Winds Send Bounce House Flying in Arizona
A childrens' "bounce house" (or "bouncy house" -- an inflatable room) went airborne in Marana, Arizona (on the outskirts of Tucson) on Saturday, injuring two children. One child was deposited on a neighbor's roof and is in serious condition.
Channel 9 says that the inflatable castle was tied down, but that national standards dictate they should not be put up in winds more than 25 mph. So what were the weather conditions in Marana on Saturday?
Short story: A cold front (below is a map showing the cold front passing through the area late in the afternoon) caused gusty winds. Showers came through from 1:00 PM to 2:30 MST though they weren’t reported at the official KTUS observation site south of town. There, winds gusted to 47 mph at 1 pm, and blowing dust was reported from 2 - 6 PM. There was a 45 mph gust at an amateur station near the accident at 2:45pm. That station (shown at the red arrow above on the wind gust map) reported wind speeds over the criteria for the entire day.
The National Weather Service didn't issue a wind advisory for the town until 11:30 AM Saturday, but their Friday morning forecast predicted wind gusts to 45 mph, plenty of time (I would assume) to cancel the delivery of the castle, which was handled through a local rental company.
Sadly, this isn't the first time these inflatable houses have been carried away by the wind. This article lists other related bouncy accidents: "A 5-year-old girl in Jacksonville, Fla., was rescued from drowning in a pond, where a blowing bounce house had landed with her still inside... a British 3-year-old died after flying through the air in a bounce house and crash landing on a concrete path."
