With weather forecasts looking unfavorable for Saturday’s Opening Ceremonies Thunder Over Louisville, show officials are monitoring conditions that could affect parts of the day-long production.
The following can affect the air show:
HIGH WINDS – Air acts can perform at wind speed higher than 23 mph, but it severely curtails what they can do with their show. Surface winds can also have an impact. Wind direction at high speeds can impact the runway assignments at Louisville International Airport. (Ex. Some of the largest aircraft use the longest runway. Cross winds could affect the availability of the longer runway, making only the shorter runways available, thus grounding some aircraft. Winds over 28 mph will ground all sky-diving teams.
LOW CLOUDS – The air show must have a ceiling height of 1000 ft. and 3 miles of visibility. However, cloud cover under 3000 ft. can affect some air acts. Under 3000 ft., air acts that have a “low” show will be able to perform. Those that only have a “high” show will not be able to perform. There will be no vertical maneuvers in less than 3000 ft. However, even at low heights, and without the scope of vertical activity, many planes will still be able to showcase the maneuvering capability of the aircraft.
RAIN – Rain will not affect the aircraft, but will limit spectators visibility.
THUNDERSTORMS - There is a “no fly” issued during active thunderstorms. However, thunderstorms move quickly and flights will resume once they are out of the area. Planes will be reshuffled if they missed their schedule window. However, OFF STATION aircraft may not be able to be rescheduled. (Ex. The B-2 is flying “off station” from another air base and NOT taking off from Louisville. If they missed their scheduled flight time due to weather conditions in Louisville, they may not be able to be rescheduled).
The following can affect the fireworks:
HIGH WINDS: Winds over 23 mph will cause disruptions in fireworks patterns. (Ex. Shells that are supposed to explode in a specific shape such as a heart, may be distorted). Thunder officials will access wind speed at launch time to determine if a delay in firing is necessary.
INCLEMENT WEATHER: Tornado warnings or severe thunderstorms that pose a threat to public safety will delay the show.
RAIN: Rain may affect fireworks patterns and spectator visibility, but will not delay the show unless a downpour is anticipated at launch time. In that case, officials could decide to delay the show until the rain subsides.
The organizational effort to produce Thunder is so massive that postponement to the next day is not possible. While all or parts of the air show can be grounded, the fireworks portion of the show MUST take place for safety reasons. Thunder staff will not leave the venue until the fireworks have been detonated from the 2nd Street Bridge and the loaded barges. Thunder officials will continuously access the weather conditions during the day to optimize the fireworks experience. If the show does not fire at 9:30 pm, it will be assessed in 15 minute intervals until it is fired.
Thunder Over Louisville is the largest single-day event in the region. The 2005 show, themed “Thunder ROCKS,” is scheduled for Saturday, April 23 and will be the sixteenth annual production. The show is sponsored by Caesars Indiana, Chase, Ford Motor Company, and UPS.
Click here for a past weather history of Thunder.
