In this article · 6 sections
Three documents shape most lightning policies in American school and college sport: the NFHS guideline for high schools, the lightning guideline in the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook, and the NATA position statement athletic trainers work from. They agree on far more than they differ.
Which documents, and which versions
- NFHS
- The Sports Medicine Advisory Committee of the National Federation of State High School Associations publishes "Guidelines on Handling Practices and Contests During Lightning or Thunder Disturbances". The current version is dated October 2024; earlier versions go back to 2004. It is a default policy and covers outdoor sport and indoor swimming pools.
- NCAA
- The lightning safety guideline in the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook was first written in 1997. The version we reviewed is the 2011–12 handbook edition, revised in June 2007. The handbook is revised over time, so check the edition your institution follows.
- NATA
- The National Athletic Trainers’ Association position statement "Lightning Safety for Athletics and Recreation" was published in the Journal of Athletic Training in 2013, with graded recommendations for planning, shelter, suspension, resumption and first aid.
NFHS itself says the best place to get a policy for your facility is your state association and your nearest National Weather Service office. Many state associations adopt or adapt the NFHS text, so read your own state’s version first.
The NFHS guideline for high schools
- One named staff member watches the weather before and during practices and contests, suspends outdoor activity and decides when to resume. Anyone following the guideline is not to be challenged.
- An emergency action plan names nearby safer areas and how long it takes to get everyone there. A safer place is a substantial building with plumbing and wiring where people live or work, such as a school, gym or library. A fully enclosed metal car or school bus is the alternative; a convertible or soft-top is not.
- When thunder is heard or lightning is seen, the storm is close enough to strike. Suspend play for at least 30 minutes and move everyone to the safer place immediately.
- Wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning before going back out. Any thunder or lightning during the count restarts it.
- If a nationally connected lightning detection network is available, watch it when storms are possible: suspend when lightning is within 10 miles, and resume only after 30 minutes with none inside that radius. Never rely on a device or app over a threatening sky, thunder or visible lightning.
- Review the policy every year with administrators, coaches and game personnel, train them on it, and tell athletes and parents about it at the start of each season.
A footnote covers night games: distant flashes may be visible from storms that pose no threat. If there is no thunder and the flashes are low on the horizon, play may be able to continue, and verified detection data helps remove the doubt.
The NCAA lightning guideline
- Designate a person to monitor threatening weather and to decide when to remove teams or individuals from a site. The plan covers instructions for participants and spectators, warning and all-clear signals, signage and safer shelter.
- Check local weather reports every day before practice or competition, and know the NWS difference between a watch and a warning.
- Know where the nearest safer structure is and how long it takes to get there. That means a building people normally occupy, with plumbing or wiring, or a hard metal-roofed vehicle with the windows shut; a convertible or a golf cart does not count.
- Treat dugouts, rain shelters, golf shelters and picnic shelters as unsafe, along with anything near light poles, towers and fences.
- Raise awareness at the first flash or thunder. Hearing thunder means prepare to evacuate; seeing lightning means consider suspending and moving to shelter. As a minimum, everyone should be in shelter by the time the flash-to-thunder gap is 30 seconds.
- Resume 30 minutes after both the last thunder and the last flash. At night, use both the sound of thunder and the sight of the lightning channel to decide whether to restart the clock.
- People struck by lightning carry no charge, so CPR is safe for the responder. Plan for early access to an AED, but never delay CPR while one is found.
The guideline also warns that blue sky and no rain are not proof of safety: at least 10% of lightning falls when no rain is falling, and it can strike 10 miles or more from the rain shaft. Our explainer on how far lightning can strike goes through those distances.
NFHS, NCAA and NATA side by side
| Attribute | NFHS (Oct 2024) | NCAA handbook (rev. 2007) | NATA (2013) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides | One assigned staff member; not to be challenged | A designated person who monitors weather and removes teams | A named person or role with unchallengeable authority, plus a separate weather watcher |
| When to stop | Thunder heard or lightning seen | Prepare at thunder, consider suspending at lightning; in shelter by a 30-second flash-to-thunder gap | Thunder heard; everyone inside before the storm edge is about 5 nautical miles away |
| When to resume | 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning; resets | 30 minutes after the last thunder and last flash | 30 minutes after the last nearby lightning and last thunder; resets |
| Detection data | Watch it if available; 10-mile radius; never over sight and sound | One tool among weather watchers, forecasts and warning devices | Consider an independently verified commercial service |
| Unsafe places | Anything short of a substantial building or enclosed metal vehicle | Dugouts, rain, golf and picnic shelters; near poles, towers, fences | Shelters, sheds, tents, dugouts, press boxes, open garages, pools |
NFHS (Oct 2024)
- Who decides
- One assigned staff member; not to be challenged
- When to stop
- Thunder heard or lightning seen
- When to resume
- 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning; resets
- Detection data
- Watch it if available; 10-mile radius; never over sight and sound
- Unsafe places
- Anything short of a substantial building or enclosed metal vehicle
NCAA handbook (rev. 2007)
- Who decides
- A designated person who monitors weather and removes teams
- When to stop
- Prepare at thunder, consider suspending at lightning; in shelter by a 30-second flash-to-thunder gap
- When to resume
- 30 minutes after the last thunder and last flash
- Detection data
- One tool among weather watchers, forecasts and warning devices
- Unsafe places
- Dugouts, rain, golf and picnic shelters; near poles, towers, fences
NATA (2013)
- Who decides
- A named person or role with unchallengeable authority, plus a separate weather watcher
- When to stop
- Thunder heard; everyone inside before the storm edge is about 5 nautical miles away
- When to resume
- 30 minutes after the last nearby lightning and last thunder; resets
- Detection data
- Consider an independently verified commercial service
- Unsafe places
- Shelters, sheds, tents, dugouts, press boxes, open garages, pools
What this means for an athletic director
Strip the three documents down and they ask the same five things of a school: one person with authority to make the call, a reliable way to watch the weather, known safe places and the time it takes to reach them, written criteria to stop and restart, and a plan everyone has been told about. If you are writing or updating that plan, our guide to writing a lightning safety policy goes through it section by section.
The hardest part in practice is time. Every guideline wants people in shelter before the storm is close, and a field full of athletes, officials and spectators takes minutes to clear. Flash Lightning Prediction forecasts strikes up to 60 minutes ahead for each 1×1 km cell, so the person making the call sees the storm coming before thunder is audible. Alerts go to that person and to coaches and trainers by app, SMS, email or horn and strobe; each site keeps its own radius and all-clear wait; and the return-to-play timer resets itself on every new strike.
Flash is the official weather safety provider of the Big 12 Conference and the official weather monitoring and alert system of the NAIA. None of that changes your obligations under your state association or conference policy; it gives the person responsible more time to meet them.
Frequently asked
NFHS asks schools to name one person to watch the weather and make the call, suspend play as soon as thunder is heard or lightning is seen, move everyone to a substantial building or enclosed metal vehicle, and wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning before resuming.
Once play is suspended, wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning before going back outside. Any thunder or lightning during that time restarts the 30-minute count.
No. The guideline says detection network data should be monitored if it is available, with a 10-mile suspension radius, but that sight and sound of a storm always take precedence over an app or device.
No. The NCAA guideline, the NATA position statement and NOAA all list dugouts as unsafe. Use a substantial building with plumbing and wiring, or a fully enclosed hard-topped metal vehicle or bus.