Saturday afternoon's storms provided a first test for the Indiana State Fair's new emergency plan. They didn't want a repeat of last year's tragedy that killed seven people and injured dozens more.
Weather forecasters were on duty at the command center Saturday, along with a team of meteorologist monitoring the weather all day.
A severe thunderstorm hit the fairgrounds about 3:00pm, Saturday afternoon.
Fair officials say they made five announcements telling guests a dangerous storm was coming and telling them to seek shelter in permanent buildings.
The new and fast-delivered message came after last year's stage rigging collapse. Investigators cited delays in getting evacuation orders out to guests.
Saturday, fair-goers were happy for the announcements. Rhonda Essex of Indianapolis said, "It was right on this time. A lot better. They said you didn't have a choice. They were telling you get out of the stands now."
Jennifer Stumpp, also of Indianapolis said, "We were over on the midway. They were getting people in there. They did a fabulous job."
About 15 minutes after the last thunder claps, we heard the public address announcer make an "all clear" call. After last year's deaths, the fair used the recommendations of investigators to rewrite safety procedures.
It brought on a new Chief Operating officer to make the critical choices on when to cancel concerts or other events and when to order evacuations.
David Shaw was on duty at the command center Saturday, along with a team of meteorologist monitoring the weather all day.
