On this page · 8 sections
What does the KSHSAA require?
Each school shall have a policy for modifying activity during excessive heat and humidity, based on the WBGT level, and the modifications apply to any activity outdoors or in a facility without air conditioning. The KSHSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee updated its recommended policy in April 2026. Every participant has unrestricted access to water in every zone, and at-risk athletes are watched more closely in any elevated zone.
WBGT is taken whenever the air temperature is 80 degrees or higher, at the site of the activity, 30 to 60 minutes before it starts. Schools are recommended to average the WBGT over 15 to 20 minutes and use that value for the day unless the weather obviously changes. Each school should have a WBGT monitor; without one, the KSHSAA provides an estimated WBGT chart based on air temperature and humidity.
Reading cadence
Whenever it is 80°F or warmer: at the site, 30–60 minutes before activity, averaged over 15–20 minutes. Re-measure if the weather changes.
School policy
Each school shall have its own WBGT-based modification policy, for outdoor activity and un-air-conditioned facilities.
Rapid cooling
From 80, a cold-water immersion tub or other rapid cooling method prepared and ready, in a cooling area.
Plan ahead
Watch the forecast and change contest schedules days in advance to avoid last-minute postponements.
The KSHSAA WBGT threshold table
Five zones, read in degrees Fahrenheit from the WBGT monitor: one table for the whole state, for practice and competition. The row colour follows the Flash alert scale your athletic trainers already see in the app.
| WBGT (°F) | Activity limit | Rest breaks | Football equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 79.9 or below | Normal activities | Provide at least 3 separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 3 minutes each | None listed |
| 80 – 84.6 | Cold water immersion tub or other rapid cooling method should be prepared and ready | MINIMUM 3 separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 4 minutes each | None listed |
| 84.7 – 87.7 | 2 HOUR MAXIMUM length of activity (not including rest breaks). Cold water immersion tub or other rapid cooling method prepared and ready. Implement competition alterations whenever possible | MINIMUM 4 separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 4 minutes each | Protective equipment should be limited to helmets and shoulder pads, and these should be removed for conditioning |
| 87.8 – 89.7 | Delay or reschedule any activity until a cooler WBGT is reached. If activity takes place: 1 HOUR MAXIMUM length of activity (not including rest breaks); cold water immersion tub or other rapid cooling method prepared and ready. Implement competition alterations | MINIMUM 20 minutes of rest breaks distributed throughout the 1 hour of practice | No protective equipment should be worn. No conditioning activities |
| 89.8 or above | No outdoor activity. Delay practice/competitions until a cooler WBGT is reached | — | — |
Source: KSHSAA Recommended Practice and Competition Modification Policy Based on WBGT, updated KSHSAA SMAC April 2026 (kshsaa.org), verified 15 Oct 2026. Ranges as printed. In 84.7–87.7, if practice begins in a cooler range but rises into this zone, football players may continue practice in full protective gear. Competition alterations: coordinate with contest officials to allow for additional breaks, shorten sub-varsity competitions, shorten the cross country course.
Where does Flash fit?
Flash is a forecast for planning, not an on-site meter: KSHSAA modifications run on the WBGT taken at your site before activity. 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, and see days ahead when a contest may need to move.
Heat: plan, don't cancel
The outlook runs per field for every hour of the afternoon, against the five KSHSAA zones. 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 KSHSAA's
5:45 pm · The reading that decides the day
The zone you land in sets the clock, the breaks, the pads and the tub.
Flash 6-hour WBGT outlook for the practice field: 83 by 3 pm, into 84.7–87.7 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.
On-site WBGT, averaged over 15 minutes, 45 minutes before practice: 82.7, the 80–84.6 zone. Three 4-minute breaks per hour go on the plan and the cold-water tub is 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 KSHSAA requires each school to have its own WBGT-based policy, but sets no records rule for readings. Keeping these together means a question from the KSHSAA, the district or a parent is answered from one folder.
- The school's WBGT-based activity modification policy.
- WBGT readings with times and the 15–20 minute average used for the day, plus any re-measurement after a change in weather.
- The zone each reading fell in and the decision it triggered: activity length, rest breaks, football equipment, competition changes.
- The cooling area and rapid cooling equipment set up from 80°F, and the emergency action plan.
- 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)
- Massachusetts (MIAA)
- Mississippi (MHSAA)
- Missouri (MSHSAA)
- Nevada (NIAA)
- New Hampshire (NHIAA)
- New Mexico (NMAA)
- North Carolina (NCHSAA)
- Ohio (OHSAA)
- West Virginia (WVSSAC)
- Oklahoma (OSSAA)
- Alabama (AHSAA)
- 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
- KSHSAA — Recommended Practice and Competition Modification Policy Based on WBGT, updated KSHSAA SMAC April 2026. Zones, reading rules, estimated WBGT chart. Verified 15 Oct 2026.kshsaa.org/Public/PDF/HeatPolicy-Current.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- KSHSAA — Exertional Heat Illness: Information, Guidelines and Best Practices, updated and approved KSHSAA SMAC April 2026. Cooling area, rapid cooling methods. Verified 15 Oct 2026.kshsaa.org/Public/PDF/HeatInfoCurrent.pdf (opens in a new tab)
KSHSAA documents are published at kshsaa.org (opens in a new tab).
Frequently asked
No. KSHSAA modifications run on the WBGT taken at the activity site before it starts. Flash's 6-hour outlook tells you where that reading is heading — a scheduling tool, not a compliance instrument.
Any time the air temperature is 80 degrees or higher, at the site, 30 to 60 minutes before the activity. The KSHSAA recommends averaging over 15 to 20 minutes and using that value for the day unless the weather obviously changes.
Yes. From 84.7, schools implement competition alterations: extra breaks with the officials, shorter sub-varsity games and shorter cross country courses. At 89.8 or above, competitions are delayed until a cooler WBGT is reached.
Each school should have one. Without it, the KSHSAA provides an estimated WBGT chart based on air temperature and humidity, assuming full sunlight and light wind.