Over the years I have watched local leaders here in Anniston and Oxford make some stupid decisions. And on the night of July 4th, another stupid decision was made by the leaders of Oxford. You see, a summertime thunderstorm was approaching Oxford Lake. And as 9:00 PM struck, the bottom fell out. It was pouring rain with cloud to ground lightning.
Keep in mind, there are thousands of people all outdoors around Oxford Lake waiting to see the fireworks. As the bottom was falling out, this city decided to start the fireworks show. And during the fireworks show, I caught cloud to ground lightning among the fireworks, you can see it in the video below.
Fortunately, it looks like no one was struck by lightning. Because it really could have turned out to be very bad. One of those lightning strikes could of struck a crowd of people injuring them or killing them. Other than the lightning, the rain was tremendous and people were scrambling to find shelter. I noticed quite a few people just gave up and ran back to their cars and left.
Others were smooshed together in the few shelters around Oxford Lake. Many including myself could not believe the City of Oxford was shooting off their fireworks show in a weather emergency. Quite a few people were disappointed by the city making this stupid move. And I could tell there was a storm coming, because I was looking on the radar on my phone.
At 8:41 PM, you could see a storm developing over Coldwater Mountain and the Bynum area.
At 8:56 PM, the storm was heading toward the middle of Oxford.
At 9:01 PM, the storm was on top Oxford Lake.
And by 9:30 PM, the storm was east of Oxford moving away.
Was there any city official looking at the radar before giving the go ahead to start the fireworks show? Because if someone was looking at the radar, they would have told the firework professionals to delay the start of the show. And at the same time, warn the thousands of people around Oxford Lake to take shelter.
Yes, I am channeling my inner James Spann. James Spann and every other meteorologist tells everyone to take shelter when there is lightning around. The City of Oxford failed to tell people to take shelter. And they decided to shoot off a firework show with lightning around, that could have killed someone, crazy right?
Someone made a boneheaded decision and a stupid move. Because everyone should preach safety first. The City of Oxford should have delayed the fireworks show. If they just waited 30 minutes, the storm would have been passed the area, and everyone could enjoy the fireworks show without being poured on by heavy rain and dodging lightning strikes.
Like I said, just another stupid move by the local officials in Anniston and Oxford. The local officials here do not like me calling them out, but that’s what I do. When I see something not right, I am going to call someone out until it’s corrected. Maybe next year, the officials in the City of Oxford will have someone looking at their radar before giving the go ahead for the fireworks.
Categories: Local Scenes Stuff
