Thunderstorm Damages Peter Frampton Concert
UPDATE 7/8: A video has surfaced showing the tent being blown down.
CNN reports that two people were injured when a thunderstorm knocked down the stage being setup for a Peter Frampton concert (which had to be canceled) in Concha, Oklahoma yesterday. A video from KOCO entitled "Tent Collapse At Casino Injures 5" quotes Mark Rodgers as saying that the storm struck around 4:10 PM. He says the tent was rated for 80 mph winds and also described the event as "a downburst... a single gust of wind." Severe storms plagued the area for hours (download radar loops); below is a radar image just after that time:
Peter's Facebook page yielded the following information and photos of the destroyed stage:
I find his comment "there's more to this than just weather" is interesting because there were no other storm spotter reports in Oklahoma yesterday and a cursory look at the radar loop didn't look like the type of storm that would cause high wind damage. There were no spotter reports or storm warnings issued for Concho - only a Special Weather Statement warning of "locally gusty winds" at 4:16 PM, after the tent had collapsed according to the video above. Tents, of course, can lift in minor winds and that, plus the fact that the stage wasn't completely setup probably had something to do with it. But hey, I'm just guessing unofficially here. This would be a great case for our Forensic Meteorologists.
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