Don't try to chance it and play in a storm...

[RookieBlue7]

Light rain, okay, understandable. But I've seen guys try to stay out when the thunder moves in. If you can hear thunder, you're close enough to be struck by lightning. The below image was posted on another site but I wanted to share it here. The guy was practicing and tool cover when a pop up storm came over. 30 minutes later, they came back out and this was what they found...

 

 

Powerful enough reminder for me...

[Jmikecpa]

Good advice.  I play most of my rounds of golf on Great South Bay on Long Island and the weather there can change from sunny to a thunderstorm in minutes.

[Kenny B]

Spent many hours over the years in golf cart tunnels under roadways in Florida waiting out T-Storms; one time with the course marshal!

[apprenti23]

Having worked at golf courses for 16 years I've seen the affect of lightning strikes multiple times- flagsticks, trees, and the worst ever was a sprinkler head. Boy I wish I still had some pics from that one. You know how when there's a broken pipe they'll get those large bubble-like mounds in the fairway? Imagine the entire tee box like that! The strike hit the sprinkler head, shrapnel all over the place, went down deep- there was sand, mud, gravel, etc. all on this mound. Pretty awesome- super didn't think so.

 

If i hear thunder, I don't even worry about my ball- straight in!

[fozcycle]

When I was a kid, my Grandfather was playing in the annual club tourney when a storm blew in and lightning came down on a tree on the course. There was an 18 year old player close to the tree that got zapped....I really don't think he was ever the same.

[sp0rtsfan86]

As a meteorologist I've championed the idea of play it safe. Last year we played in a dust storm here that was caused by a thunderstorm. Lightning was a concern but we played through it. If it was up to me, I would have been inside waiting it out. I rather be safe then sorry. With the training I have I usually can figure out within 20-30 minutes if the storm is going to be an issue or pass us by. Some people rely on apps, but if you look closely, the radar is 5-10 minutes old and often the apps are terrible at accuracy.

[apprenti23]

As a meteorologist I've championed the idea of play it safe. Last year we played in a dust storm here that was caused by a thunderstorm. Lightning was a concern but we played through it. If it was up to me, I would have been inside waiting it out. I rather be safe then sorry. With the training I have I usually can figure out within 20-30 minutes if the storm is going to be an issue or pass us by. Some people rely on apps, but if you look closely, the radar is 5-10 minutes old and often the apps are terrible at accuracy.

Wait a minute here... Meteorologists actually have to go through training???

[Blade]

Good picture. Great reminder. Thanks for posting!

[Undershooter]

As a meteorologist I've championed the idea of play it safe. Last year we played in a dust storm here that was caused by a thunderstorm. Lightning was a concern but we played through it. If it was up to me, I would have been inside waiting it out. I rather be safe then sorry. With the training I have I usually can figure out within 20-30 minutes if the storm is going to be an issue or pass us by. Some people rely on apps, but if you look closely, the radar is 5-10 minutes old and often the apps are terrible at accuracy.

Didn't you say you went to Miss State?

[sp0rtsfan86]

Wait a minute here... Meteorologists actually have to go through training???

4 years and an extra two years. Most apps give you model output, I know the tendencies of the model and where it usually is going to be wrong.

 

Didn't you say you went to Miss State?

Yes for grad school. Played a ton of rounds at the course there. Nothing like telling the people on the course what they need to do when a storm is on it's way. I've actually been asked what a storm is going to do on a few courses. Those are the days you laugh.

[Blade]

How about the people who blame you for bad weather like it's all in your control what's going to happen?

[revkev]

Great thread and I have to plead guilty even though I should know better.

 

I learned this lesson decades ago, my uncle Frank tried to play through a thunderstorm and was knocked unconscious by lightening (fortunately his heart didn't stop). It was over an hour until someone found him lying on the ground, severely altered, suffering from hyperthermia and nearly dead. He developed pneumonia and nearly died again. The health struggles that he's had the past fifteen years are tracable to that event.

 

Besides the obvious consider that he's cost himself over a decade of golf for that one stupid decision.

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

 Some people rely on apps, but if you look closely, the radar is 5-10 minutes old and often the apps are terrible at accuracy.

I have an app that updates every 4/5 minutes.  It is useful many times in our area, Northeast Florida, east of the intracoastal.  We get the famous and ubiquitous Florida afternoon pop up thunderstorms, but we also get afternoon sea breezes off the Ocean.  Very frequently, those sea breezes dissipate the pop up thunderstorms just west of the intracoastal.  From the app, you can see this effect and whether the storms are making it through the sea breezes.  And sometimes they'll only hold them off for an hour.  But in 9 years of golfing throughout the summer of Florida, I've only been rained out (or lightninged out) 5 or 6 times (when golfing east of the intracoastal).  

 

Of course, we golf earlier in the day.  By late afternoon, this effect diminishes and the T-Storms make it through and everyone runs for cover!

[Undershooter]

Yes for grad school. Played a ton of rounds at the course there. Nothing like telling the people on the course what they need to do when a storm is on it's way. I've actually been asked what a storm is going to do on a few courses. Those are the days you laugh.

I had a buddy in the program. Went for a year but transfered out due to a change of the baseball coach. When were you there?

[sp0rtsfan86]

How about the people who blame you for bad weather like it's all in your control what's going to happen?

Parades are a joke. "Hey weatherman what's the weather today?" My response is the polite and funny version of "look up moron." also yes I do get blamed and praised a lot.

 

I have an app that updates every 4/5 minutes.  It is useful many times in our area, Northeast Florida, east of the intracoastal.  We get the famous and ubiquitous Florida afternoon pop up thunderstorms, but we also get afternoon sea breezes off the Ocean.  Very frequently, those sea breezes dissipate the pop up thunderstorms just west of the intracoastal.  From the app, you can see this effect and whether the storms are making it through the sea breezes.  And sometimes they'll only hold them off for an hour.  But in 9 years of golfing throughout the summer of Florida, I've only been rained out (or lightninged out) 5 or 6 times (when golfing east of the intracoastal).  

 

Of course, we golf earlier in the day.  By late afternoon, this effect diminishes and the T-Storms make it through and everyone runs for cover!

 

I spent 4 years in Florida in Daytona, I know exactly what you mean. Radar updates every 5 minutes, but is still older data. Radar scans themselves take minutes to do a complete 180 because they do it at multiple angles. I forget exactly how long each rotation lasts to be honest, but there is a decent delay. I have a radar app as well, but as any storm chaser will tell you by the time a storm is over you on radar you already are soaking wet.

 

I had a buddy in the program. Went for a year but transfered out due to a change of the baseball coach. When were you there?

 

Fall of 2012- Spring 2014. There was a person here who said they were from Starkville, but never heard from them again. More than likely I probably played with them on the course. The people at the course knew me by name.

[RookieBlue7]

Meteorology has to be the easiest job ever. You can be wrong 50% if the time

[apprenti23]

Meteorology has to be the easiest job ever. You can be wrong 50% if the time

I wish they would reverse their forecasts. Instead of saying 30% chance of rain I wish they'd say 70% chance of no rain today. I guess I'm a glass half full kind of guy though haha

[Undershooter]

Fall of 2012- Spring 2014. There was a person here who said they were from Starkville, but never heard from them again. More than likely I probably played with them on the course. The people at the course knew me by name.

I think you probably just missed him. I think he finished just before you got there. I guess you never got to play the highlands before it closed down. Fun course. Links style. MSU's course was always nice. I never scored particularly well there though. Not sure why.

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

 

 

I spent 4 years in Florida in Daytona, I know exactly what you mean. Radar updates every 5 minutes, but is still older data. Radar scans themselves take minutes to do a complete 180 because they do it at multiple angles. I forget exactly how long each rotation lasts to be honest, but there is a decent delay. I have a radar app as well, but as any storm chaser will tell you by the time a storm is over you on radar you already are soaking wet.

 

 

 

Yes, but when you play the animation, you can see the pace of the cell or system and what's happening to its intensity as it moves.  I've been pretty accurate at projecting when the rain and such will be arriving or dissipating.