By Lara Fominoff @fomsy1 on Twitter

Thunder, lightening and downpour cut short Saturday’s Lethbridge Airshow performances

Jul 16, 2017 | 7:34 AM

LETHBRIDGE COUNTY – What started off as a hot, albeit windy day at the Lethbridge Airport, turned into significant traffic delays and disappointment for many at the Lethbridge International Airshow late Saturday afternoon.
 
The airshow was cut short by more than an hour, after a brief thunderstorm and downpour halted all performances.
 
The wind, at times gusting to more than 65 km/h may also have been a factor in some of the performances, as show commentators mentioned several times, that pilots needed to adjust their landings in order to remain stable and safe.
 
The sky began to darken around 2 pm, and just before 4 pm, the first rainshowers began to fall, while the thunder and lightening rumbled.
 
A short time later, the show was cancelled for the rest of the day, and according to comments on social media, it  it took many people more than two hours to exit the parking lots during a period of traffic chaos.
 
Just before 6 pm, organizers of the show sent out a brief statement indicating that anyone at Saturday’s performances who could show proof of ticket purchase, will have those tickets honoured for a general admission at Sunday’s Family Day performances.
 
Gates at the airport open at 9 am, and aerial performances begin at noon.
 
It’s not clear if some of the acts that were scheduled to perform Saturday and couldn’t because of either strong winds, or the rainfall, will do so.
 
Prior to the brief storm, the crowd appeared to number in the thousands, with packed parking lots and lines to see some of the aircraft new to this year’s airshow, like the MV-22 Osprey.