Storm-Ending Bluesfest
On a steamy hot summer day, with a nice cooling breeze, cold beverage in hand, viewing a large open-air stand with a favoured musical performance, it seems the crowd in attendance had good reason to feel happy with the occasion. It was the very last day of Bluesfest, and the end of a long, hot day.
Environment Canada had issued a warning of possible thunderstorms, around midnight. And it was a long way to midnight.
Of course, they had also said that there was a 30% chance of pop-up showers, or thunderstorms, given the deep humidity, the searing heat and high UV index. But nothing like that happened throughout the day. Good weather for an open-air concert series with fans enjoying themselves and the bands being featured rising to the occasion.
The band that rose to the occasion just after seven in the evening finished their hit I Want You to Want Me, and from their viewing platform on stage, able to see the steadily relentless arrival of black thunderheads coming in over the Ottawa River, they exited expeditiously. Good decision- making on the part of Cheap Trick; they left just in time.
Had they lingered a few moments longer they might have been awfully surprised. And perhaps dreadfully hurt, as well. As it was, their driver did sustain some physical harm; a broken leg, a head injury, cuts and along with two other people was taken directly to hospital for care after the Ottawa Paramedic Service had given initial treatment.
Almost simultaneously to having left the stage, high winds gusting up to 95 kph knocked down the stage, and the crowds of people assembled evacuated the area as swiftly as they could. Emergency vehicles began to arrive, security staff worked to guide people calmly out of the area, directing them to the nearby War Museum for shelter from the wind and rain.
It was exceedingly fortunate that no one was seriously injured, much less fatally. Elsewhere in the city mature trees were blown down by the fierce winds. Debris was picked up and flown through the air. Boaters were stranded, and power lines fell, leaving thousands of people without electricity.
Police responded to over 300 calls for assistance, everything from a townhouse fire, marine accidents, power outages, to downed hydro lines and trees and signs. For most people, sitting at home after the dinner hour, it was surprising to note a sudden whipping increase of wind, shoving backyard trees almost perpendicular to the ground.
There were great rolling booms of thunder and sheet lightning lit up a sky that had been light blue with a fiercely over-heated sun all through the day, and which had suddenly turned densely black with rolling thunder clouds in an unexpectedly short time. But it was the sudden onset of the wind that grabbed attention.
And that wind packed quite a punch.
Environment Canada had issued a warning of possible thunderstorms, around midnight. And it was a long way to midnight.
Of course, they had also said that there was a 30% chance of pop-up showers, or thunderstorms, given the deep humidity, the searing heat and high UV index. But nothing like that happened throughout the day. Good weather for an open-air concert series with fans enjoying themselves and the bands being featured rising to the occasion.
The band that rose to the occasion just after seven in the evening finished their hit I Want You to Want Me, and from their viewing platform on stage, able to see the steadily relentless arrival of black thunderheads coming in over the Ottawa River, they exited expeditiously. Good decision- making on the part of Cheap Trick; they left just in time.
Had they lingered a few moments longer they might have been awfully surprised. And perhaps dreadfully hurt, as well. As it was, their driver did sustain some physical harm; a broken leg, a head injury, cuts and along with two other people was taken directly to hospital for care after the Ottawa Paramedic Service had given initial treatment.
Almost simultaneously to having left the stage, high winds gusting up to 95 kph knocked down the stage, and the crowds of people assembled evacuated the area as swiftly as they could. Emergency vehicles began to arrive, security staff worked to guide people calmly out of the area, directing them to the nearby War Museum for shelter from the wind and rain.
It was exceedingly fortunate that no one was seriously injured, much less fatally. Elsewhere in the city mature trees were blown down by the fierce winds. Debris was picked up and flown through the air. Boaters were stranded, and power lines fell, leaving thousands of people without electricity.
Police responded to over 300 calls for assistance, everything from a townhouse fire, marine accidents, power outages, to downed hydro lines and trees and signs. For most people, sitting at home after the dinner hour, it was surprising to note a sudden whipping increase of wind, shoving backyard trees almost perpendicular to the ground.
There were great rolling booms of thunder and sheet lightning lit up a sky that had been light blue with a fiercely over-heated sun all through the day, and which had suddenly turned densely black with rolling thunder clouds in an unexpectedly short time. But it was the sudden onset of the wind that grabbed attention.
And that wind packed quite a punch.
Labels: Environment, Ottawa, Whoops
posted by Pieface @ 6:56 PM
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