Right in the midst of severe weather, thousands of people will be outside Thursday night for the Minnesota State Fair and sporting events.

The Twin Cities National Weather Service calls the shots when it comes to alerting officials of severe weather closing in. They’re urging those outside to have a plan.

When severe weather rolls in, the NWS screens are filled with radars and graphs to track storms.

“It can be very stressful,” said Caleb Grunzke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Twin Cities office.

What the meteorologists do in their office has a big impact on large outdoor events like football games or the State Fair.

It starts with a request from an event organizer for their support.

If a severe storm is closing in, the weather experts make a time sensitive call to a team on the ground sounding the alarm to evacuate or take shelter.

“Just make the decision and do it with your best intentions in mind and with your training that you’ve learned,” Grunzke said.

In some cases, like at the State Fair and the Gopher football game, a meteorologist is at the event on standby.

“They can just instantly get that communication from the meteorologist on site,” Grunzke said.

Monday and Tuesday’s storms left a trail of destruction and sent Minnesotans running for cover at the State Fair.

Football fans said the rain won’t drown out their game day excitement.

The NWS is urging people to have a plan if you’re caught in severe weather. Large stadiums and the State Fair have severe weather protocols ready to go.