Jim. In the eastern US during the Summer months rain is almost always accompanied by lightning. Especialy a drenching rain that would soak luggage in sucha short period of time.
Someone told me the formula they use when deciding to shut down operations on the ramp and I believe justme is correct. If lightning is detected within a a 10 mile radius everything is shut down and doesn't resume until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike within that 10 mile radius. Hence why passengers usually complain "why can't we board yet" when a particularly fast storm moves through. The rain may have ceased and the sunlight may be breaking through the clouds but if it's still within that 30 minute safety margin they will not be cleared to resume operations.
|