First Alert Weather In-Depth: Oak Hill is prepared for severe weather with an on-site meteorologist

PITTSFORD, N.Y. With golf being an outdoor sport it is obvious that the weather will have a big role, and with that, the PGA is prepared with an on-site meteorologist to keep everyone safe.

Stewart Williams is the on-site meteorologist for the PGA Championship at Oak Hill and has seen it all in his time with the PGA.

“In my 30 years, I have dealt with everything,” Stewart said. “Hurricanes, tornadoes, and even in February we had snow in Tucson, Arizona.”

Stewart adds that the main reason he is on site is to keep the players and fans safe.

“The number one reason we are on-site is for lightning safety,” Stewart said. “We want to keep the players and the fans safe from any dangerous weather. So that’s the main reason why we are here, but you know it doesn’t have to be bad weather for us to help out. Frost delays like we had today [Thursday], I’ve been forecasting that all week. And wind forecasts play a big role in how the golf course is going to set up.”

With that being the main reason, Stewart says that he is prepared to warn people of impending lightning.

“I have an electric field meter, and that measures the charge in the atmosphere,” Stewart said. “With the national lightning detection network and radar and that electric field meter I know when it is going to be dangerous here and using all that technology it works really well.”

The course is also equipped with LED video boards that fans should pay attention to, as that will have messages on the weather if any impacts will be felt.