Jim Foerster, Director of Product Management

With lightning season upon us, the importance of having a proactive lightning safety plan is imperative.No example of this is more poignant than that of the Northwest Independent School District (ISD), which is located in the northwest corner of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Like most Texas high schools, Northwest High School's primary weather challenges are lightning, severe storms, tornadoes, and high winds.  To protect their approximate 1,200 students involved in outdoor activities, they subscribe to the MxVision WeatherSentry Online® Turf Edition professional package, which includes real-time lightning strike information, customizable alerts, the ability to ask weather questions to an experienced meteorologist, as well as mobile accessibility.

"A week after subscribing to the product, I received a text alert for lightning in our area," said Scott Fletcher, Northwest High School's head athletic trainer. The school receives a watch alert when lightning is detected within 30 miles, and a warning when lightning is within 10 miles. School policy dictates students must be moved indoors when lightning is detected within 10 miles. "At this time, not only did we move the freshman football team to our indoor practice facility, but we moved the band indoors as well," Fletcher continued. "Less than five minutes after we had everyone inside and safe, our band director witnessed a lightning bolt hit the parking lot where the band was practicing. In light of this event, we already consider the system as having paid for itself, as it prevented injury to our 150 band members."