By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
May 13,2014; 8:34PM,EDT
Three children were injured, two of them seriously, after a strong gust of wind lifted an inflatable bounce house into the air on Monday around 3:30 p.m., in South Glens Falls, New York.
Two boys, ages 5 and 6, fell from the bounce house, which was about 15 feet in the air. One boy fell on a parked car while the other fell onto asphalt. Both were taken to Albany Medical Center according to the Glens Falls Post-Star. The third child, a 10-year-old girl, suffered minor injuries when she fell out just as the house was being lifted.
Three children were injured after a strong gust of wind lifted an
inflatable bounce house into the air on Monday afternoon in South Glens
Falls, New York. (Photo/Glens Falls Post-Star) South Glens Falls Police tell the Post-Star that conditions of the boys were not known as of Tuesday morning.
A witness told the Post-Star that, "the wind picked the structure up and spun it around as if it were a small tornado."
Observations from the region did not indicate any widespread wind gusts Monday afternoon around the time of the incident, said AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Eric Leister.
Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport, just about 5 miles northeast of Glens Falls, reported winds gusts of only 6 to 8 miles per hour between 3 and 4 p.m.
"Wind gusts can be very localized and also depending on terrain and structures, winds can be funneled and become much stronger than other nearby areas, which could possibly explain the extreme wind gusts responsible for lifting the inflatable bounce house," Leister said.
Besides the possibility of drastic variations in wind, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said there could have been "freak dust devil."
It was unusually warm, with highs in the upper 80s in the area, and heat is an essential ingredient in the formation of dust devils.
RELATED:
Forecast Weather Maps
AccuWeather.com Severe Weather Center
Five Life-Threatening Tornado Safety Myths Debunked
"The truth is, vortexes are all around us constantly; it takes something physical to give them shape such as dust, snow, steam or leaves," Ferrell said.
Bounce houses are popular toys for younger children. As a safety precaution, when being put together, they should be fastened with stakes in the ground.
According to the Post-Star, the mother of the injured girl said the bounce house was tied down to the ground with stakes, but the "wind blew them free."
On Social Media
TopFash US
top_fash
Bounce House Disaster - Winds Lift Kids 20 Feet in the Air . Two Boys Hurt: It looked li... bit.ly/QG9Xl8 #fashion #topfash #style
103.7 KISS FM
KissChattanooga
Wow! 3 kids injured > bit.ly/1gkA5yK < when a bounce house went airborne after being hit with a gust of wind!
_KingAbel
DAYUM😟RT@ABCC: Young children injured as bounce house is swept airborne by strong wind gust:abcn.ws/1gzF7BNMpic.twitter.com/7XLTpi0khWW
Eva Chen
evachen212
😨! RT@NYDailyNewss: Wind gust sends ‘bounce house’ 50 feet in the air, srsly injuring 2 boys.nydn.us/1nL3B01rpic.twitter.com/mcq3uoufE00
- Chris Helmrich · Top Commenter · Chicago, IllinoisFreaky stuff! hope the kids heal ok....and that it doesn't lead to any long lasting fears...
Chuck Napoli · The University of Hard Knocks15 feet? That picture makes it look like that bounce house is about 100 feet in the air.
John Holland · Top Commenter · SUNY CantonI was on a high dam in glens falls all day yesterday, there was no wind. Very strange.
No comments:
Post a Comment