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What does Louisiana require?
Under R.S. 40:1087.1(B)(6), as amended by Act 113 of 2022, each school in interscholastic athletics follows best practices for any activity outside a climate-controlled facility, based on modified ACSM and NATA guidelines on heat acclimatization and WBGT. They apply to summer conditioning, preseason and regular-season practices or games, fall and spring sports, and any time a coach is present. Football jamborees and regular-season games are exempt.
BESE Bulletin 135, §507, sets the procedure. An instrument approved to measure WBGT is used at each outdoor practice, with readings at the practice site at least every hour, starting 30 minutes before practice or a contest. All readings are recorded or data-logged, and any modification or cancellation goes on the WBGT Environment Modification/Cancellation Log.
Reading cadence
At the practice site, at least every hour, beginning 30 minutes before the start of practice or contest.
The device
An instrument approved to measure WBGT, used at each outdoor practice.
Rest breaks
In a shaded area, with unrestricted access to water or electrolyte drinks. Helmets come off during rest time.
Cooling
When the WBGT reading is above 85.0, cold-water immersion tubs or equivalent should be available in the shaded area.
The LHSAA WBGT threshold table
Five bands, read in degrees Fahrenheit. The chart prints three regional categories; Category 3 and Category 2 are shown here, Category 1 is in the note. The row colour follows the Flash alert scale your athletic trainers already see in the app.
| Cat 3 (°F) | Cat 2 (°F) | Activity limit | Rest breaks | Football equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 82.0 | < 79.7 | Normal Activities | At least three separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 3 min each during the workout | None listed |
| 82.2 – 86.9 | 79.9 – 84.6 | Use discretion for intense or prolonged exercise | At least three separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 4 min each | None listed |
| 87.1 – 90.0 | 84.7 – 87.6 | Maximum practice time is 2 h | At least four separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 4 min each | Players are restricted to helmet, shoulder pads, and shorts during practice |
| 90.1 – 91.9 | 87.8 – 89.6 | Maximum practice time is 1 h | There must be 20 min of rest breaks distributed throughout the hour of practice | No protective equipment may be worn during practice, and there may be no conditioning activities |
| ≥ 92.1 | ≥ 89.8 | No outdoor workouts. Delay practice until a cooler WBGT is reached | — | — |
Source: LHSAA WBGT Chart (lhsaa.org, Sports Medicine), checked 15 Oct 2026. Ranges as printed. Category 1 bands: < 76.1, 76.3 – 81.0, 81.1 – 84.0, 84.2 – 86.0, ≥ 86.2. The chart does not say which category applies in Louisiana. If the WBGT rises into the third band during practice, football players may continue to work out wearing football pants without changing to shorts.
Where does Flash fit?
Flash is a forecast for planning, not an on-site meter: in Louisiana the record is the reading from an approved WBGT instrument at the practice site. 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 LHSAA 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 LHSAA chart's (Category 3)
6:00 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, and the change goes on the WBGT Environment Modification/Cancellation Log.
On-site reading 30 minutes before practice: 85.4, the 82.2–86.9 band. Three 4-minute breaks per hour go on the plan, and above 85.0 the cold-water immersion tub is set up in the shade.
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?
BESE Bulletin 135 has every WBGT reading recorded or data-logged, and every modification or cancellation documented on the WBGT Environment Modification/Cancellation Log. Keep these together so a question from the LHSAA, the district or a parent is answered from one folder.
- WBGT readings with times, from 30 minutes before practice and at least every hour, in written or electronic form.
- The WBGT Environment Modification/Cancellation Log for every session that was changed or cancelled.
- The band each reading fell in and the decision it triggered: practice time, rest breaks, football equipment.
- The cold-water immersion set-up for readings above 85.0.
- 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)
- Alabama (AHSAA)
- California (CIF)
- Connecticut (CIAC)
- Iowa (IHSAA / IGHSAU)
- Kentucky (KHSAA)
- 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
- LHSAA — WBGT Chart, Sports Medicine resources: Category 1, 2 and 3 bands with activity guidelines. Checked 15 Oct 2026.lhsaa.org/siteuploads/editorimg/file/Sports%20Medicine/WGBTChart.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- BESE Bulletin 135, Health and Safety, §507, Serious Heat Illness and Acclimatization (April 2021), hosted by the LHSAA. Readings, records, rest breaks, cold-water immersion. Checked 15 Oct 2026.lhsaa.org/siteuploads/editorimg/file/Sports%20Medicine/BESEBulletin135.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- Louisiana Act 113 of 2022 (HB 197), amending R.S. 40:1087.1(B)(6), hosted by the LHSAA. Scope and the jamboree and regular-season game exemption. Checked 15 Oct 2026.lhsaa.org/siteuploads/editorimg/file/Sports%20Medicine/Document_1286035.pdf (opens in a new tab)
LHSAA documents are published at lhsaa.org (opens in a new tab).
Frequently asked
No. Bulletin 135 calls for an instrument approved to measure WBGT at each outdoor practice, read at the practice site. Flash's 6-hour outlook tells you where that reading is heading — a scheduling tool, not a compliance instrument.
At least every hour at the practice site, beginning 30 minutes before the start of practice or the contest. Record every reading in written or electronic form.
Act 113 of 2022 exempts football jamborees and regular-season games. Summer conditioning, preseason and regular-season practices, fall and spring sports, and any activity with a coach present are covered.