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An empty floodlit high school football field at dusk with heat haze over the turf, the setting OSSAA WBGT practice limits govern

State heat policy · Oklahoma (OSSAA) · Checked 5 Oct 2026

Oklahoma high school heat policy: OSSAA WBGT thresholds, practice limits, and how to plan around them

OSSAA's WBGT policy sets five bands, printed for two regions, that decide how long practice runs, how often players rest and what football players wear. Here are the bands as OSSAA prints them, what to keep on file, and how a WBGT forecast lets you move practice instead of cancelling it.

Flash Meteorology Desk · Checked against the OSSAA Extreme Heat Policy (ossaa.com) · Checked 5 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

WBGT forecast · Field B

12:58

87.082921 pm2 pm3 pm4 pm5 pm6 pm
  • 4 pm · 88.1 — in 87.0–90.0
  • Under 87.0 after 5:20

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 OSSAA require?

OSSAA member schools must use a scientifically approved instrument that measures WBGT, or another scientifically proven method. An on-site instrument is set up 30 minutes before practice and read 15 minutes before it starts; an internet tool is checked at the 15-minute mark before practice. Readings then follow every 30 minutes during practice, and schools are required to record and keep on file the WBGT readings for outside practices.

The policy prints its bands for two regions, Region 3 and Region 2. Check with OSSAA which applies to your school.

  • Reading cadence

    On-site instrument set up 30 minutes before practice and read 15 minutes before it. Then every 30 minutes during practice.

  • Records on file

    Required: the WBGT readings for outside practices, taken before and during practice.

  • Rapid cooling zone

    At a WBGT of 82.0 or higher, for every contest, practice, workout and conditioning session: cold-water immersion tubs or tarps.

  • Coach education

    Coaches complete the NFHS heat illness course every year and keep the certificate on file.

The OSSAA WBGT threshold table

Five bands, read from the WBGT instrument, printed for two regions. The row colour follows the Flash alert scale your athletic trainers already see in the app.

OSSAA WBGT activity guidelines for Oklahoma high school practice: five bands for Region 3, from under 82.0 to over 92.1, and Region 2, from under 79.7 to over 89.8, with practice-length, rest-break and football-equipment rules
Region 3Region 2Activity limitRest breaksFootball equipment
Under 82.0Under 79.7Normal activitiesAt least 3 separate breaks each hour, minimum 3 min eachNone listed
82.0 – 86.979.7 – 84.6Use discretion for intense prolonged exerciseAt least 3 separate breaks each hour, minimum 4 min eachNone listed
87.0 – 90.084.7 – 87.6Maximum practice time 2 hoursAt least 4 separate breaks each hour, minimum 4 min eachHelmet, shoulder pads and shorts only
90.1 – 92.087.7 – 89.7Maximum practice time 1 hour20 minutes of breaks distributed through the hourNo protective equipment; no conditioning activities
Over 92.1Over 89.8No outdoor activity — delay activity until a cooler WBGT is reached——

Source: OSSAA Extreme Heat Policy, Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Policy (ossaa.com), checked 5 Oct 2026. Ranges as printed. If the WBGT rises into the third band during practice, football players may continue in football pants without changing into shorts. A rapid cooling zone is required at a WBGT of 82.0 or higher.

Where does Flash fit?

Flash is a forecast for planning, not an on-site meter: OSSAA compliance uses the reading your school takes before and during practice. Flash's WBGT forecast 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 OSSAA 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 WBGT forecast, 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 OSSAA's (Region 3)

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 OSSAA WBGT planning day

6:15 pm · The reading that decides the day

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

  1. Flash WBGT forecast for the practice field: 85 by 3 pm, into 87.0–90.0 by 4 pm. The athletic director flags the football session.

  2. 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.

  3. On-site reading 15 minutes before practice: 84.1, the 82.0–86.9 band. Three 4-minute breaks per hour go on the plan, the cooling zone is set up and the reading goes on file.

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

  5. All clear after the all-clear timer runs out. Practice resumes; the alert log records who was warned, when, and when play returned.

What should the athletic director keep on file?

OSSAA requires schools to record and keep on file the WBGT readings for outside practices. Keep these together so a question from OSSAA, the district or a parent is answered from one folder.

  • WBGT readings with times: before practice and every 30 minutes during it.
  • The band each reading fell in and the decision it triggered: practice length, rest breaks, football equipment.
  • Each coach's NFHS heat illness course certificate for the year.
  • The emergency action plan, including onsite cold-water immersion or equivalent.
  • The Flash alert log: lightning alerts, who was notified, the all-clear, and the WBGT forecast 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. OSSAA — Extreme Heat Policy, Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Policy. Thresholds, reading cadence, records, cooling zones. Checked 5 Oct 2026.ossaaillustrated.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/MF_2025-26_ExtremeHeatPolicy-1.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  2. OSSAA — 2026-27 Football Coaches Packet, heat policy and acclimatization. Checked 5 Oct 2026.ossaaillustrated.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/FB_2026-27_CoachesPacketInfo.pdf (opens in a new tab)

OSSAA documents are published at ossaa.com (opens in a new tab).

Frequently asked

No. OSSAA compliance is decided by the reading your school takes before and during practice, and that reading is the one kept on file. Flash's WBGT forecast tells you where it is heading — a scheduling tool, not a compliance instrument.

Yes. OSSAA requires schools to record and keep on file the WBGT readings for outside practices, taken before and during practice.

No. The practice limits do not apply to contests, but a rapid cooling zone is required at a WBGT of 82.0 or higher.

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