Photo courtesy of Ross Lavigne/Camper at  Eagle Valley Park Campground

By Hayley Ferguson

Campgrounds working on keeping campers informed on weather

Jul 12, 2019 | 5:19 PM

Medicine Hat, AB – When pulling up the camper for a weekend with family and friends, most imagine their days being spent in the sun.

Sometimes though the forecast doesn’t look the same from when you left home.

Something that seems to be happening more and more.

“It seems to be the general consensus is that our weather is becoming more unpredictable and more… quite a range real quick. And it can go from really nice to really stormy really quick and there’s lots of reasons for that.” Said Randy Taves, manager of parks projects with the City of Medicine Hat.

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For campground owners like Rebne Lehr at Eagle Valley Park campground, it’s an ever changing process to watching those storms to keep campers informed.

“We do rely on that cellphone alert system. And so people will get that alert and then when I’m checking people in, if I know that there is severe weather in the area I will let them know there’s a thunderstorm watch in the area.” She explained.

Taves says Gas City campground does have an official emergency response plan, but are looking for better ways to communicate with their campers about a surprise storm.

“I think the camper has an obligation as well to keep an eye on the weather and I think most people do and then word gets out pretty fast if there is an alert.” He continued. “But in terms of what more can we do as a campground owner to help with the health and safety of people, we’re going to have to take another look at it.”

Once experiencing that storm, some campers may think trying to run from the storm is the best option. According to Parks Alberta spokesperson Tim Chamberlin though that may not always be the right choice.

“The best bet generally is probably if you don’t know what’s coming your way and it’s a little bit of an unknown, rather than driving into something be prepared to stay put, take shelter, and access the conditions as they come.” He said.

That shelter he says should be a campground building that are usually concrete or brick for either a thunder storm or tornado.

For that isn’t available, in a thunder storm, it is recommended to head to your vehicle if your trailer is made out of steel or aluminum.

If it is made of fibreglass though, head to your car. A lighting strike is able to go right though it.

For more severe safety tips when camping head to the Government of Canada’s website.