The Practical Lightning Assistant detects nearby strikes, alerts the right people automatically, and sends an all-clear when the threat passes. Dual lightning feeds mean your detection never goes dark, and you are operational fast with no hardware to install.
A common myth says lightning is only dangerous when the storm is directly above you. In reality, lightning regularly strikes up to 10 miles from the rain. Relying on a consumer weather app or delayed regional data leaves your organization exposed to injury, liability, and compliance gaps. Florida sees more lightning than any other state, and Tampa is the lightning capital of the country, so the margin for a late call is thin.
Meet NFHS and NCAA lightning safety rules for practices and competition.
Document a safe working environment and meet federal standards for weather-related risk.
Align with fire and disaster resilience protocols from the National Fire Protection Association.
Keep crews working safely and maintain continuity with clear, automated decisions.
Draw a custom alert ring around the area you need to protect. The moment a strike lands inside it, the right people are notified. A live countdown tracks the time to all-clear, and the all-clear fires automatically once the interval passes with no new strikes. No stopwatch, no judgment call, no guesswork.
Data refreshes at a sub-second rate and notifications go out instantly via SMS, email, or voice. Many consumer apps update every five to fifteen minutes, which can be the difference between a timely call and a missed one.
Set your own distance thresholds, alert messages, repeat intervals, and recipients. Different sites and teams can have different rules.
Detection connects directly to Weatherstem outdoor warning systems for automatic audible and visual alerts across fields, campuses, and open outdoor job sites.
Every strike, alert, and all-clear is timestamped and logged, giving you a clean record for compliance, insurance, and after-action review.
Every strike, alert, and all-clear is captured and stored automatically, so the call you made under pressure is backed by data long after conditions clear. Request a custom lightning report for any past event and get a clear, defensible account of exactly what your site experienced, and exactly how your team responded.
Where the report earns its keep
Give an adjuster a clean record of conditions and the protective steps you took.
Walk your team through the event with real data and tighten your protocols for next time.
If a decision is ever questioned, show exactly what you knew and when you acted.
Timestamped proof aligned with NFHS, NCAA, and OSHA expectations.
"The Practical Lightning Assistant ensures we can take immediate action to protect students and staff by providing precise lightning detection and alerts. The automated data recording lets us track conditions over time and improve our safety protocols. This level of precision and reliability has truly enhanced our ability to prioritize health and safety on campus."
"Weatherstem is an incredible tool with endless capabilities that we use daily in our Emergency Management operations. The customer service team is second to none. In 30 years of public safety I have never seen a weather service company with such high regard for their customers."
Lightning regularly strikes up to 10 miles from the area of rainfall, which is why a storm that looks distant can still be dangerous. The Practical Lightning Assistant alerts you based on real distance thresholds you set.
It is the Weatherstem tool that automates lightning safety. You draw a custom alert ring, it detects strikes inside it, sends alerts when thresholds are crossed, and issues an automatic all-clear once the interval passes with no new strikes, creating a timestamped record of every decision.
You set an all-clear interval, for example 30 minutes. Once that much time passes with no new strikes inside your zone, the all-clear is dispatched automatically so your team can resume safely without watching a stopwatch.
Every alert includes a link to a mobile-friendly page showing the storm countdown, radar, and live conditions. It needs no login or app, and you can share it publicly or post a QR code on signage for open spaces.
No. The lightning platform is fully cloud-based and can be live in about a day with no equipment to install. Many clients add a Weatherstem station later for on-site readings and a live HD camera.
Yes. Automated detection, clearance, and return-to-play notifications are aligned with NFHS and NCAA guidance, and every alert and all-clear is timestamped and logged for documentation and liability protection.
Eliminate the guesswork and protect your people. See it with real data from your area in a free 15-minute demo.
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