When you’re the largest Catholic co-ed high school in all of Texas, with nearly 1,000 students and over 700 athletes, weather safety isn’t just a job—it’s a high-stakes responsibility.
Just ask Mike Hopper, Head Athletic Trainer at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas. Between overseeing the sports medicine needs of hundreds of athletes and juggling unpredictable Texas weather, Mike found himself playing a role familiar to many athletic trainers:
“I’m the head athletic trainer… and part-time meteorologist,” he laughs.
“We’ve got three weather policies here at Bishop Lynch. It’s a lot to manage…I’m monitoring everything from scorching Texas heat to the occasional snowstorm that shows up just in time for soccer season.”
From Manual Readings to Real-Time WBGT Monitoring
Before Perry Weather, Mike relied on a handheld Kestrel device to manually track WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature)—the gold standard for measuring heat stress.
“You’d have to set up the Kestrel 30 minutes early, wait for readings, and only one person could see the data,” says Mike. “Only one person could use it at a time. No visibility for coaches. No flexibility. It slowed everything down.”
But between the UIL’s updated statewide heat safety policies and the sheer size of the athletic program, one handheld device just didn’t cut it.
Switching to Perry Weather
When Bishop Lynch High School switched to Perry Weather, everything changed.
Perry Weather’s on-site weather station now automatically tracks WBGT throughout the day. Coaches and staff can view real-time, hyperlocal weather readings from their phones or desktops—anytime, anywhere. No setup, delays, or guesswork.
“The thing I like about Perry Weather is that everybody can see it. I can literally pull out my phone and I can see what it’s doing right then and there.
“All our coaches can see exactly what’s happening—right when it’s happening, rather than a singular device on the field.”
Mike notes that “Perry Weather also helps us predict what’s happening”, so they can plan ahead and modify activities on the fly, making it an essential tool for their coaches as well.
Why it’s a game-changer
With Perry Weather, Bishop Lynch can now:
- Instant, Real-Time Data: Readings are instant and constantly updated—no setup time required.
- Automated tracking: Automatically monitor WBGT without the manual hassle.
- Automated UIL policy compliance: UIL policy thresholds are built in, so alerts and action plans trigger automatically.
- Everyone on the same page: Every coach and staff member gets real-time access to weather data.
- Data you can trust: Perry Weather’s professional-grade sensors are calibrated to be more consistent and reliable than any handheld devices.
- Quicker decisions: Make faster, more informed decisions about practice schedules and athlete safety.
Bottom line: Kestrels can’t keep up with the pace and scale of modern athletics. Perry Weather can—and does.
Lightning Safety: Precise, Lightning-Fast, and Easy
Of course, heat isn’t the only major threat in Texas. Lightning storms can roll in fast, and that’s where Perry Weather’s real-time radar and automated lightning alerts come into play.
Perry Weather gives Mike and his team the ability to visually track lightning strikes around campus.
“One of the cooler things about Perry Weather is being able to pull up the live radar to see all the different lightning strikes, especially when it’s a big storm and there’s thousands of them, and just seeing all the different colors. We totally nerd out about that,” Mike laughs.
But it’s not just about spotting the big storms (though those are impressive) — it’s about catching the isolated, early-warning strikes that might otherwise slip through.
“Spotting those isolated lightning strikes is where Perry Weather really shines. That’s when it tells us to get off the field before it becomes dangerous.”
While many free weather apps use publicly sourced lightning reports or radar estimates (often delayed by several minutes or more), Perry Weather taps into the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) — the most accurate and widely used lightning detection network in the United States.
This level of accuracy is the same network trusted by NASA, the Coast Guard, and major airports across the country.
For Mike and his team, this means:
- Instant alerts when lightning is detected within a set radius nearby
- Live radar tracking on a color-coded radar map — so they can see the storm develop
- Automated all-clear countdown timers to know when it’s safe to resume activity
- Custom alert zones across multiple fields or locations on campus
- Clear communication to coaches, athletes, and staff — no more delays
This way, schools like Bishop Lynch don’t just get alerts—they get actionable alerts tailored to their policies.
Always on Call: A Real, Live Meteorologist
Sometimes, you need more than radar. Like when you’re standing on the field minutes before kickoff and the sky starts looking a little too dramatic.
Mike really likes the ability to call the meteorologist and actually talk to a meteorologist on the phone. “Playing a part-time meteorologist—what people don’t understand is that I have to do that. But now I just call Perry Weather and talk to them first.’”
“We had an incident last year where they wanted to make a decision pretty quickly on a Friday night. We got run off the field about 7 o’clock, right before kickoff. And I called the meteorologist, and he told me flat out, the weather’s not clearing up tonight.”
Mike passed the information directly to the athletic director and rescheduled the game on the spot—with confidence.
“It helped us to schedule a better makeup game so that we didn’t have issues down the line.”
Having direct access to meteorologists means Bishop Lynch can make confident calls—without second-guessing or scrambling.
✅ The Result: A Smoother, Smarter Weather Safety Game Plan
Since switching to Perry Weather, Bishop Lynch has created a weather safety process that’s faster, more automated, and way more collaborative.
“It’s not just me out there checking temperatures or storms anymore,” Mike says.
“Our whole staff is informed. Everyone’s on the same page. And honestly, it just looks and feels more professional.”
With Perry Weather, Bishop Lynch has turned weather policy into a shared, seamless process—no more guesswork, no more scrambling, and no more “wait and see.”
“It’s just made things feel sharper and more fluid,” Mike says. “We’re no longer reactive—we’re ready.”
Ready to retire the Kestrel? See how Perry Weather can simplify your school’s weather safety process today.
