‘It was the right thing to do’: Seafair meteorologist defends decision to cancel the Blue Angels’ Saturday show

As tens of thousands of people gathered to watch the Blue Angels perform during Seafair on Saturday, all their plans quickly unraveled as the show was canceled due to high winds throughout the area.

Ted Buehner, a Seafair meteorologist who was involved in the decision to cancel the Blue Angels’ show, joined “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio and revealed it wasn’t the winds on the lake that stopped the event.

“I’m a baseball official, and humorously I just call them as I see them. You may not like the call, but that is what it’s all about,” Buehner said. “Here’s the bottom line: this had nothing to do with the winds on Lake Union. This had everything to do with the winds at SEA airport. The southerly winds that afternoon were around 15 mph with gusts to 25 mph. Normally during Seafair, when the Blue Angels and other fast-moving aircraft are involved, they will shut down that airspace around a five-mile nautical area around the I-90 bridge.

“They’ll have airplanes flying to the north and take off,” he added. “You circle away as soon as you take off the runway, and you’re out of harm’s way. This was about having passenger flights flying south through the airspace that the Blue Angels would be using. That’s a safety issue, and that is why everything was canceled.”

“You were responsible for canceling it?” KIRO host Ursula Reutin asked.

“I was involved, yes,” Buehner responded.

Buehner stood by the decision despite the backlash

Buehner, also a KIRO Newsradio meteorologist, noted that it was simply the right move to keep everyone safe when asked about how he can sleep at night making that big of a decision.

“I have to ask, when you’re a part of these decisions, just so you know, people were mad that you all canceled,” KIRO host Gee Scott said. “I want to know, though, when you cancel that, understanding that people are going to be mad, how do you sleep well at night knowing that in your heart you’re doing what’s best for everyone?”

“You just said it right there,” Buehner responded. “It was the right thing to do. It’s all about safety. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be on an approach to SeaTac airport and see a Blue Angel right outside my window. That would freak me out. One thing Seafair organizers decided to do was just share that it was about strong winds. They didn’t indicate that it was SeaTac airport that was involved here.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.