The challenges of weather in the Midwest

The City of Chesterfield is home to a 176-acre athletic complex that hosts around 40 tournaments a year and welcomes 1.3 million visitors annually. Ethan Collier, the Superintendent of Sports and Wellness for Chesterfield, MO, is consistently faced with weather challenges when managing the many outdoor activities that take place within the complex.

“In the last two weeks, we’ve had nothing but rain and hail and tornado warnings the entire time.” 

Ethan Collier, the Superintendent of Sports and Wellness, Chesterfield Parks and Recreation

Regardless of whether an event is run by the Chesterfield Parks & Recreation or by partners, the responsibility of keeping everyone safe is carried on his shoulders. Because of this, it was important for Ethan to have a reliable way of keeping track of weather conditions and being notified of any lightning in the area.

Ethan chose to implement Perry Weather at Chesterfield’s sports complex which improved safety at the complex but has also cleared up much of the confusion surrounding weather decisions. 

Troubles with free weather apps

In the Midwest, storms can roll in quickly and leave quickly and it is essential to know the moment that lightning is in the area and the moment that it is clear to proceed. Before Perry Weather, Chesterfield relied on an app called WeatherBug to notify them when lightning was in the area. This solution caused several issues for the team since WeatherBug only updated every 30 minutes. 

This often left Ethan and his team with outdated information which posed a significant threat to the safety of anyone at the complex. On the other side of the coin, it also left everyone in lightning delays much longer than was necessary.

“WeatherBug updates every 30 minutes. So the storm would be clear…but we have to go off the WeatherBug app and it says it’s still in the area.”

Ethan Collier, the Superintendent of Sports and Wellness, Chesterfield Parks and Recreation

This lag in data led to frequent complaints from visitors and pressure from officials to resume regardless of whether it was truly safe to proceed.

Enhanced lightning safety

With lightning posing a serious risk to outdoor events at the complex, getting a reliable system like Perry Weather was an easy decision for the Chesterfield staff. Switching to Perry Weather improved their ability to monitor the weather and cleared up the communications surrounding severe weather events. With Perry Weather, Chesterfield gained access to:

• Outdoor warning system – When lightning is detected within 10 miles, Perry Weather triggers a siren blare, a strobe light, and a pre-programmed message instructing people to seek shelter
• Mobile notifications – Chesterfield gets mobile push notifications and text messages with automated instructions on what to do when lightning is detected 
• Lightning Delay Countdown – They can see the remaining time in a lightning delay via the Perry Weather widget or mobile app, the timer resets with each new strike and provides an all-clear signal when it’s safe for them to resume activities

Custom PA messages

Now, whenever lightning strikes in the area, everyone is notified to take shelter. Chesterfield even set up a custom message on their Perry Weather system saying “We are currently on a lightning delay. Please exit the field to play immediately and seek shelter under a pavilion or in your car immediately. We’ll announce when the lightning delay is over,” making it very simple for their community to know exactly what they need to do.

One source of truth in weather delays

In the past, lightning delays created a lot of confusion. Both the city staff and the visitors of the complex were asking the same question— “when this weather delay be over?” After getting Perry Weather, this is now a question of the past.

With Perry Weather’s widget function, staff and the community can all be on the same page when it comes to the weather.

The widget allows the community to:

• Check current weather conditions at the complex
• View if there is a lightning delay in effect
• See how much time is left in the delay with the lightning countdown timer

How Chesterfield is increasing community awareness

Chesterfield went the extra mile and positioned QR code signs around the athletic complex, with a link to the widget. Any visitors can easily scan the code, and see the same view that the Chesterfield staff see. This has not only improved the experience for all of the visitors but has also made the jobs of the Chesterfield staff much easier.

“This system is here to assist them, and it’s made their lives 100% easier, which in turn makes my life easier.”

Ethan Collier, the Superintendent of Sports and Wellness, Chesterfield Parks and Recreation

Why Perry Weather 

Perry Weather system has transformed the way Chesterfield Parks and Recreation handles any of the weather challenges that get thrown at them.

From providing real-time alerts to enhancing lightning safety, the system has improved operations. The accessible weather widget has made it easy for the community to stay informed, and for Ethan Collier and his team, Perry Weather has proven to be an extremely helpful tool that takes the weight of making weather decisions off their shoulders.