The primary weather concerns in Georgia: Heat & lightning

In Georgia, severe weather conditions are a significant concern for high school athletic programs. High humidity mixed with high temperatures can be a recipe for heat-related injuries. To top it off, Georgia also experiences a relatively high amount of lightning compared to the rest of the US. 

John Ward, Athletic Director of Clarke Central High School has become familiar with these challenges over his 25 years at Clark Central and 37 years overall as a high school educator and athletic coach.

“Many times in Georgia, there’s two primary concerns. One is extreme weather, which can involve lightning. The other is extreme heat, where heat and humidity get temperatures to a point where it’s unsafe for student-athletes to compete outside.”

John Ward, Athletic Director of Clarke Central High School

Perry Weather is helping Clarke County with these concerns by monitoring weather conditions in real-time, ensuring that student-athletes can train and compete safely.

Helping Clarke County Schools comply with GHSAA heat stress policies

Georgia was the first state to introduce a heat stress policy for high school athletics. Since the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) set the guidelines, other states have followed suit creating their own variations of a wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) or heat index policy. 

This has led many schools to adopt a fully manual process of measuring and logging WBGT, which takes time out of an AT’s day that could be otherwise spent with student-athletes. Clarke County has chosen to automate its processes using Perry Weather. This takes all of the guesswork usually associated with manual readings out of the equation. 

Monitoring and logging historical weather conditions

“The Perry Weather weather station that we have on campus provides wet bulb globe temperature to our athletic trainer and our coaches on a consistent daily basis. It logs all that information so it’s readily available if needed at a future date.”

John Ward, Athletic Director of Clarke Central High School

With Perry Weather, Clarke County gets:

• Automated WBGT monitoring – The system continuously checks wet bulb globe temperature levels, providing alerts when thresholds are reached
• Access to historical readings – All data is logged, making it easy to see what conditions were is incidents arise
• Advance risk alerts – The system helps prevent heat-related incidents before they occur, giving you a heads-up when WBGT levels are expected to exceed your set policies

How Perry Weather saves time for the ATs and coaching staff

“Prior to having the weather system on our campus, our athletic trainer was in charge of making all the calls regarding severe weather, severe heat, and lightning storms. There were situations in which the athletic trainer might not be on campus. Storms roll in quick and there’s subjectivity. Coaches really did not know what to do.”

John Ward, Athletic Director of Clarke Central High School

Before and after Perry Weather

Before, athletic trainers had to manually take measurements and check external sources, make decisions and then manually communicate that decision to the entire coaching staff. 

With Perry Weather, the system provides real-time updates to the coaches, athletic trainers, and school administrators keeping everyone on the same page and allowing them to make informed decisions quickly.

Enhanced lightning safety for the district and community

Storms can develop quickly in Georgia, so it’s imperative to have a solution in place to not only detect when lightning is in the area but also let everyone know to seek shelter. Perry Weather is Clarke County’s first line of defense against lightning strikes.

The system alerts the coaching staff and anyone on the field when there is lightning near in a few different ways:

• Mobile notifications – Get mobile push notifications and text messages with automated instructions on what to do when lightning is detected near your area
• Outdoor warning system – Notify everyone in the area with loud horns and flashing strobe lights, with a quiet mode during off-hours to minimize disturbances
• Lightning Delay Countdown – See the remaining time during a lightning delay, the timer resets with each new strike and provides an all-clear signal when it’s safe to resume activities

“Having the Perry Weather weather station on our campus, the lightning alerts, the horn that tells you to clear the field, and the horn that sounds that allows you to know that all is clear… It takes all the subjectivity out of this lightning situation.”

John Ward, Athletic Director of Clarke Central High School

Complete weather coverage 

For Clarke County Schools, Perry Weather has become more than just a tool; it’s completely changed how they monitor the weather, automating the process. It’s taken a lot off the shoulders of the ATs and made compliance with heat safety regulations easy. 

When it comes to lightning safety, everyone has peace of mind from the coaches to the community. As John Ward sees it, the system lets everyone focus on what really matters: helping students enjoy sports, knowing they’re in the safest environment possible.