Over the weekend a very long line of powerful storms moved
through Indianapolis, and through the Indianapolis State Fair.
Five people were confirmed dead, and dozens injured as a result
of very powerful straightline winds gusting out ahead of the
storm and collapsing a large stage.  One of the things that
upset me about this incident, besides the obvious loss of life
and injuries, is that post-incident, information is now coming
out that this could have been avoided… to an extent.  The
National Weather Service is indicating that they gave a 30
minute lead time issuing their warnings. While fairgoers claim
that they were informed ten minutes after that warning was
issued, there was still enough time to move people away from
that stage.  Winds preceding the line of storms were estimated
between 60 and 70 mph. This is more than strong enough to
collapse the stage. Essentially it was acting like a large
parachute, or a beach umbrella. The canopy made it easier to
become a dangerous object.  The major problem I ha