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An empty floodlit high school football field at dusk with heat haze over the turf, the kind of North Carolina practice the NCHSAA WBGT chart governs

State heat policy · North Carolina (NCHSAA) · Verified 15 Oct 2026

North Carolina high school heat policy: NCHSAA WBGT chart, practice limits, and how to plan around them

The NCHSAA WBGT Index and Athletic Activity Chart, printed in Section 2.3 of the 2026-2027 Handbook, sets five bands that decide how often players rest, when pads come off, when a cold-water tub must be on site and when practice stops. Here are the bands as the Handbook prints them, what to keep on file, and how a 6-hour WBGT outlook lets you move practice instead of cancelling it.

Flash Meteorology Desk · Checked against the NCHSAA 2026-2027 Handbook, Section 2.3 (nchsaa.org) · Updated 15 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

WBGT outlook · Field B · 6 hours

12:58

88.082921 pm2 pm3 pm4 pm5 pm6 pm
  • 4 pm · 88.9 — in 88–89.9
  • Under 88 after 5:15

Move practice to 5:30 — the on-site reading stays the compliance record.

Illustrative example · Not live weather
On this page · 8 sections

What does the NCHSAA require?

Section 2.3 of the NCHSAA Handbook covers heat illness prevention and management for all sports. Every school should have a heat illness prevention and management policy for all sanctioned activities, and that policy must be followed. A venue-specific emergency action plan, written and practised, must be in place ahead of time, and coaches, athletic training staff and first responders review heat illness signs and the plan before each season.

WBGT should be measured with a scientifically approved device for all sports when student-athletes may be at risk for exertional heat illness, every hour beginning 30 minutes before practice starts. At 90 or above, practice is suspended; contests may continue with mandatory breaks set by the gameday administrator. The NCHSAA reminds schools that the chart must be followed during summer workouts too.

  • Reading cadence

    Every hour, beginning 30 minutes before practice, with a scientifically approved WBGT device.

  • Chart on site

    A WBGT chart should be available at practices and contests, along with supplies to assess WBGT and to cool an athlete rapidly.

  • Cold-water immersion

    From 85, a cold or ice immersion pool on site for practice. Cool first, transport second.

  • Weigh-ins and water

    Pre- and post-practice weigh-ins should be conducted. Unlimited drinking opportunities during hotter practices; never withhold water.

The NCHSAA WBGT threshold table

Five bands, read in degrees Fahrenheit from the on-site WBGT device. The NCHSAA prints each band as one guideline; the activity, break and equipment parts are split into columns here, word for word. The row colour follows the Flash alert scale your athletic trainers already see in the app.

NCHSAA WBGT Index and Athletic Activity Chart for North Carolina high school practice: five bands from less than 80 to 90 or above, with activity, rest-break and equipment guidelines
WBGT Index (°F)Athletic activity guidelinesRest/water breaksPads and equipment
Less than 80Unlimited activity with primary cautions for new or unconditioned athletes or extreme exertionSchedule mandatory rest/water breaks (5 min water/rest break every 30 min)None listed
80 – 84.9Normal practice for athletes; closely monitor new or unconditioned athletes and all athletes during extreme exertionSchedule mandatory rest/water breaks (5 min water/rest break every 25 min)None listed
85 – 87.9New or unconditioned athletes should have reduced intensity practice and modifications in clothing. Well-conditioned athletes should have more frequent rest breaks and hydration as well as cautious monitoring for symptoms of heat illness. Have cold or ice immersion pool on site for practiceSchedule frequent mandatory rest/water breaks (5 min water/rest break every 20 min)None listed
88 – 89.9All athletes must be under constant observation and supervision. Have cold or ice immersion pool on site for practiceSchedule frequent mandatory rest/water breaks (5 min water/rest break every 15 min)Remove pads and equipment
90 or aboveSuspend all practices; Competition may continue with mandatory water breaks as designated by gameday administrator——

Source: NCHSAA 2026-2027 Handbook, Section 2.3.3, WBGT Index and Athletic Activity Chart (p. 48), and the matching chart PDF on nchsaa.org, verified 15 Oct 2026. Ranges as printed. Section 2.3.5(e) repeats the top band: at 90 or above suspend practice; contests may continue but must include mandatory breaks as directed by the gameday administrator.

Where does Flash fit?

Flash is a forecast for planning, not an on-site meter: NCHSAA compliance uses the reading from your scientifically approved WBGT device. 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 NCHSAA 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 method

  • Return 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 NCHSAA's

An empty high school practice field under a hazy hot sun with a shade canopy and water coolers on the sideline, the setting for an NCHSAA WBGT planning day in North Carolina

6:00 pm · The reading that decides the day

The band you land in sets the breaks, the pads and the cold tub.

  1. Flash 6-hour WBGT outlook for the practice field: 87 by 3 pm, into 88–89.9 by 4 pm. The athletic director flags the football session.

  2. Decision: run at 4 pm with pads and equipment off, a 5-minute water/rest break every 15 minutes and a cold tub on site, or push to 6:30 pm. The AD pushes. The bus, the trainers and the parents hear now, not at 3:45.

  3. First on-site WBGT reading, 30 minutes before practice: 84.2, the 80–84.9 band. A 5-minute water/rest break every 25 minutes goes on the plan; the next reading is due at 7:00.

  4. Flash lightning alert: a strike is predicted inside the site radius within the next 60 minutes. The field clears.

  5. Last strike inside the radius. Flash starts the all-clear timer.

  6. All clear. Practice resumes; the alert log records who was warned, when, and when play returned.

What should the athletic director keep on file?

Section 2.3 asks every school to have a heat illness policy and to follow it. Keeping these together means a question from the NCHSAA, the district or a parent is answered from one folder.

  • WBGT readings with times — the first 30 minutes before practice, then every hour — and the device used.
  • The band each reading fell in and the decision it triggered: break schedule, pads and equipment, the immersion pool.
  • The school's heat illness prevention and management policy, and the venue-specific emergency action plan.
  • Pre- and post-practice weigh-ins, and any athlete held out for not being within 3% of the previous pre-practice weight.
  • 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.

Heat haze over an open field at midday, the conditions each state association's WBGT policy sets practice limits for

State by state

Same instrument, different bands — the WBGT forecast travels with you.

All state heat policies

Sources

  1. NCHSAA — 2026-2027 Handbook, Section 2.3, Heat Illness Prevention and Management, with the WBGT Index and Athletic Activity Chart (pp. 48–50). Thresholds, reading cadence, acclimatization, cooling. Verified 15 Oct 2026.nchsaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/26-27-Handbook-Update-10626.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  2. NCHSAA — Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Index and Athletic Activity Chart, standalone PDF. Verified 15 Oct 2026.nchsaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/WBGTChart.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  3. NCHSAA — Heat Illness Prevention for Summer Workouts. The chart must be followed during summer workouts. Verified 15 Oct 2026.nchsaa.org/news-2023-7-10-heat-illness-prevention-summer-workouts/ (opens in a new tab)

NCHSAA documents are published at nchsaa.org (opens in a new tab).

Frequently asked

No. The NCHSAA has WBGT measured with a scientifically approved device at the practice site. Flash's 6-hour outlook tells you where that reading is heading — a scheduling tool, not a compliance instrument.

Section 2.3.5 says WBGT should be assessed every hour, beginning 30 minutes before the start of practice, for all sports when athletes may be at risk for exertional heat illness.

At 90 or above, practices are suspended but competition may continue with mandatory water breaks as designated by the gameday administrator.

Yes. The NCHSAA reminds schools that the WBGT Index and Athletic Activity Chart must be followed, even during summer workouts.

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