Canadian Football League officials say they are satisfied with how a lightning storm was handled at Monday's Labour Day Classic and the timing of the decision to delay the game and have players and fans seek shelter.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats made fans very happy Monday night with a win against the Toronto Argos, but the two-hour lightning delay, causing people to crowd the concourse did not.

The game was delayed around 7:30 p.m., about an hour after it began because of lightning.

An Environment and Climate Change Canada lightning detection system shows several lightning strikes 6 to 8 kilometres around Tim Horton's stadium Monday night.

According to Lucas Barrett, a CFL spokesperson, weather is closely monitored every 10-15 minutes by a meteorologist contracted by the CFL, who keeps an eye on all nine of their markets across the country.

A shot of Environment and Climate Change Canada's lightning detection system shows 6 to 8 kilometres around Tim Horton's stadium.The images cover from 4:00 p.m. (2000Z) Monday afternoon to 10:00 p.m. Monday night (0200Z September 5). (Provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada)

"Yesterday we did receive the warnings about the inclement weather in Hamilton. We were surveying that with our meteorologist up to a minute," said Barrett.

Barrett says that they were aware of the weather systems in and around Hamilton, but there wasn't enough to prevent kickoff.

Procedure dictates that if a lightning strike occurs 17 kilometres or less from a stadium, the CFL is notified right away and then league contacts their meteorologist to see how the weather system is acting. That's when the more detailed monitoring begins.

The game resumed at around 9:45 p.m. - some fans left the stadium, some stuck it out to see the win.

'It was a long delay, but we didn't want to risk the fans or the players.' - Lucas Barrett, CFL

As photos and video poured in over social media, the concourse quickly became crowded with fans after they slowly filtered from the outdoor stands.

The CFL told CBC that it's a joint effort between the CFL and the team to delay games and usher people from the stands.

The Hamilton Tiger-cats recorded their 1st win of the season, after defeating the Toronto Argonauts 24-22 during Monday's Labour Day Classic. (Peter Power/The Canadian Press )

According to Barrett, the off-field game day supervisor will contact the on-field official that there's a weather system coming and that the game needs to be delayed. Teams go back to their locker rooms and announcements are made to spectators.

"We were happy with the way everything took place. It was a long delay, but we didn't want to risk the fans or the players," said Barrett.

It's one thing to have a bunch of football fans all trying to get along, getting soaked to the skin and it's another if there was an emergency - Dave Walsh

Hamilton resident and season ticket holder, Dave Walsh was at Monday's game sitting in the north side of the stadium and like many others, got soaked.

After an announcement was made, letting people know there was going to be 45-minute delay, Walsh decided to finish watching the game from home.

Here's a before and after of the crowd in Hamilton. A few thousand diehards left in the park after two hour delay. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CFL?src=hash">#CFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/NpPT8po1ki">pic.twitter.com/NpPT8po1ki</a> —@Devin_Heroux

Walsh says it took about 30 minutes from the initial announcement telling fans to leave the stands, to the time he got to through the concourse and left the building.

"It's one thing to have a bunch of football fans all trying to get along, getting soaked to the skin and it's another if there was an emergency and there was some other event in there, or any event in there and there was some real emergency, not just a rainstorm," said Walsh.

"They've got to plan for the worst and hope for the best as they say."

Although Walsh never felt threatened by the weather, he says a better evacuation system needs to be put in place should there happen to greater immediate safety threats.

Slo-mo video of the biggest raindrops I've ever seen. Torrential downpour in Hamilton. Game suspended. <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCHamilton">@CBCHamilton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/cbcsports">@cbcsports</a> <a href="https://t.co/qUC9lfxi6y">pic.twitter.com/qUC9lfxi6y</a> —@Devin_Heroux

"I think the fire department should look into it as an emergency exercise, its' their responsibility," said Walsh. "It was only a thunderstorm - like that happens if there's a bomb scare or if there's something that's smoking?"

The CFL says there are different evacuation protocols for different situations, which the stadium has.

Barrett also noted that the idea is that everyone can fit in the concourse, and there is an in-and-out policy for those seeking shelter in their car or elsewhere.