word. the weather here changes so dramatically that the weather forecasts are sometimes proven wrong. while st. louis is grinding into tornado season, with that we get strong winds and heavy rains. the weather has to have a change from hot to cold, from what i've noticed around here. the flights are seldom cancelled due to the weather here, at least from what i know. unless it's a snowstorm, it's not uncommon to see st. louisians out and about in the midst of a tornado watch/drill.

when you arrive in stl, just keep your car somewhere safe and keep your windows rolled up. we don't get hail too terribly large around here either.

[Chris is me]

The dome itself is a tornado shelter. In 2012 there were major storms that passed through. My Durango still looks like a golf ball from the hail denting it. But yeah, for teams that aren't familiar with tornado prep, they might want to do some reading.

This is a bit of a misconception. The dome is not so well engineered that it would survive, unharmed, a direct hit from a moderately powerful tornado. It is quite likely that the roof of the dome would fail in addition to the windows around the outside of the dome, causing a flurry of flying debris and hail to rain down on the dome. The walls of the dome wouldn't necessarily collapse or anything, but it would be far from a safe situation. Tornadoes are scary, powerful things.

Severe storms in the Midwest aren't exactly uncommon and even when tornadoes do touch down, their path of destruction tends to be fairly narrow and short. So it's not exactly the most likely thing in the world that the Dome is directly hit by a tornado, but it's something to be aware of. Everyone is hit by hail though...

[I_AM_Clayton]

As of right now, looking out of the window in school here in STL, it´s nice and sunny! Hopefully it can stay this way! I´ve known the weather here to change so fast that you cant really predict what´s going to happen later this week.

[JesseK]

Small note for the load-in teams: bring towels. Not little shop rags either - legit towels.

It's one of those things we said we needed one year during a rainy load-in, and then immediately forgot. Luckily it came up again Saturday during packing.

[mjc49]

Small note for the load-in teams: bring towels. Not little shop rags either - legit towels.

It's one of those things we said we needed one year during a rainy load-in, and then immediately forgot. Luckily it came up again Saturday during packing.

Thanks for the suggestion to bring towels. I'm concerned about our stuff getting wet while waiting to get into the dome. Gonna see if we can score some tarps before we leave as well.

[Travis Hoffman]

Fun times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukg-yl-px-M

[ElliottB]

So far the day 3 outlook from the SPC shows possibility for localized large hail and a tornado or two because of forecast uncertainty so I'm not worried. A large steel building at least for hail is better than anywhere with glass windows.

[Jessica Boucher]

I think the best example of how fine we will be is footage from the 2008 tornado hit to the Georgia Dome itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkfu4I9W2T8. They ended up delaying for about an hour and then completed the game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Atlanta_tornado_outbreak).

I was on the floor for 2012 and can tell you that the Dome staff as well as FIRST staff have multiple precautions in place in case of emergency. The best thing to do is to stay calm, listen for announcements, and don't be a hero.

[Type]

I heard that St Louis is getting hit today with severe storms. Hopefully that doesn't interfere with any teams travel plans.

[IndySam]

Small note for the load-in teams: bring towels. Not little shop rags either - legit towels.

It's one of those things we said we needed one year during a rainy load-in, and then immediately forgot. Luckily it came up again Saturday during packing.

Hitchhikers always have their towels.

[Koko Ed]

I'll be at the dome putting fields together so I'm hoping to get in before the storms hit and I'm also hoping their fury is spent by the time we have to leave.

[BSV]

The most likely time of arrival for the severe storms approaching St. Louis is between 2pm and 4pm. The most likely threat is damaging wind, large hail, and lightning according to the Storm Prediction Center.

This is for today, April 26, 2016, not tomorrow during load in.

-- your friendly neighborhood meteorologist

[JesseK]

The most likely time of arrival for the severe storms approaching St. Louis is between 2pm and 4pm. The most likely threat is damaging wind, large hail, and lightning according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Looks like that is during FRC load-in time, so prepare accordingly so you don't get caught out in it.

-- your friendly neighborhood meteorologist

I wonder if there is a possibility that FIRST could allow load-in prior to 1pm, or allow pre-staging inside the big doors rather than the sidewalk. This would decrease the amount of teams caught in the the storm.

It's probably more up to the venue and possibility of getting early volunteers than what's desired though. My team will have adults capable of fulfilling the temporary spots, if need be.

[techhelpbb]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/storms-could-bring-tornadoes-grapefruit-sized-hail-plains-n562331

Neither rain, nor snow will stop you from getting your robots to the the Championship.
Hopefully nobody reenacts the opening of the 'Wizard of Oz'.

[BSV]

I wonder if there is a possibility that FIRST could allow load-in prior to 1pm, or allow pre-staging inside the big doors rather than the sidewalk. This would decrease the amount of teams caught in the the storm.

It's probably more up to the venue and possibility of getting early volunteers than what's desired though. My team will have adults capable of fulfilling the temporary spots, if need be.

Sorry, I was talking about today, not tomorrow. (Confused)

Today's storms will affect flights, though. And you want to be careful driving.

Tomorrow bears watching closely as well.

[Jon Stratis]

I wonder if there is a possibility that FIRST could allow load-in prior to 1pm, or allow pre-staging inside the big doors rather than the sidewalk. This would decrease the amount of teams caught in the the storm.

It's probably more up to the venue and possibility of getting early volunteers than what's desired though. My team will have adults capable of fulfilling the temporary spots, if need be.

I think the big issue would be getting the volunteers in place for crowd control. I know inspectors were told to meet at 12:30, I imagine all of the others involved were asked to show up around the same time to get ready for load in as well.

[ctt956]

In case of flooding, remember: Unlike last year, game pieces may not be used as floatation devices. Robot bumpers probably won't float(well) either.

[CalTran]

In case of flooding, remember: Unlike last year, game pieces may not be used as floatation devices. Robot bumpers probably won't float(well) either.

Well why else would FIRST have such strict policy on the size of pool noodle? Clearly they've done the math on how to float a robot ;)

[b1nary]

VERY heavy rain outside of st. louis right now. 67mph wind reported near the city. the part of stl i'm from is under a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch.

[bdaroz]

Well why else would FIRST have such strict policy on the size of pool noodle? Clearly they've done the math on how to float a robot ;)

Water game confirmed!

(Sorry - I had to do it.... :) )

[I_AM_Clayton]

It's getting pretty bad as of right now.

[generaldgibson]

Looking out of the window in our chemistry classroom, it has started pouring down rain and a friend has said it is hailing in another part of the city as well. Very dark outside.

[pmangels17]

Wow. I remember in 2012 (my only trip to CMP so far) watching Einstein and hearing the roar of hail on the roof. In the match videos for those matches you can hear the GA making reference to the crowd noise compared to the noise on the roof, and it was definitely quite something. Safety first this weekend, and best of luck to everyone who gets to go to (what may be a very wet) Championship!

[lpickett]

I am a volunteer staying on the top floor of the Drury Inn. It is rather noisy with rain hitting the building. I know from radar the storm seems to be moving quickly. Should be okay tomorrow. Good luck and safe travels to those coming in tonight and tomorrow. My prayers are with you and hope you all have a fantastic time at Champs. It should be another great time in the robotics world.

[hrench]

Doesn't look so good in St. Louis at this minute.

https://www.facebook.com/130742220315492/photos/a.524803754242668.1073741833.130742220315492/1119950544727983/?type=3&theater

[nwrailphoto]

I'd like to emphasize that everyone needs to be cautious and pay very close attention to weather reports tomorrow as the National Weather Service is calling for worse weather tomorrow, including large hail and a chance of a few isolated tornadoes.

[Tyler_Kaplan]

I'm in the St. Louis area now, and there's been some pretty intense thunder storms going on, although it looks to be dieing down now. Safe travels to everyone.

[kevin.li.rit]

Anyone else impressed by how well we can forecast these days?

[BSV]

Anyone else impressed by how well we can forecast these days?


Meteorologists are amazing! ;)

Just wait and see what happens over the next 5-10 years. Lots of cool things being cooked up here in the "weather science" world.

[generaldgibson]

Anyone else impressed by how well we can forecast these days?

Here in St. Louis, we're used to the forecasts changing without warning... the weather can be crazy here.

[Gravity]

Meteorologists are amazing! ;)

Just wait and see what happens over the next 5-10 years. Lots of cool things being cooked up here in the "weather science" world.

Meteorologists are amazing, yet I have still never seen a weatherman/woman get the weather right for over a few days straight.

[Hallry]

AccuWeather has posted a warning for severe storms from Houston through St. Louis today: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/severe-storm-threat-to-focus-o-1/56968328

[techhelpbb]

Auntie Em!...Auntie Em! ;)

Someone tie down a safety inspector and have them give any passing twisters a good strong talking to :)