Flash Weather · Team byline
Team byline
The Flash Meteorology Desk is a team byline, not a person. Flash uses it where a page is the work of its meteorologists as a group rather than of one named author.
Each state heat-policy guide carries it, with the governing document the guide was checked against and the date it was checked. Articles that the desk has reviewed against the Accuracy Method say so in their review note.
Vendor comparisons
Latest from the desk
Flash vs Baron: lightning alerts compared
Baron is a broadcast and public-safety weather company: Lynx for TV, Threat Net for alerts on detected strikes. How Threat Net’s lightning alerts compare with a per-cell forecast.
Flash Meteorology Desk · · 6 min read
Expertise
Articles
Vendor comparisons
Baron is a broadcast and public-safety weather company: Lynx for TV, Threat Net for alerts on detected strikes. How Threat Net’s lightning alerts compare with a per-cell forecast.
Published 17 Oct 2026
Vendor comparisons
WeatherSTEM sells lightning detection alerts, weather stations and outdoor sirens to schools and venues. How its detection alerts compare with a per-cell lightning forecast.
Published 17 Oct 2026
Lightning decisions
The first 30 was a count from flash to thunder. Current NFHS, NATA and NWS guidance no longer waits for it. The second 30, the all-clear wait, is still the rule.
Published 16 Oct 2026
Vendor comparisons
DTN WeatherSentry is a broad weather dashboard with strike detection, storm tracking and an optional siren. Flash is built around the hour before the first strike. Where each one fits.
Published 15 Oct 2026
Vendor comparisons
The Sferic Siren is a proven horn-and-strobe system on a total lightning network. Flash forecasts the hour before the first strike. What each does well, and how they work together.
Published 15 Oct 2026
Vendor comparisons
Perry Weather confirms strikes from the NLDN and ships sirens and an on-site station. Flash forecasts the hour before the first strike. What each does well, and when to run both.
Published 15 Oct 2026
Vendor comparisons
Both aim to warn before the first strike. Thor Guard does it with an on-site electrostatic sensor; Flash with a forecast for every 1×1 km cell. How the approaches differ, and who each suits.
Published 15 Oct 2026
Lightning decisions
About 10 miles is the working answer, and more is possible. Why lightning reaches past the rain, how to estimate distance from thunder, and how to turn it into a radius.
Published 15 Oct 2026
Lightning decisions
The sections every lightning emergency action plan needs, drawn from NFHS, NCAA, NATA and NWS guidance, with a one-page outline you can adapt for your venue.
Published 15 Oct 2026
Lightning decisions
What the high school and college guidelines actually ask of an athletic director, side by side with the NATA position statement your trainers work from.
Published 15 Oct 2026
Agentic weather
From "which site sees lightning first?" to "who was warned?": the questions, the answers and the tools each one landed in.
Published 19 Sep 2026
Lightning decisions
A course, a campus or a yard spans several cells. How alerts are scored across them, and which cell wakes the horn.
Published 9 Sep 2026
Agentic weather
Two connectors, one afternoon of decisions: what to authorise, what gets written where, and how to read the audit log afterwards.
Published 4 Sep 2026
Heat & WBGT planning
Same instrument, different bands. What travels between states and what doesn't.
Published 2 Sep 2026
Accuracy & methods
What each metric measures, what it can't, and why the window matters more than the headline.
Published 21 Aug 2026
Heat & WBGT planning
Surface, shade and wind: three reasons the globe thermometer reads hotter than the airport.
Published 20 Aug 2026
Hail & property
Up to 55 minutes of warning. The order of operations for the lot, the service bay and the delivery truck.
Published 12 Aug 2026
Hail & property
Severe, damaging, destructive — and what adjusters look for after each.
Published 30 Jun 2026
State heat policies
Arizona
AIA Article 43.6: five Region 3 WBGT bands for practice time, timed rest breaks and equipment.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Arkansas
AAA Sports Medicine Rule 7: five required WBGT bands for practice length, rest breaks and football equipment.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Colorado
CHSAA SMAC handbook: five Category 1 WBGT bands for practice time, rest breaks and football gear.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Hawaii
HHSAA Heat Acclimatization and Practice Policy: five WBGT bands for practice, breaks and football gear.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Illinois
IHSA Managing Heat and Heat Illness: five required WBGT bands, recorded readings and cold-water immersion from 80.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Kansas
KSHSAA’s WBGT policy: five zones for practice and competition, with rapid cooling ready from 80.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Massachusetts
MIAA Heat Modification Policy: five WBGT bands covering practice and competition, with cooling zones above 84.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Mississippi
MHSAA Handbook 7.9.4 mandates WBGT readings: five bands for practice time, rest breaks and football gear.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Missouri
MSHSAA’s WBGT policy: five bands for high school and middle school, with rest in a cool zone.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Nevada
NIAA 2026-27 guidelines: five WBGT flag zones by region category, with practice limits and set water breaks.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
New Hampshire
NHIAA Article III, Sect. 12: five statewide WBGT bands for practice length, rest breaks and football equipment.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
New Mexico
NMAA Bylaw 7.6.21: four bands, each read as WBGT or heat index, for practice, plus game heat time-outs.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
North Carolina
NCHSAA Handbook 2.3: five WBGT bands for rest breaks, pads and equipment, cold tubs and suspending practice.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Ohio
OHSAA Sports Medicine Regulations: five WBGT bands for practice length, rest breaks and equipment.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
West Virginia
WVSSAC heat policy: five WBGT bands for practice length, rest breaks and football equipment, read every 30 minutes.
Checked 15 Oct 2026
Texas
UIL’s required plan: five WBGT bands in two regional classes, with practice limits and rapid cooling zones.
Checked 5 Oct 2026
Florida
FHSAA Policy 41 and the Zachary Martin Act: five statewide WBGT bands for practice, plus contest rules.
Checked 5 Oct 2026
Georgia
GHSA By-Law 2.67: five WBGT bands for practice length, rest breaks and football equipment.
Checked 21 Sep 2026
Reviews
Lightning decisions
The alert on your phone was for a strike that already hit the ground. Detection reports the past; prediction gives you up to 60 minutes. What that changes for the person who has to clear the field.
Jason Deese · Published 14 Jul 2026
Live demo · No sensors required for the forecast
We'll load your locations, replay last season's strikes against Flash's predictions, and show you the alert log your safety officer would have received.