LIGHTNING PROTOCOL
FOR THE
AMARILLO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

The following is the protocol that the Amarillo Independent School District Athletics Council has adopted as policy regarding when to cease and resume outdoor athletic competitions and practices.  It is derived from the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Guideline 1-D, which was written by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports.  The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports developed their guidelines in collaboration with the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), the National Weather Service (NWS), and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN).

Each school will:

1. Designate a chain of command as to who monitors threatening weather and who makes the decisions to remove a team or an individual from an athletics site or event.
    a. The Licensed Athletic Trainer (L.A.T.) at each high school in Amarillo, or other designated person who is             responsible for the health and well-being of the athletes, coaches, student athletic trainers, and spectators at any other A.I.S.D. site during the practice or competition, will make the final decision if the practice or competition will cease and when it will resume based on the “Flash-to-bang” method.
2. The L.A.T., or designee, will obtain a weather report each day before practices and/or events.  The L.A.T., or designee, will make him/herself aware of potential thunderstorms that may form during scheduled athletic events or practices.
 
3.   The L.A.T., or designee, will be aware of National Weather Service-issued (NWS)                                  thunderstorm “watches” and “warnings” as well as the signs of thunderstorms developing nearby.  A “watch” means that conditions are favorable for severe weather to develop in an area; a “warning” means that severe weather has been reported in an area and for everyone to take proper precautions.

4.  L.A.T., or designee, will know where the closest “safe shelter” is to the field or playing area, and know how long it takes to get to that safe shelter.
    a. A safe shelter is defined as: (1) any building normally occupied or frequently used by people, i.e., a building with plumbing and/or electrical wiring that acts to electrically ground the structure (not shower facilities) or (2) any vehicle with a hard metal roof (not a convertible or golf cart) and rolled-up windows.
    b. When a person or people are in the safe shelter buildings, it is important that the showers and/or plumbing are not used during the thunderstorm.
    c. When a person or people are in the vehicle with a hard metal roof, it is important that the sides of the vehicle are not touched as they dissipate the lightning around the vehicle.
5. The L.A.T., or designee, will be aware of how close lightning is occurring.  The “Flash-to-bang” method will be used to estimate how far away the lightning is occurring.  It must be remembered that thunder always accompanies lightning, even though its audible range can be diminished due to background noise in the immediate environment, and its distance to the observer.
    a. The “Flash-to-bang” method is when the observer counts the number of seconds from the time the lightning is sighted to when the clap of thunder is heard.  This number is then divided by five to obtain, in miles, approximately how far away the lightning is occurring.
    b. If the L.A.T., or designee, obtains a “Flash-to-bang” count of less than 30 seconds (which would mean that the lightning is about 6 miles away from the observer) then athletic competitions and practices will cease.
    c. Practices and/or athletic competitions may resume after a reasonable amount of time as stated by the AISD Athletic Council on November 3. 1998.

6. Other safety guidelines the L.A.T.,  or designee, will keep in mind and communicate to others include:
    a. It must be remembered that the existence of blue sky and the absence of rain are not protection from lightning.  Lightning can, and often does, strike as far as 10 miles from the rain shaft.  It does not have to be raining for lightning to strike.
    b. If no safe shelter is within a reasonable distance, the individual(s) should then find a thick grove of small trees surrounded by taller trees or a dry ditch.  The individual(s) should then assume a crouched position on the ground with only the balls of the feet touching the ground, arms are wrapped around the knees, and the head is lowered.  The body’s surface area should be minimized as much as possible and the individual(s) should not lay flat on the ground, near trees or pools of water, or in open fields.  The individual(s) should not be the tallest object around and should not seek shelter under a single, tall tree.
    c. If the individual(s) feels the hair on the skin or scalp stand on end or the skin begins to tingle, then the crouch position should be assumed immediately.
    d. A land-line telephone is to be used only in emergency situations.  A cellular phone or portable remote phone are safer alternatives to land-line phones.  The person using the cellular or portable phone and the phone’s antenna should be located in the safe shelter and all other precautions followed.

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS:
National Weather Service:
Local TV Weather Service:
Athletic Director: