Weather Awareness: More Than Just the Forecast

Every outdoor activity is affected by the weather, either positively or negatively. Most spring and fall sport practices and competitions can be cancelled due to weather or have their outcome altered by the playing conditions. We all know that the weather cannot be controlled, but being better prepared for the conditions when events occur will make sure students and their supporters are safe, successful and can participate fully. And we all rely on various technologies to keep us informed.

Do we check the weather report often? Likely every day, regardless of whether we have an outdoor practice or game to attend or not. Do we change our plans based on that report? Likely often as well, changing our apparel, the time of our departure and potential return, the accessories we might bring either because of the weather or ‘just in case.’

The method that you collect weather information is likely no longer the morning paper, but more likely an app on your phone or a website on your computer. Knowing how to interpret that data, how to combine it with information from other sources, will provide necessary insight to make better decisions on preparations, delays and cancellations.

The weather app provided by your local television station can provide significant weather information and forecasting, but may not be as local as you need it to be. To be able to truly evaluate the weather to come on your playing fields, a weather monitoring system can provide information needed for your location. Besides up-to-date information and exact forecasting, especially regarding precipitation, many of these systems also provide weather alerts for multiple factors, best time to play predictions and all-clear notices to resume play or practice. All use a variety of data-gathering equipment to monitor lightning, severe weather and high heat. Perry Weather and Earth Networks are two of several companies that provide this type of installed equipment.

If your weather information needs to be more portable or you want to augment your monitoring system, there are several portable or hand-held devices that can be used on-site to stay aware of changes in the weather. These primarily capture and display data related to weather factors that can change rapidly during a practice or event. Those factors are ones that can affect player and supporter safety such as heat index and lightning.

For those who participate in individual sports or activities, such as cross country or track, personal devices that monitor heat stress can be used. Kestrel, SkyScan and HeatAlert all make products that can be shared among coaches and moved from location to location.

Of course, AI has entered the weather prediction market and there are several products that use that technology to predict not only the weather, but the optimum time to push hard and the best time to rest. Not really usable in terms of scheduling competitions, this type of predictor can be handy when considering practice schedules or weekend events that are more flexible. For individual users, some include a performance index and an injury risk assessment and are made by Flash Weather or CoachXPro. If you want to truly structure your practices to suit the weather, there are real-time products that can do that and include on-field displays and practice management software.

When using any weather technology to better plan your practices and events, the local weather radar would let you see what are the most likely possibilities in precipitation. Make sure you also consider other significant weather factors to enhance everyone’s safety. Those would include having access to the local Wet Bulb Globe Temperature to determine the true heat-related stress the athletes are under. There are multiple portable devices that can provide this information on the spot.

Also consider the timing of any precipitation, the chances of lightning being included in that precipitation, and the wind speed and direction that accompany those changes. Every location has different weather, especially when considering changes in elevation, sun and shade potential and favorable winds. Having at-the-moment data collected at your actual playing fields will give you the best opportunity to provide for everyone’s safety and success.

Steffen Parker is a retired music educator, event organizer, maple sugar maker, and Information Technology specialist from Vermont who serves as the Performing Arts/Technology representative on the NFHS High School Today Publications Committee. He received the NFHS Citation Award in 2017 and the Ellen McCulloch- Lovell Award in Arts Education in 2021.