Severe Weather Policy & Updates for BGW

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Party Rocker

Dec 23, 2011
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This thread is going to be designated so that two things can happen:

- The official weather policy for the park is known and
- Updates on severe weather and conditions at the park

I promise not to update this thread daily on basic general weather. I will do my best to update on more major severe weather, any storms that pop up is what I am looking at or any major dates. I am getting my updates from the Wunderground.com app for my iPhone. Sources have told me, this is the same site that the park uses to track storms via radar and so I expect to offer very decent updates with it.

Current weather policy as of 2013:

WEATHER CODE MEANINGS:
BLUE ~
No inclement weather

GREEN ~
Rain

YELLOW ~
Lighting within 20 miles

ORANGE ~
Lighting within 10 miles

RED ~
Lightning within 5 miles

PURPLE ~
Lighting within 3 miles

BLACK ~
Catastrophic weather is imminent


WEATHER CODE ACTIONS:
BLUE ~
Normal park operations

GREEN ~
Wolf Haven Theater shows, Shenanigans Theater show, Royal Palace Theater shows/events, Il Teatro Di San Marco shows MAY close

YELLOW~
Roman Rapids, Escape from Pompeii, Le Scoot, Rhine River Cruise, and Le Aeronaut Sky Ride MAY close

ORANGE ~
Loch Ness Monster, Griffon, Alpengeist, Mach Tower, Verbolten, and some other rides and attractions MAY close

RED ~
All rides and attractions as well as parking lot trams WILL close except for Europe in the Air and Curse of DarKastle

PURPLE ~
All shows, Europe in the Air, and Curse of DarKastle WILL close and become shelters for guests and team members

BLACK ~
Tornados are imminent or a Tornado Warning has been issued by the NWS, Hurricane strikes unexpectedly, Snow Storm strikes unexpectedly, team members are required to seek shelter indoors while guests are highly suggested to seek shelter in the park

*In special circumstances, such as predicted Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, the park may close early and will announce such through Facebook & Twitter outlets, mainly with one (1) day prior notice. The park may continue to stay closed to assess and repair any damaged caused by the storm, therefore even though the day after a storm looks like the nicest day ever to go, they may still be closed for cleanup.

I hope this helps clear up confusion on what happens when bad weather comes around our neck of the woods. For easy finding, I will try to post a reminder to this thread when inclement weather is predicted. That way, no one has to go digging for the thread.
 
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RE: Severe Weather Policy

Party Rocker said:
*In special circumstances, such as predicted Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, the park may close early and will announce such through Facebook & Twitter outlets, mainly with one (1) day prior notice. The park may continue to stay closed to assess and repair any damaged caused by the storm, therefore even though the day after a storm looks like the nicest day ever to go, they may still be closed for cleanup.
Click to expand...

Is it true that if these shutdowns are made within 24 hours of employees going to work that they still get paid, and not paid if over 24? Friend told me this so just checking. :cool:
 
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RE: Severe Weather Policy

Most of their work force is hourly, which means they only get paid for hours worked. So in the end, no unless they are salary.

Most of the time some team members don't get very much notice. Like yesterday, they handed out notices to those team members working as they were leaving, so some didn't get exactly 24 hours notice. In fact, I think the decision was made around Noon to 4PM. Those not working that day either called in to ask if they were open, but if they were like me I'd just show up and no one would be there and I'd get the hint.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

Just a side note, from what I've seen in my many years visiting the parks, Europe in the Air and DarKastle will remain open until the "Purple" category to be used as shelter. Also, I think that is when all Team Members are required to stay inside. If they're outside, then they're pulled inside.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

I don't ever recall a day during the entire two seasons I worked at KD (both as a line associate or as a manager) where they shut down the entire park due to inclement weather.

But that was back in the early 90's, so I guess they must have changed their policy on that. For sure there were some BIG rainstorms, but nothing resembling weather that would shut the whole place down. In fact, my shop made a KILLING on selling ponchos on those days. :)
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

Roller coasters and water rides shut down in orange, not yellow. Rhine River Boats and Skyride are the only rides that shut down in yellow.

Trams close in purple last I checked.

So from what I've been told during weather shutdowns...
Green/Blue - normal park operations
Yellow - Boats and Skyride go down
Orange - outdoor major rides/attractions shut down
Red - all medium rides shut down
Purple - shelter in place
Black - move to a sturdy shelter (Festhaus, Globe Theater, Abbey Stone, etc).
 
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RE: Severe Weather Policy

IndyRacingNut said:
I don't ever recall a day during the entire two seasons I worked at KD (both as a line associate or as a manager) where they shut down the entire park due to inclement weather.

But that was back in the early 90's, so I guess they must have changed their policy on that. For sure there were some BIG rainstorms, but nothing resembling weather that would shut the whole place down. In fact, my shop made a KILLING on selling ponchos on those days. :)
Click to expand...

Other than the Eiffel Tower, the park didn't have a bunch of lightning rods back then. Now look at the skyline of the park compared to the early 90s. All those 300-ft tall structures grouped together is a buffet for Thor!
 
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RE: Severe Weather Policy

Good point, although the skyride was still working at that time....and Q94 still broadcasted from the base of the Eiffel Tower back then. :) That was always cool.

But to be certain, there were lots of days when they'd shut the water park down....pretty much every time there was thunder, and that happened nearly every afternoon in August.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

netdvn said:
Roller coasters and water rides shut down in orange, not yellow. Rhine River Boats and Skyride are the only rides that shut down in yellow.

Trams close in purple last I checked.

So from what I've been told during weather shutdowns...
Green/Blue - normal park operations
Yellow - Boats and Skyride go down
Orange - outdoor major rides/attractions shut down
Red - all medium rides shut down
Purple - shelter in place
Black - move to a sturdy shelter (Festhaus, Globe Theater, Abbey Stone, etc).
Click to expand...

Actually, water rides are yellow, but coasters are orange. I'll give you the cruise and sky ride. Trams close at red for sure. The reasoning for these is because a team member was struck by lightning in Tampa, and 2012 and prior years they didn't have a policy about lightning. Basically everything shuts down by purple though, and that is when team members and guests are encouraged to seek shelter. Technically no one is forced to go inside because there is a thing called free will and hostage. Thus is why guests aren't forced to seek shelter and why you see team members leaving as soon as they can without seeking shelter.

EDIT: I updated the OP to include new different information, as well as for a better and much more clear organized post.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

The park reached Yellow today, but weather was not an issue at all. It was mainly hot and sunny with humidity rising through the day, with a small bit of cool air, wind, and break in humidity for just a bit, then humidity rose and it became hot and humid most of the day.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

Recently a severe thunderstorm just passed through, many people were without power and those fortunate to have power posted all over BG's FB page if they had power.

I just wanted to make this clear, I have only seen the power go out in the park once in the past three years. The park does have back up generators and fail safes to ensure they don't just loose power. It can happen but very rarely. Also in the realm of power outages, they are mostly caused when lightning strikes trasformers hanging on a telephone pole. Ever noticed Busch Gardens doesn't have these? Exactly, their transformers are located on the ground and hidden throughout the park, while the wiring for the electricity is underground. This helps a ton when it comes to not loosing power. Since the transformers are on the ground, they are lower and harder for lightning to strike since lightning typically strikes the tallest things.

In a nutshell, Busch Gardens very rarely looses power and more than likely it will take a tornado to tear through the place for that to happen.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

Question: Is there a way to tell what weather code color your in when in the park? I've wondered about this and looked for signs or other indications but never noticed anything. Also does the park use the music PA system to alert everyone if they need to do so in a hurry?
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

pandorazboxx said:
Eagerly awaiting CK's post with pictures of all of the transformers that you can see from the pathways.
Click to expand...

^
It's true...

attachment.php

*Picture by Zachary
 
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RE: Severe Weather Policy

There were some very strong winds yesterday. Almost hurricane force, to tell you truth. Wouldn't be surprised if Mach Tower had to be closed down. Lightning and rain weren't really an issue, just spotty.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

Question: Is there a way to tell what weather code color your in when in the park? I've wondered about this and looked for signs or other indications but never noticed anything. Also does the park use the music PA system to alert everyone if they need to do so in a hurry?
Click to expand...

Talk to an employee. They should be educated about weather codes. Usually if severe weather causes the major rides to shut down, the park will play spiels over the intercoms.

Wouldn't be surprised if Mach Tower had to be closed down. Lightning and rain weren't really an issue, just spotty.
Click to expand...

All the major rides shut down early. The storm was nuts though. Our neighbors lost a few trees and a mailbox. I heard the roads were jammed up as well.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

Typical spiels you hear:

- Code Yellow: Attention Ladies and Gentlemen, severe weather is in the area and may be headed for Busch Gardens. Heavy rain and high winds may occur. Some of our attractions may temporarily close and reopen once the storm passes.

- Code Red: Ladies and Gentlemen, Busch Gardens is currently experiencing severe weather. All rides and attractions including tram service to and from the parking lots has been temporarily suspended. Please seek shelter. Thank you.

Or like mentioned earlier, ask any team member if they know. Most team members may not know the most current condition, therefore I recommend finding someone with a radio. The weather codes are sent out to employees through radios and they can ask for the most current up to date weather codes almost instantly.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

^
Yes. By taking the train ride loop, you could still see quite a bit of damage to trees and whatnot. The biggest thing I saw was the fence for the sheep on the left side of the tracks just past Festa station. Looks like a big branch crashed down and destroyed a large section. Guys were fixing it yesterday evening. Sorry, no pic. :(
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

Earlier today the park went from Green to Purple almost instantly. Since then the weather condition stayed at yellow for a while then went to orange for awhile. It then went yellow again and most recently went to green.
 
RE: Severe Weather Policy

Last I heard park was at red and may expect to get to purple. May not be the best day for a visit.
 
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