So you’re enjoying a sunny day at Kings Island when dark clouds start rolling in. What keeps you and your family safe? Kings Island has you covered.

It takes a lot to manage Kings Island’s 364 acres, but the park has a whole behind-the-scenes system to track severe weather. Doug Kramer, Kings Island’s director of safety and security, has worked at Kings Island for over 40 years and oversees all safety and security in the park.

“With Kings Island being an amusement park, safety’s a big deal,” Doug said. “Beyond the ride safety there’s also things like severe weather. We have plans and procedures and talented people in place to handle those things and make sure we’re keeping everyone safe.”

Kings Island has StormReady® recognition from the National Weather Service. This means that Kings Island meets a rigorous set of criteria, from weather warning communications to emergency planning, which prove their commitment to safety.

“Basically it was an effort to show that we have the equipment in place, that we have the experience here, and we also have the procedures in place that if indeed there is a threat of severe weather we can not only recognize it, but we can go ahead and put our procedures in practice” Doug said.

Self-described as “a bunch of weather geeks,” Doug and his team have a weather tracking station that looks more like a meteorologist hub than an amusement park office. There are radars, wind monitors and other machines that track storms long before they reach any coaster. Although Kings Island tries to continue operation as much as possible when bad weather approaches, Doug says he and his team need to take a conservative approach. Soak City will usually close first, and guests are notified about the incoming storm long before it arrives. For the rest of the park, there are three phases:

Phase 1. The tallest rides (Windseeker, Drop Tower, Diamondback etc.).
If there is a chance of lightning or high winds, these rides will shut down before the storm arrives.

Phase 2. Other fairly tall rides.
These will also shut down before there’s any severe weather.

Phase 3. Everything else.
In very harsh and severe weather, all rides shut down.

Before reopening, Kings Island must be confident that the storm and lightning have passed.  In addition to utilizing Kings Island’s own equipment, they can also call a contracted meteorologist group for confirmation.

During a tornado watch (conditions are favorable for a tornado to develop), all rides will shut down. In a tornado warning (a tornado is imminent), all guests will be directed to the nearest shelter.

Guests Tina and Rob Schabel have visited Kings Island around 20 times this year, and they’re no strangers to severe weather at the park.

“During the heavy storm yesterday, staff was very calm, collected, seemed to know what protocol was,” Tina said. “They were very informative.”

“I feel extremely safe here when there’s severe weather,” Rob said. “We’re Gold Passholders, so we’ve seen it all when it comes to weather for here. Everybody’s always kind, always generous. Everybody knows what to do.”

So next time you’re at Kings Island on a rainy day, fear not. There’s a whole team working behind the scenes to make sure you and your family stay safe.