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What does the AHSAA require?
The AHSAA calls its activity modifications for practice in a hot environment mandated, for middle school and high school athletes. They should guide practice schedules, including the number of breaks and the clothing worn. The Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer is the most accurate measure and is preferred where available; otherwise the AHSAA uses a Heat Index chart, built from the hourly temperature and humidity most weather services publish.
The heat-index chart has four levels. Less than 91°F (Lower, Caution): basic heat safety and planning, at least three separate rest breaks of a minimum of four minutes each for each hour of practice, and watch at-risk athletes. 91° to 103°F (Moderate): maximal practice time is 2 hours; for football, equipment limited to helmet, shorts and shoulder pads, all equipment removed for conditioning; for all sports, at least four separate rest breaks lasting four minutes for each hour. 103° to 125°F (High): maximal length of practice is 1 hour; for football, helmets only; for all sports, 20 minutes of breaks distributed throughout the hour. Greater than 126-136°F (Very High to Extreme): no outdoor practice; delay practice until a cooler heat index.
The measure
A Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer where available (preferred). Otherwise the AHSAA Heat Index chart and local weather information.
Cool zone
A shaded area with fans if possible and unlimited fluids. Rest is taken there, or in shade, with equipment off.
Cooling on site
A cold immersion tub, kiddie pool or large trash can filled with water, ice in chests beside it, and an ice chest with six towels.
Heat illness education
A mandatory NFHS course on exertional heat illness, and familiarity with its signs and symptoms.
The AHSAA WBGT threshold table
Five bands, read in degrees Fahrenheit from the WBGT device, used to adjust work-rest ratios when the WBGT method is available. The row colour follows the Flash alert scale your athletic trainers already see in the app.
| WBGT (°F) | Activity limit | Rest breaks | Football equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 82.2 | Normal activities | At least three separate rest breaks each hour, minimum 3 min each | None listed |
| 82.3 – 87.0 | Use discretion for intense or prolonged exercise | At least three separate rest breaks each hour, minimum 4 min each | None listed |
| 87.1 – 90.0 | Maximum practice time 2 hours | All sports: at least four separate rest breaks each hour, minimum 4 min each | Helmet, shoulder pads and shorts during practice |
| 90.1 – 92.0 | Maximum practice time 1 hour | All sports: 20 min of rest breaks distributed throughout the hour of practice | No protective equipment; no conditioning activities |
| Over 92.1 | No outdoor workouts — delay practice until a cooler WBGT is reached | — | — |
Source: AHSAA Heat Stress Exercise Restrictions (2024 PDF on ahsaa.com), checked 15 Oct 2026. Ranges as printed. If the WBGT rises into 87.1–90.0 during practice, football players may continue in football pants without changing to shorts. The AHSAA Exertional Heat Illness Policy cancels practice in extreme conditions: heat index above 126°F or WBGT above 92°F.
Where does Flash fit?
Flash is a forecast for planning, not an on-site meter: AHSAA modifications are set by your WBGT reading or the heat-index chart. Flash's 6-hour WBGT outlook tells you at 1 pm what the 4 pm reading is likely to be, so you can move practice instead of cancelling it.
Heat: plan, don't cancel
The outlook runs per field for every hour of the afternoon, against the five AHSAA WBGT bands. Shift the start, swap the equipment plan or go indoors before the cars arrive.
Lightning: up to 60 minutes ahead
Strike-level prediction on a 1×1 km cell, refreshed every 2 minutes. Up to 99.6% lightning prediction accuracy on a one-hour window, measured against NLDN ground-truth strikes — method published.
Accuracy methodReturn to play: the all-clear timer
After the last strike inside your radius, Flash runs your policy's all-clear timer and logs it, so play resumes on evidence.
Weather Command Center
Flash Heat and WBGT prediction 6-hour WBGT outlook, heat index, air temperature and dew point per 1×1 km cell
What does a planning day look like?
Illustrative example · Not live weather — the readings are examples, the rules are the AHSAA's (WBGT chart)
6:30 pm · The reading that decides the day
The band you land in sets the clock, the breaks and the pads.
Flash 6-hour WBGT outlook for the practice field: 86 by 3 pm, into 87.1–90.0 by 4 pm. The athletic director flags the football session.
Decision: run at 4 pm under the 2-hour cap with four 4-minute breaks an hour, or push to 6:30 pm. The AD pushes. The bus, the trainers and the parents hear now, not at 3:45.
Practice starts on an on-site WBGT reading of 84.6, the 82.3–87.0 band. Three 4-minute breaks per hour in the cool zone, with the cold tub, ice and towels ready.
Flash lightning alert: a strike is predicted inside the site radius within the next 60 minutes. The field clears.
Last strike inside the radius. Flash starts the all-clear timer.
All clear. Practice resumes; the alert log records who was warned, when, and when play returned.
What should the athletic director keep on file?
The AHSAA heat documents set the modifications but not a record-keeping rule. Keeping these together means a question from the AHSAA, the district or a parent is answered from one folder.
- Each reading with its time, whether it came from the WBGT device or the heat-index chart, and the band it fell in.
- The decision each band triggered: practice length, rest breaks, football equipment.
- NFHS exertional heat illness course completion.
- The emergency action plan, with the cooling equipment on site: tub, water, ice, towels and the cool zone.
- The Flash alert log: lightning alerts, who was notified, the all-clear, and the 6-hour outlook the schedule decision was based on.
Which other states publish WBGT policies?
Every state page follows this template: verified thresholds, the reading cadence, what to keep on file, and where the WBGT forecast fits.
State by state
Same instrument, different bands — the WBGT forecast travels with you.
- Georgia (GHSA)
- Texas (UIL)
- Florida (FHSAA)
- Arizona (AIA)
- Arkansas (AAA)
- Colorado (CHSAA)
- Hawaii (HHSAA)
- Illinois (IHSA)
- Kansas (KSHSAA)
- Massachusetts (MIAA)
- Mississippi (MHSAA)
- Missouri (MSHSAA)
- Nevada (NIAA)
- New Hampshire (NHIAA)
- New Mexico (NMAA)
- North Carolina (NCHSAA)
- Ohio (OHSAA)
- West Virginia (WVSSAC)
- Oklahoma (OSSAA)
- California (CIF)
- Connecticut (CIAC)
- Iowa (IHSAA / IGHSAU)
- Kentucky (KHSAA)
- Louisiana (LHSAA)
- Minnesota (MSHSL)
- Nebraska (NSAA)
- New Jersey (NJSIAA)
- New York (NYSPHSAA)
- South Carolina (SCHSL)
- South Dakota (SDHSAA)
- Utah (UHSAA)
- Vermont (VPA)
- Virginia (VHSL)
- Washington (WIAA)
- Wisconsin (WIAA)
Sources
- AHSAA — Heat Stress Exercise Restrictions (2024 Heat Index Exercise Restrictions PDF). Heat-index and WBGT activity modifications. Checked 15 Oct 2026.ahsaa.com/Portals/0/PDF's/AHSAA/Safety/2024%20HEAT%20INDEX%20EXERCISE%20RESTRICTIONS.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- AHSAA — Exertional Heat Illness Policy (2024 PDF). Equipment, work-to-rest ratio, cancellation levels, education, treatment. Checked 15 Oct 2026.ahsaa.com/Portals/0/PDF's/AHSAA/Safety/2024%20Exertional%20Heat%20Illness%20policy-%20heat%20index.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- AHSAA — Heat Acclimatization Protocol (2024 PDF). Checked 15 Oct 2026.ahsaa.com/Portals/0/PDF's/AHSAA/Safety/2024%20AHSAA%20Heat%20Acclimatization%20Protocol.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- AHSAA — Sports Medicine & Safety, ahsaa.com. Checked 15 Oct 2026.ahsaa.com/Schools/Sports-Medicine-Safety (opens in a new tab)
AHSAA documents are published at ahsaa.com (opens in a new tab).
Frequently asked
No. AHSAA modifications are set by the reading from your WBGT device, or the heat-index chart where no device is available. Flash's 6-hour outlook tells you where that reading is heading — a scheduling tool, not a compliance instrument.
WBGT is preferred. Where a WBGT instrument is not available, the AHSAA uses its Heat Index chart, built from the hourly temperature and humidity most weather services publish.
The Exertional Heat Illness Policy cancels practice in extreme conditions: heat index above 126°F or WBGT above 92°F. The WBGT chart says no outdoor workouts over 92.1, delaying practice until a cooler WBGT is reached.
Yes. Days 1–4 allow one practice a day, helmets only on days 1–2 and helmets and shoulder pads on days 3–4. All protective equipment and full contact may begin on day 5.