Installing a thoroguard system at PKI

[adam47303]

A Thoroguard is a lightning a device that alerts you when lightning is present to take shelter. I saw this thing on the History channel last night on Modern Marvels. This system will cut down on lightning related fatalities. I know that Boomerang Bay Has open areas. If this system could work on a ball field why not a theme park.

[Gordon Bombay]

Im sure PKI has something like that, as most places liek them parks, golf courses, and other things of that nature do.

[BoddaH1994]

Sounds expensive. Then again, although there have been lightning incidents in the past, I feel pretty safe with a 313ft tall lighting rod within a mile of me.

[Captain Nemo]

PKI plays an announcement that tell people to take shelter when a storm is in the area.

[WooferBearATL]

OK, when I used to supervise Ice Cream Shoppe on International Street - the supervisor of Pizza and I used to watch lightning hit the tower and Vortex during storms. Was kinda cool. (Although no one was hurt.)

[adam47303]

PKI plays an announcement that tell people to take shelter when a storm is in the area.

This is a little more sophisticated than an announcer on a p.a. system, and a little more effective than a persons voice, very shrill.

[harvesterofyoursorrow]

Heck, my Cross Country coach had a lightning detector. Nothing over 200 bucks really.

[WooferBearATL]

Heck, my Cross Country coach had a lightning detector. Nothing over 200 bucks really.

That was really just an iPod. He didn't want to tell ya that he was jammin while ya'll were running.

[King Bowser]

Whats wrong with havin an ipod?

[Legend Rider]

anyway, this shrill alert is really just an addition to what PKI probably already has...

i mean look, if PKI wanted to scare the pants off of every person there, then they could, but they chose to be nice about it and suggest the people seek shelter. I know I have had a fair share of storms at HW, they even put us in weird locations...

Food Freezers, Raging Rapids Tunnel, Frightful Falls Tunnel, and there is always an employee walking around to make sure there is nobody left outside, they get everyone in, one operator from falls almost got hit just as he walked in front of the Legend. he wasnt hurt, and ohter operators at Raven were terrorized by a huge strike to the tree next to the lift on raven, blew out circuits, but nobody was hurt...

[flightoffear1996]

Sounds expensive. Then again, although there have been lightning incidents in the past, I feel pretty safe with a 313ft tall lighting rod within a mile of me.

Actually there is 2 lighting rods.

[adam47303]

anyway, this shrill alert is really just an addition to what PKI probably already has...

i mean look, if PKI wanted to scare the pants off of every person there, then they could, but they chose to be nice about it and suggest the people seek shelter. I know I have had a fair share of storms at HW, they even put us in weird locations...

Food Freezers, Raging Rapids Tunnel, Frightful Falls Tunnel, and there is always an employee walking around to make sure there is nobody left outside, they get everyone in, one operator from falls almost got hit just as he walked in front of the Legend. he wasnt hurt, and ohter operators at Raven were terrorized by a huge strike to the tree next to the lift on raven, blew out circuits, but nobody was hurt...

I dont mean to for this to scare off people. I think if this was in effect that the patrons when they enter the parking lot or the front gate they should be handed a flyer with the description of the system and what to do if they hear the thoroguard where to seek shelter.

[TheKlockster]

I am sure PKI has either a Lightning Detector or some form of RADAR. Either that or they watch the weather channel. But they stay on top of the weather.

And there ARE two lightning rods in the park - not IS...

And LegendRider... ohter?

[TRTR Guy]

I am sure PKI has either a Lightning Detector or some form of RADAR. Either that or they watch the weather channel. But they stay on top of the weather.

Go into the communications room, they have a doppler monitor on.

[Gordon Bombay]

PKI plays an announcement that tell people to take shelter when a storm is in the area.

This is a little more sophisticated than an announcer on a p.a. system, and a little more effective than a persons voice, very shrill.

Why do you think they make the announcement? Because they can detect the storm before it comes duh, come on people. They dont just sit there and wait for obvious signs.

[Dalefan]

if people cant use sense and get out of a storm even lighting its there fault.remember when the dude got struck when he touched his car?if you look closely ijst has a tornado trailer near the ride incase of one.anyway boomrang bay does need more indoor places incase of a really bad storm.dont want a bunch of wet people cramed in one shop.had that happen at a water park here in columbus,ohio that six flags owns.not a good thing.but anyway they need something out somewhere away from people and rides to keep the lighting away from things and people.say out in the area of the woods by The Beast.alot of room noone goes to.and is away from everything.

[deidre1976]

Was any one their on July 4, 2003? Thousands upon thousands running to their cars. It three hours to get out of the parking lot!!!! That was a serious storm

[PKI_Diana]

PKI does have a warning system. Those of us that are employees know the tones and what they code for. In addition, they play p.a. announcements when a storm is within ten miles. I know that my ride closed for storms as soon as lightning was close. Gotta love calling communications, and they are the best people, and they are able to tell us flat out how many strikes, and at what distance! Good staff!

[CoastersRZ]

Yes, I remember hearing when I was at the park a couple years ago, that they shut down most rides if there is lighting within five miles of the park.

At Coney, we have a less sophisticated way. If one of the rides employees sees lightning, we have to call it in to one of our managers. They then have to see a bolt of lightning before they order all the tall rides (and those on Lake Como) to close. Now occasionally, The president or VP of operations will order the rides closed, based on the radar images that they can see in the Admin building.

[adam47303]

if people cant use sense and get out of a storm even lighting its there fault.remember when the dude got struck when he touched his car?if you look closely ijst has a tornado trailer near the ride incase of one.anyway boomrang bay does need more indoor places incase of a really bad storm.dont want a bunch of wet people cramed in one shop.had that happen at a water park here in columbus,ohio that six flags owns.not a good thing.but anyway they need something out somewhere away from people and rides to keep the lighting away from things and people.say out in the area of the woods by The Beast.alot of room noone goes to.and is away from everything.

A tornado can knock a trailer over.

[CoastersRZ]

DaleFan, there is no magic llightning rod that will attract lightning away from the park. NOw there are several rides at PKI that do this. Lightning has a tendency to strike tall objects. (The shortest path from the sky to the ground). The Eiffel Tower and Drop Zone are among the first to close, as they are huge lightning rods and have been struck before. Also, Delirium has a lightning rod on top of it. The supports on Face Off have lightning cables connecting them to the ground in case the ride were struck by electricity. Rides like The Racer, Son of Beast and the platforms on the water slides in Boomerang Bay all have lightning rods as well.

In the event of severe weather the park has a plan to evacuate people into safe areas. They as has been mentioned before shut down the rides well in advance of the weather arriving. They will also play announcements over the QTVs and sound system warning guests that severe weather is in the area and that the park reccommends people take shelter.

[adam47303]

DaleFan, there is no magic llightning rod that will attract lightning away from the park. NOw there are several rides at PKI that do this. Lightning has a tendency to strike tall objects. (The shortest path from the sky to the ground). The Eiffel Tower and Drop Zone are among the first to close, as they are huge lightning rods and have been struck before. Also, Delirium has a lightning rod on top of it. The supports on Face Off have lightning cables connecting them to the ground in case the ride were struck by electricity. Rides like The Racer, Son of Beast and the platforms on the water slides in Boomerang Bay all have lightning rods as well.

In the event of severe weather the park has a plan to evacuate people into safe areas. They as has been mentioned before shut down the rides well in advance of the weather arriving. They will also play announcements over the QTVs and sound system warning guests that severe weather is in the area and that the park reccommends people take shelter.

Lightning Rods are not always fool proof. Lightning will not always hit a tower or a lightning rod. I have seen three towers on the property, Drop Zone, Eiffel Tower, and a Cell Phone Tower at the southern most edge of the park. The thoroguard system consists of a lightning rod, a series of sensors, and a warning siren. All computer controlled.

[TheKlockster]

My whole time at the park this summer I only recall one thing being hit by Lightning and it wasn't any of those three... But it was right next to one of them.

[CoastersRZ]

Well, lightning is nature. Man has tried numerous times to try and control nature, lightning rods being a key example. Even with the best preventative measures, lightning can still do strange and odd things! It is nature and electricity afterall, both of which can be unpredictable.

[flightoffear1996]

I was there one night back in 1996 or 1997 when there was serious storms coming to the park. They shut down all rides before the storm was even there and told everyone that there was a strong storm on its way that could produce tornadoes and they should seek shelter right away. There really is no place to go so we went the empioruim and let the storm pass of course there was no tornado and nothing happened cept some hail.

At Cedar Point they never even warned us about the upcoming storm and they were running rides until it was on top of them. The power went out for awhile and what not but they still never said a word to any of the guest. :/

PKI does a fine job with letting the guest know about upcoming storms. There is only so much you can do when you have 25,000-40,000 outside and try to cram them into a few shops. THe park has been there for over 30 years now and nothign has happened yet so chances are nothign will happen for awhile. If there was a tornado and it destroyed all the coasters do you think they would rebuild the rides as there were, restart the park, or just close the park and not worry about it anymore?

[CoastersRZ]

Well, for starters, it would have to be a pretty wide tornado to wipe out the entire park. Secondly, I would imagine that they would rebuild. But it would take time. Why would they just abandon their flagship park and the highest attended seasonal theme park in the country? Yes, the park would be closed for a while while they rebuilt. I think they would probably rebuild the wood coasters as they were. Some of the older rides might be lost. But I would imagine they would rebuild it close to the way it was before hand. Look at the sign. It has a new look, but is still the same general size and shape as the previous sign before the winds took it down a couple years ago.

[Captain Nemo]

What year was it that a tornado went through KI. I remember the story but I don't remember when.

[TheKlockster]

I don't believe a tornado ever hit PKI. They had some strong winds or downbursts or something - but not a tornado.

And don't forget about that one guy that got struck by lightning in PKIs parking lot. Sued the park because they didn't tell him there was lightning in the area... What an idiot. It's not like you can look up in the sky and tell theres a thunderstorm on top of you.

[CoastersRZ]

Actually, back in 1991 there was a funnel cloud over the parking lot by WaterWorks. The National Weather Service had several reports from Warren County of spotted funnel clouds. There was no major damage, a temporary tent was blown over, and several chairs in the water park were blown over. I also seem to remember a couple of the parking row signs being blown off of their poles. No major damage, and the park had already shut down and cleared out the water park before the storm hit. The park reopened later that day after the storms had passed.

[FOF/Z 4-ever]

True, lighting does not alway hit the tower, Vortex, or dropzone, or any other ride. My last year at PKI, I was inside FOF (my ride) and I called Zephyr to close down for the storm. 5 min later, they called me telling me they were coming in b/c lighting just hit the ground right in front up them (next to the exit if Zephyr and Games Building). That night, I walked out in that area and sure enough, I saw a black burnt spot where it looked like something hot used to be (my guess the lighting). But for the sake of arguement, KI does have a fantastic weather system. They have a weather doopler in communications and everyone is told about the storm about 30-1 hr before it is on top of PKI (or at least the associates know about it). If it gets bad enough, there are shelters for guests and associates to go to. FOF being under the load and unload station. To tell you the truth, I feel safer at PKI then I do at home about the weather b/c I know way in advance of what is going on. (Except when I worked Tiques, our shelter was the maint. shed behind Dodgems. Nothing but pylwood to keep you safe )