esa event recap
2018 Severe Weather Summit
Severe weather is one of the greatest threats facing outdoor live events.
Unlike other hazards weather is unpreventable and uncertain. The proliferation of smart phone tech-
nology has made real-time weather data accessible to all. However, understanding that information
and its limitations is essential to effective planning. Since 2015, ESA has endeavored to provide that
insight through its annual Severe Weather Summit, held each spring at the National Weather Center
in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Severe Weather Summit is a two-day examination of meteorologi-
cal phenomena with the aim of improving attendee’s awareness of the
common threats facing live events and providing them with the tools
necessary to effectively plan for a variety of severe weather emergen-
cies. The program features presentations and exercises by le ading fig-
ures in the world of meteorology and event operations. University of
Oklahoma Office of Emergency Preparedness Meteorologist Dr. Kevin
Kloesel explores key threats to outdoor events including lightning, wind,
and heat, and discusses why relying solely on the consumer weather
apps for weather monitoring is insufficient and potentially dangerous.
Representatives from the National Weather Service and Weather De-
cision Technologies discuss public and private sector resources and
information available to those planning live events. Lambda Produc-
tions President Hadden Hippsley delivers a primer on building severe
weather action plans, including considerations, stakeholders, and the
importance of training and communication. Attendees are then tasked
with developing and sharing a sample weather decision matrix which is then “tested” using actual
weather data.
ESA Crowd Safety Symposium
Festivals, concerts, conferences, graduations,
and athletic events all share one common character-
istic – they all feature crowds. If your work involves
planning to accommodate large groups of people,
you need to know how to plan to mitigate these risks
and keep your crowds safe.
This past April, ESA welcomed UK-based crowd safe-
ty expert Eric Stuart for the Crowd Safety Symposium,
a series of four 2-day workshops focused on under-
standing and planning for crowds. Taking place in Chi-
cago, Nashville. Austin, and Los Angeles, the Sympo-
sium focused on the four aspects of basic crowd safety
and provide techniques to plan and manage safe pe-
destrian flows in crowded places during all phases of
an event.
Subject matter discussed included the differences be-
tween crowd management and crowd control, phases
of crowds and their psychology, and the human be-
haviors that affect crowds. The workshops provided
attendees with a primer on calculating crowd density
and flow rates, reinforcing the material with several in-
teractive (and often humorous) exercises.
Those in attendance represented a broad array of in-
dustry sectors, including festivals production, security,
and public safety. Generous with his time, Eric stayed
well after the close of each date to discuss individual
questions and provide insight from his decades-long
experience in crowd safety planning and manage-
ment.
“Eric went above and beyond with the information,”
stated Chief John Benn with the Los Angeles Fire De-
partment. “With all the Special Events we approve in
the City of Los Angeles his teaching will certainly be
used where needed during the approval process.”
Festival Director Mike Hanley concurred with Chief
Benn’s assessment on the applicability of the informa-
tion. “This was a fantastic event. I’m taking a lot of what
I learned and applying it immediately to my future
events. I only hope you all keep doing this so more
people can benefit.”
Additional workshops are currently being planned
for late 2018. Please visit the ESA website at http://
eventsafetyalliance.org for updates.
Several changes were made to this year’s program to further increase applicability to those work-
ing in live events. The previously described three-act structure of meteorology, planning, and a
practical exercise was expanded to include segments on weather’s impact on outdoor structures
(delivered by Clark Reder Principal Jeff Reder) and crowd behavior (ESA Vice President Steven Adel-
man). Greater emphasis was placed on group planning sessions and peer learning, with much of
day two spent working in teams. Activities that
demonstrate the challenges of weather predic-
tion and designing for wind loads were added
to reinforce the material. Even the traditional day
two recap was been changed from a question
and answer session to a dynamic (and quite chal-
lenging) game of Weather Jeopardy!
The 2019 Severe Weather Summit is scheduled
for March 21-22, 2019, with registration to open
in Summer 2018. Please visit http://severeweath-
ersummit.com for updates.
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