Athletic Guidelines for Heat, Cold & Lightning

Temerpature Determination

• Each intermediate and high school will have a handheld WBGT meter on campus.
• Intermediate coordinators and high school athletic trainers will check temperatures during hot days 1 hour before practice to determine if practice adjustments are required. 
• Practice adjustments will be communicated to all in season head coaches.
• During practice the WBGT will be checked every 30 minutes, the temperature will be monitored for 5 minutes, and practice adjustments made if applicable. 

When the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature is above 80 degrees all programs must provide a rapid cooling zone on site and available at all times to allow for full body, rapid cooling of athletes experiencing heat illness.

Examples of a rapid cooling zone

*The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) chart below dictates practice adjustments.

WBGT	Sport	Practice Adjustments
<82.0	All sports	No Mandatory Restrictions
82-86.9	All sports	Normal practice with increased awareness and constant monitoring. Provide 3 water breaks lasting 4 min each.
87-90	All sports	Open water policy  4 water breaks lasting 4 min each Outdoor practice time will not exceed 2 hours
87-90	Football	Student-athletes can remove helmets while not in contact drills  With helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts practice can be no more than 2 hours
87-90	Cross Country	Runners will stay on campus where they can be seen at all times
90.1-92	All sports	Open water policy  20 minutes worth of breaks throughout the 1 hour of practice. Outdoor practice time will not exceed 1 hour
90.1-92	Football	Student-athletes will wear only shorts and t-shirts, no helmets or shoulder pads and no conditioning activities.
>92.1	All sports	NO OUTSIDE PRACTICE IN ANY SPORT until the temperature is within a tolerable range.

 

Temperature Determination

• Athletic Trainer will obtain a weather report using the KISD login for the approved weather system by recording the “Feels Like” temperature, which considers temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind chill. 
• The report is to be checked 30 minutes prior to the beginning of outdoor activities on practice days.
• Games postponed due to cold weather will be determined on a case-by-case basis by Klein ISD Administration, Athletic Director, Coaches and Athletic Training Staff. Consideration for postponement should take place under these conditions: 
  • Wind Chill falls below 32°F with precipitation. 
  • Wind Chill falls below 25°F in dry conditions. 

*Intermediate coaches can make a determination to not allow any outdoor activity when the temperature is below 32 degrees.

Wind Chill Factor	Dry Conditions	Precipitation
Lower than 28°	No Outdoor Activity	No Outdoor Activity
28°-30°	Student-athletes must be dressed in layers with extremities covered.  45-minutes maximum of outside activity with a 15-minute warming period indoors.	All practices indoors  No outside exposure
30°-32°	Student-athletes must be dressed in layers with extremities covered.  60-minutes maximum of outside activity with a 15-minute warming period indoors.	All practices indoors  No outside exposure
32°-39°	Student-athletes must be dressed in layers with extremities covered.  120-minute maximum of outside activity with a 10-minute warming period every 45 minutes.	75 minutes maximum of outside activity with 15 minute warming period indoors.

Distance Determination

• Each high school and intermediate campus will receive location specific notifications from the KISD weather system.
• Notifications will be sent to all coaches from the KSID weather system when lightning strikes within the ranges below and the appropriate action will be taken.

Distance	Alert Level	Action
20 miles	Advisory	No action required.
12 miles	Caution	Continue to monitor and inform coaches, officials, and administrators of potential delays.
At or   within 8 miles	Warning	Suspend all outdoor activity.  All student-athletes should be in a safe location. Activity cannot resume until there has been no lightning within 8 miles for 30 minutes.

Safe Shelter 

• A safer location is any substantial, frequently inhabited building. The building should have four solid walls (not a dug out), electrical and telephone wiring, as well as plumbing, all of which aid in grounding a structure.
• The secondary choice for a safer location from the lightning hazard is a fully enclosed vehicle with a metal roof and the windows completely closed. It is important to not touch any part of the metal framework of the vehicle while inside it during ongoing thunderstorms.
• It is not safe to shower, bathe, or talk on landline phones while inside of a safer shelter during thunderstorms (cell phones are ok).

Resumption of Athletic Activities 

Outdoor activities can resume when “All Clear” is issued in the Caution area and there has been no lightning  detected within 8 miles in the previous 30 minutes.

In the event that there is no cell service or an individual does not have access to Weather Sentry then the  Flash- to-Bang method is utilized.  

Flash to Bang Method 

To estimate the distance between you and a lightning flash, use the “Flash-to-Bang” method. The Flash to-Bang method is the most reliable, easiest and most convenient way to estimate how far away lightning is  occurring. Thunder always accompanies lightning, even though its audible range can be diminished due to  background noise in the immediate environment, and its distance from the observer.

How to use Flash-to-Bang: Count the number of seconds, once lightning is sighted, until the thunder  (bang) is heard. Divide by 5 to obtain how far away (in miles) the lightning is occurring.

Play is suspended as Flash-to-Bang method reaches 30 seconds. This indicates the lightning is at  the 6-mile range. Lightning awareness should be increased with the first flash of lightning or the first clap of  thunder, no matter how far away. This activity must be treated as a wakeup call to those monitoring inclement  weather. The important aspect to monitor is how far away the lightning is occurring, and how fast the storm is  approaching, relative to the distance of a safe shelter. As a minimum, the National Severe Storms Laboratory  (NLSS) and NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports strongly recommend  that by the time the observer obtain a Flash to Bang count of 30 seconds; all individuals should have left the  athletics site and reached a safe structure or location. Athletic events may need to be terminated.