Severe Weather Forces Tulsa Fairgoers Indoors

Things may have looked nice and clear at the fair Thursday night, but for most of the day fair organizers had to deal with lightning, winds and lots of rain.

Thursday, October 2nd 2014, 11:08 pm

By: News On 6

Severe Weather Forces Tulsa Fairgoers Indoors

Skies were all clear over midtown Thursday night as Brett Michaels, of Poison fame, took the stage at the fair; but earlier in the day things were much different as storms rolled in and shut down rides and sent people rushing indoors.

Things may have looked nice and clear at the fair Thursday night, but for most of the day fair organizers had to deal with lightning, winds and lots of rain, and fairgoers scrambled for cover as lightning and rain shut down rides on the midway.

"We were actually on the Himalaya when it started,” some fairgoers said.

Wendy Dunlap and Jessica Doeden walked the Expo Center waiting to head back outside after their ride was stopped due to the storms over midtown Thursday afternoon.

"It was lightning. It was pouring and it was lightning," the girls said. "They just got us off, they stopped it. They stopped it and said sorry about it. We just had to get off and leave so we came in here and looked around the QuikTrip building after getting soaking wet."

State fair organizers said they work closely with local law enforcement and emergency management to monitor the weather.

"So we have a combination of a good team put together to make the call on when to shut down the midway or not," said Sarah Thompson with the Tulsa State Fair. "So if there's any lightning in the area, the midway is going to shut down."

The storms gave people a chance to see what's going on indoors at the fair.

“I think Oklahoma's used to this kind of weather so we just mosey, look around and see if anything's coming down or anything and then we just come on in,” said one fairgoer.

Thompson said, "You know we hope for perfect weather during the year but we are 11 days so a little bit of rain doesn't scare us too much."

Event organizers said they also have an emergency plan in place for a worst case scenario like severe weather. All bathrooms inside the Expo Center double as storm shelters in case of emergency.