Spartan Stadium has been evacuated 4 times in the past 5 years, thanks to 'bad luck'

EAST LANSING — If Michigan State fans think they could make better calls about home football games affected by severe weather, they may want to think again. 

Spartan Stadium has been evacuated on game days four times in the past five years because of lightning strikes detected near East Lansing. 

The decision-making process can be complicated and has, since 2013, involved bad luck with weather patterns moving through the area, MSU Police Lt. Dave Oslund said. 

"During my first eight years here, I don't think we had rain on a single game day," said Oslund, a 15-year veteran.

Meteorologists and other weather experts haven't noticed an increase in lightning strikes or storms in or near East Lansing over the years. 

But they have experienced a surge in improved weather forecasting technology over the past decade, which has made people in charge of public venues more cautious during large-scale events. 

Gone are the days of one-source confirmation.

People like lifeguards can no longer be counted on to simply look up into the sky and determine that everything is OK, said Mark Hoekzema, chief meteorologist for Earth Networks, a company that tracks weather patterns worldwide.

 "There are millions of lightning strikes that happen every hour around the world," said Hoekzema said. "And now we're detecting them and locating them almost in real-time."

Spartan Stadium evacuations date back to MSU's 2013 season opener against Western Michigan, and another the following week when South Florida came to campus. 

A 3-hour, 22-minute delay occurred during last year's game against Penn State. 

Then came Saturday with its hour-plus weather delay, which began about 30 minutes after a noon kickoff against Michigan. 

Oslund, of MSU's Emergency Management Division, said Spartan Stadium officials and those specializing in pubic safety have plenty of resources available on game days to make sound decisions.

The stadium has an on-site meteorologist at football games and an emergency management team that relies on Earth Networks, five radars and several web-based products to monitor signs of severe weather. 

When officials decided Saturday to evacuate the stadium, they considered the estimated time it would take to clear the stadium. 

The call was made when lighting strikes were detected within a 15-mile radius of the stadium, part of a storm meteorologists determined was headed to East Lansing. 

“That’s for the safety of the fans," Oslund said of the 15-mile radius policy. "NCAA guidelines are that when lighting strikes within 8 miles the game is suspended, and that’s for safety of the athletes.”

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Two 2013 home football games at MSU that were delayed by lightning taught officials that it can take up to 45 minutes to evacuate everyone from the 75,000-seat stadium. The reported attendance for Saturday's game was a season-high 76,131.

That 2013 research came in handy last year when MSU's game against Penn State was delayed for 3 hours, 22 minutes. (The Spartans eventually prevailed 27-24.)

The National Weather Service confirmed Monday that lightning strikes were detected Saturday afternoon a few minutes after the kickoff, first in Eagle, Michigan, about 18 miles northwest of MSU's campus. 

Fans who may scoff at the notion they're in danger during a lightning storm should think twice, said Wayne Hoepner, a Grand Rapids meteorologist.

"We’ve been telling people forever it seems that if you can hear thunder you can get hit by lightning," Hoepner said. "You can get hit by lightning far from the storm.”

It was unclear how many sports fans in Michigan have died or been injured by a lightning strike in a stadium. 

Lightning claims the lives of approximately 54 people in the U.S. every year, and 45% of these fatalities occur in open areas such as sports fields, according to Mississippi State University research. 

The research, utilizing National Lightning Detection Network data, indicates those who live in the mid-south and southeast are at a much greater risk than anyone else. 

About 25 million lighting strikes hit the ground in the U.S. each year, based on the research, and four of the top states for lightning strikes are Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. 

Spartan Stadium uses a lightning prediction system called Thor Guard that can predict strikes 5 to 20 minutes before they occur, a compnay official said.

A single Thor Guard unit can cover up to 25 square miles and offer weather alerts via horn, text and email.

Bob Dugan, Thor Guard president, said his company has more than 7,000 customers ranging from collegiate and pro sports venues to schools and airports. He also warns fans to take evacuations seriously, at a time when he said more sports venues are interested in Thor Guard's services.

"Just because a lightning strike is 10 miles away," Dugan said, "doesn't mean the next one is not going to hit you in the foot.”

MSU has three remaining home games, starting with Saturday's noon kickoff against Purdue. The weather forecast is cloudy with a high of 50 and no mention of storms so far.

Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.