Summertime safety



 With summer being in full swing and a lot of us in travel mode we often times can ignore the dangers of summer weather. While perfect sun and lots of trains make for a railfans delight they also can set the stage for a perfect storm of trouble in more than one way or another.
With hot weather one of the first things I want to talk about is thunderstorms, they can sneak up on the unsuspecting railfan and can bring about some nasty surprises such as hail, flash flooding, and even tornadoes Here is a couple of screenshots from my computer of what is considered a Bow Echo type of thunderstorm.

A pretty nasty storm
If you noticed the storm had not reached me yet, but the dark clouds were ominous and within a few minutes I would be surrounded by high winds and rain. Not only high winds and rain but lightning and thunder as well.

Another type of thundershower
As you can see from the above this thunderstorm brought  lot of rain around 2am that morning.
Now you maybe wondering how does one stay ahead of foul weather? Well one of the first things is using a phone app that tells you the local weather conditions while this is the best for showing you the conditions it is not the most reliable depending on ones location  you may or may not have reliable phone service especially around large buildings or rural areas. Which brings me to my next option.

A pair of family radios
The next line of defense is to have a pair of family radios such as the ones above they have a setting which automatically warns you of local weather conditions from the National Weather Service  not only are they great for this they also are great for communicating with your buddies if you get separated by a train or other circumstances.

Along with thunderstorms comes the opposite of it and that is heat and direct sun most of the time I try and avoid the daytime heat 11:30 am till 3:30 but this is not always feasible especially on long trips so always bring plenty of water and find some form of shelter out of the direct sun and one key piece of advice is look up the symptoms of sunstroke and heat exhaustion it is imperative to know the signs before they overtake you or your buddies. Often times summer weather brings out insects and bees and one thing you should always keep in your possession is a small first aid kit. These kits usually can be found online pretty reasonable and can fit in a camera bag.

A small kit is all that is usually needed
One thing I look for in a kit is how well it is stocked, do not go with the cheapest as they usually lack important things like antibacterial creams and other items needed in a minor emergency.

Inside the kit
I prefer to have things like eye wash and Benadryl (I am allergic to bees) in the kit just in case something flies into my eyes or I step into a wasp nest, also  if you or your buddy are allergic to bees, and before you even embark on the trip, make sure you have an epi pen and are familiar with how to use it.

On a final note one thing we also must not overlook is situational awareness with summer weather brings out a lot of not so nice individuals, especially along the tracks. One key word of advice is to always be alert, most of the time we are told not to judge but you must make an assessment and profile quickly if the person looks dangerous or suspicious the best thing is to either avoid them or leave the area immediately. Also keep your camera and other expensive gear out of sight you never know who is watching and you won't if you're on your smart phone watching cat or train videos and this could lead to a bad day for you. Finally  if you know where you will be fanning at, already know where the nearest hospital is and the local police number as it may not be 911. As an example, you cant call 911 in a nearby town named Barberton, its a regular 10 digit number if you feel threatened or see something suspicious don't hesitate to call the police it may not only save your life but someone else's s well.

As I close I want to leave you with this food or thought, not always does the trouble or storms show up physically. Sometimes they show up in our lives personally and this is why impeccable faith is needed and another reason why we should hold our thoughts, especially if we do not know the person on a personal level.

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