Oshkosh 2019: Soggy Start To A Record Year?

The biggest story, the biggest 10,000 stories, is that this summer's crazy weather has been doing its mischief at OSH, and in more ways than one.

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First Problem: Friday/Saturday's Super Soaker! Oshkosh got an estimated 2-3 inches of rain on Friday night and Saturday to add to an estimated five inches over the course of just a few days. That was on top of what was already a rain saturated AirVenture grounds. The ground could simply not absorb that much more water, and much of it would up in hundreds of small ponds scattered across KOSH and, perhaps even worse, creating acres of mud that man nor beast nor Winnebago RV nor Van's RV could negotiate. So the organizers did the only sensible thing...they closed down the field, turning away many thousands of planes and seemingly that many campers, as well. 

The day of Sunday, before the show starts on Monday, has become in recent years an activity-filled day, and this year it was too, but it was a quiet one with next to no airplanes coming and/or going. (UPDATE! As of early Monday morning just past 7, the field was still closed, which again, created a really quiet first day at AirVenture. Bring on the noise, please!)

We've heard dozens of stories of people who somehow made it to the show on Saturday when the field was still open but only after epic adventures, all of which involved a twisted array of severe storms that dominated the upper midwest. As you can see in the image here! 

It all led to an eerily empty grounds!.well, not empty. As of Monday at 6 a.m. there were exactly three warbirds in Fighter Town. More like Fighter Coffee Klatch! 

The good news, trumpets please! The weather map looks amazing for the week to come, with warm temperatures (instead of baking) and nary a chance of rain or storm. 

As of Sunday evening, AirVenture logisticians were hopeful they'd be able to open the field up at some point on Monday, and when they do, we are looking forward to seeing Oshkosh spring into life in super-fast motion!