As you know, lightning is a very dangerous hazard for both our officials and the players. It is important that officials are aware of potential weather situations for all levels of participation. If a weather forecast leads the official to believe that there may be impending weather, each official should be prepared to monitor lightning strikes and act in the interest in safety of our officials and the players/coaches.

If there is threatening weather, there should be a designated individual to be a “weather watcher”. The ideal situation would allow for a game administrator and/or someone that is not involved in the actual coaching of the game to assist the officials in monitoring inclement weather. Officials should be cognizant of the weather and when time/game conditions allow, participate in the determination of approaching weather. 

Per the NCAA guidance, we should time or count/time the period between the “flash” and the “bang”. The time period between the flash and the bang will determine the proximity of the storm and help determine the threat. If the time period is less than thirty seconds, play must be stopped and the players should be directed off the field. The officials, once off the field, can then work with home team/field management to determine the safest time to resume play. Play shall only be resumed after the threat has moved out of the immediate area and the appropriate waiting period has elapsed.

Note, for reference, the NCAA suggests a thirty minute period between the most recent lightning
event (within six miles or thirty seconds from flash to bang).

There are currently several playing enclosures that have automated lightning alert systems. These
automated systems may be used as long as the visiting team is aware of the parameters. Additionally, if a school has a lightning detection meter, the device may be used to stop and resume the game based on the Referee’s discretion.

As a reminder, TASO officials will not declare a contest complete or incomplete. If weather or other
factors cause a game to be suspended, the Referee will declare the game as suspended.

If a game is suspended, the home team administrators are responsible for rescheduling the contest.
Officials will report all suspended games and/or games with lengthy delays via the UIL/TAPPS
incident reports at TASO.org.

Excerpted from 2009-10 NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations Appendix B

The purpose of this appendix is to provide information to those responsible for making decisions about
suspending and restarting games based on the presence of lightning.

Lightning Safety

Lightning is the most consistent and significant weather hazard that may affect intercollegiate athletics.
Within the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that
60 to 70 fatalities and about 10 times as many injuries occur from lightning strikes every year. While
the probability of being struck by lightning is low, the odds are significantly greater when a storm is in
the area and proper safety precautions are not followed.

Education and prevention are the keys to lightning safety. The references associated with this
guideline are excellent educational resources. Authorities should begin prevention long before any
intercollegiate athletics event or practice by being proactive and having a lightning safety plan in place.
The following steps are recommended by the NCAA and NOAA to mitigate the lightning hazard:

1. Designate a person to monitor threatening weather and to make the decision to remove a team or
individuals from an athletics site or event. A lightning safety plan should include planned instructions
for participants and spectators, designation of warning and all-clear signals, proper signs, and
designation of safer places for shelter from the lightning.

2. Monitor local weather reports each day before any practice or event. Be diligently aware of potential
thunderstorms that may form during scheduled intercollegiate athletics events or practices. Weather
information can be found through various means via local television news coverage, the Internet, cable
and satellite weather programming, or the National Weather Service (NWS) Web site at
www.weather.gov.

3. Be informed of National Weather Service issued thunderstorm “watches” or “warnings,” and the
warning signs of developing thunderstorms in the area, such as high winds or darkening skies. A
“watch” means conditions are favorable for severe weather to develop in an area; a “warning” means
that severe weather has been reported in an area and everyone should take proper precautions. A
NOAA weather radio is particularly helpful in providing this information.

4. Know where the closest “safer structure or location” is to the field or playing area, and know how
long it takes to get to that location. A safer structure or location is defined as:
      a. 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. Avoid using the shower or
          plumbing facilities and having contact with electrical appliances during a thunderstorm.
      b. In the absence of a sturdy, frequently inhabited building, any vehicle with a hard metal roof
         (neither a convertible, nor a golf cart) with the windows shut provides a measure of safety.

        The hard metal frame and roof, not the rubber tires, are what protects occupants by
        dissipating lightning current around the vehicle and not through the occupants. It is important
        not to touch the metal framework of the vehicle. Some athletics events rent school buses
        as safer shelters to place around open courses or fields.

5. Lightning awareness should be heightened at the first flash of lightning, clap of thunder, and/or other
criteria such as increasing winds or darkening skies, no matter how far away. These types of activities
should be treated as a warning or “wake-up call” to intercollegiate athletics personnel. Lightning safety
experts suggest that if you hear thunder, begin preparation for evacuation; if you see lightning,
consider suspending activities and heading for your designated safer locations.

The following specific lightning safety guidelines have been developed with the assistance of lightning
safety experts. Design your lightning safety plan to consider local safety needs, weather patterns and
thunderstorm types.
       a. As a minimum, lightning safety experts strongly recommend that by the time the monitor
          observes 30 seconds between seeing the lightning flash and hearing its associated thunder,
          all individuals should have left the athletics site and reached a safer structure or location.
     
      b. Please note that thunder may be hard to hear if there is an athletics event going on,
          particularly in stadiums with large crowds. Implement your lightning safety plan accordingly.

      c. The existence of blue sky and the absence of rain are not guarantees that lightning will not
           strike. At least 10 percent of lightning occurs when there is no rainfall and when blue sky is
           often visible somewhere in the sky, especially with summer thunderstorms. Lightning can, and
           does, strike as far as 10 (or more) miles away from the rain shaft.

      d. Avoid using landline telephones, except in emergency situations. People have been killed
          while using a landline telephone during a thunderstorm. Cellular or cordless phones are safe
          alternatives to a landline phone, particularly if the person and the antenna are located within a
          safer structure or location, and if all other precautions are followed.

      e. To resume athletics activities, lightning safety experts recommend waiting 30 minutes after
          both the last sound of thunder and last flash of lightning. If lightning is seen without hearing
          thunder, lightning may be out of range and therefore less likely to be a significant threat. At
          night, be aware that lightning can be visible at a much greater distance than during the day as
          clouds are being lit from the inside by lightning. This greater distance may mean that the
          lightning is no longer a significant threat. At night, use both the sound of thunder and seeing
          the lightning channel itself to decide on resetting the 30 minute “return-to-play” clock before
          resuming outdoor athletics activities.

      f. People who have been struck by lightning do not carry an electrical charge. Therefore,
         cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is safe for the responder. If possible, an injured person
         should be moved to a safer location before starting CPR. Lightning-strike victims who show
         signs of cardiac or respiratory arrest need prompt emergency help. If you are in a 911
         community, call for help. Prompt, aggressive CPR has been highly effective for the survival of
         victims of lightning strikes. Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) have become a common,
         safe and effective means of reviving persons in cardiac arrest. Planned access to early
         defibrillation should be part of your emergency plan. However, CPR should never be delayed
         while searching for an AED.

Note: Weather watchers, real-time weather forecasts and commercial weather warning devices are all
tools that can be used to aid in decision-making regarding stoppage of play, evacuation and return to
play.