Extreme Weather Guidelines: Thunder/Lightening
The keys to lightening safety are education and prevention. Education being with the background
information and physics of lightening, in addition to learning the appropriate lightening safety tips
presented later. Prevention of lightening injuries or casualties should begin long before any athletic
event. The first task for athletics personnel/coach is to heighten lightening safety awareness is to check
a weather report each day before any practice or event. In this way, athletics personnel/coach will be
aware of the possibility of thunderstorms forming or moving into the area during the day. Secondly,
athletics personnel should be wary of the signs of thunderstorms developing nearby. Thunderstorms can
grow from towering, “fluffy” cumulus clouds to lightening producers in as quickly as thirty minutes.
Lightning and thunder activity in the local area are the “alarms” for athletics personnel to begin
monitoring thunderstorm activity, such as the direction of storm movement and distance of the
lightning flashes.
The next Measure to heighten safety in dangerous lightening situations is to know where the closest
safe shelter is to the field or event site, and to know how long it takes to get to that safety shelter. A
safety shelter is defined as:
1. Any sturdy building normally occupied with or frequently used by people. In other words, a
building with metal plumbing and/or wiring that acts to electrically ground the structure. A
shack, rain shelter, or metal shed are not considered safe lightening shelters. i.e. SAFE:
Fieldhouse, School. NOT SAFE: Dugout, batting cages, storage shed
2. In the absence of a sturdy, frequently inhabited building, any vehicle with a hard metal roof
(not convertible or a golf cart), with the windows rolled up, can provide a measure of safety.
Taking shelter in the proper vehicle is certainly better than remaining outdoors. It is not the
rubber tires that make a vehicle a safe shelter, but the hard, metal shell that transfers the
lightening current around the occupant, rather than through the occupant.
Each Horry County High/Middle School should identify the “safe shelters” for each of the school’s
athletic fields or event sites. The locations of these “safe shelters” should be communicated to all
coaches and student-athletes. Plan ahead, it is best to know where the safety shelters are before any
dangerous lightening situation arises. Lastly, athletics personnel should be aware of how close lightening
is occurring. It is recommended to follow the “When Thunder Roars Go Indoors” protocol. When
thunder is heard then stoppage of activity should occur for 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder.
When lightening is observed, stoppage of activity should also occur for 30 minutes. The 30mins is reset
after every new lightning strike or thunder. Horry County Schools uses the approved WeatherBug Spark
application for monitoring real time lightning strikes. If inclement weather reaches 10mi or less then all
sports teams should seek shelter. By 6miles away all teams should be in the closest designated safe
shelter. Chain of Command: ADATCHead Coach. If at any time the coaching staff hears thunder or
sees lightening they are responsible for getting their team to shelter and notifying the AD and/or ATC.
At that time the AD/ATC will notify the rest of the sports teams to seek shelter.
Horry County Schools advocates the following guidelines on lightening safety for
all interscholastic athletic outdoor activities:
1. With regards to stoppage of play and for safety purposes, when ANY thunder or lightening occurs a stoppage of play should
be implemented for at least thirty (30) minutes.
HCS utilizes the WeatherBug Spark application for its real time lightening detection service. If inclement weather is
10miles or less, all teams should seek safe shelter. At 6 miles all teams should already be in closest safe shelter.
2. Once it has been determined to stop a HCS event, contest, or practice, it is strongly recommended that all personnel involved
wait a minimum of thirty (30) minutes after lightning and thunder activity has ceased before resuming any athletic activity or
practice.
3. Avoid using locker room shower facilities for shelter; DO NOT use the shower or bathroom facilities!
4. Stay away from the tallest trees or lone objects (such as light poles or flag poles), metal objects (such as metal fences or
metal bleachers), individual trees, standing pools of water, and open fields. Avoid being the highest subject in a field, and DO
NOT take shelter under a single, tall tree.
5. If there is no safe shelter within a reasonable distance, crouch in a thick grove of small trees surrounded by taller trees, or in
a dry ditch. Assume a crouched position on the ground with only your feet touching the ground and your feet placed close
together, wrap your arms around your knees and lower your head. Cup your hands over your ears to minimize inner ear
damage from the explosive, acoustic effects of thunder. Minimize your body’s surface area, and minimize contact with the
ground! DO NOT LIE FLAT! You can be struck by lightning through a ground current as well as by a direct overhead strike.
6. If a person feels his or her hair stand on end, or their skin tingle, or hears “cracking noises”, immediately crouch as described
in item 5 above.
7. Do not use a landline telephone, except in emergency situations. A cellular telephone or a cordless telephone is a safer
alternative to a landline telephone, if both the person and the antenna are located in a safe shelter. People have been killed
and injured, in their own homes, while talking on a landline telephone during thunderstorms.
8. Victims of lightning strikes DO NOT carry and electrical charge. Therefore, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is safe for the
responder. Lightning strike victims who show signs of cardiac or respiratory arrest need prompt emergency help. Prolonged and
aggressive CPR is highly effective for the survival of many lightning strike victims.
9. Pay much more attention to the lightning and thunder than to the rain. Lightning can strike far from the rain shaft, even
when some blue sky is visible.
10. Chain of command as it pertains to who has the authority to remove a team from a field or event site in the event of a
dangerous lightening activityAthletic Director, or in their absence the Athletic Trainer. In the event that the Athletic
Director and/or Athletic Trainer(s) is/are not on-site, the Head Coach will be responsible for following these guidelines. If a
coach cancels or suspends a practice/game due to weather they are responsible for notifying the AD/ATC, at which time the
AD/ATC will notify the rest of the sports teams to cease play and seek shelter. ***The responsibility of removing a team or
individual from an athletic site in the event of inclement weather is on the coach supervising the activity. It is a responsibility of
the coaching staff to monitor weather situations before and during the activity using WeatherBug Spark and to adhere to the
guidelines.
11. These Lightening Safety Guidelines govern all official HCS interscholastic games, practices, and events. These guidelines
should be included with game officials, referees, or umpires game contracts. In addition, there should be a brief review of these
guidelines between the game officials and the host school (the Athletic Director, Athletic Trainer(s), or the head coach that will
be at the contest) before every HCS event.
12. If a Horry County game or competition has been stopped due to a dangerous lightening/thunder situation, instructions
should be given to the spectators, competitors, and all interscholastic athletics personnel as to where to go and what to do until
the inclement weather hazard has passed. These instructions should be disseminated to the spectators as quickly as possible
and by the best means possible, i.e. the public address system.