3 Ways Carroll County Uses Severe Weather Protection for Schools

Severe weather protection for schools is something all school administrators should consider.

Events like thunderstorms, heat days, and even hurricanes can do a lot of damage to your school, students, and staff. Not only can heavy rains flood parts of campus, but they can also endanger students and staff. The best way to keep everyone safe is to develop a plan. This severe weather safety checklist for schools is a great way to get started.

But then what should you do? All schools should have severe weather safety technology in place to help mitigate these dangerous risks. The folks in charge at Carroll County Public Schools know that and show that with their state-of-the-art severe weather protection system from Earth Networks.

Keep reading to find out the three ways the Carroll County School District in Maryland uses severe weather protection for schools and how you can utilize these tools on your campuses.

3 Ways To Use Severe Weather Protection for Schools

If you’d like to read a more detailed account of the ways Carroll County Public Schools utilizes their Earth Networks Outdoor Alerting Systems and customized alerts, you can read the full case study below.

1. Student-Athlete Protection 

When most people think about schools and severe weather, they think about student athletes. This is a natural thought-process, as students athletes in the fall, spring, and summer spend time training and playing outdoors.

There are plenty of weather-related risks for student-athletes. Any coach, trainer, or athletic director knows that heat is one of the top risks for student athletes. In fact, heat illness is the leading cause of preventable death in high school athletics.

Tools like school weather stations help administrators at Carroll County Public Schools keep an eye on their athletes and ensure they’re safely training and playing when the heat index is high. You can learn more about protecting students from heat with our Ultimate Guide to Heat Safety for Student Athletes.

Another big weather risk to student athletes is lightning. Whether it’s a fast-moving thunderstorm or a bolt from the blue, decision-makers at school need to know what’s going on. Our lightning network helps Carroll County keep students safe from lightning by showing them the complete picture and allowing them to create custom alerts. When lightning is within 8 miles of any of their Outdoor Alerting Systems, the horn and strobe lightning automatically go off and encourage people to head indoors.

One of the best parts of these systems is that they also offer an all-clear sign, so coaches and students know when it’s safe to go back outdoors.

2. Outdoor Event Protection

The second way Carroll County and other districts utilize their severe weather safety tools is for outdoor events. Games and practices aren’t the only outdoor events schools host. That means the weather endangers more students than just your athletes.

When you think about it, your school probably has plenty of outdoor events. From large-scale planned events like graduations to science classes outdoors, we bet you can name at least a handful of times your students are outdoors.

3. Community Protection

The final way Carroll County takes advantage of their tools that help provide severe weather protection for schools is overall community protection. Carroll County has a district-wide safety system that protects folks both on and off campus.

Carroll County has their program set up strategically. They have Outdoor Alerting Systems at their seven high schools and at their one outdoor school. These systems, which have automated horn and strobe light alerts when lightning is within 8-miles, not only help protect the schools but the communities surrounding them as well. Those who live in the area know the horn means severe weather is a threat and that they should seek shelter immediately.

Adding value to your community is just one of the added bonuses of using a professional weather monitoring and alerting solution for your school.

They’re Not Alone

Carroll County is not alone in their efforts to protect their schools from severe weather. Other public and private schools all over the nation are taking steps to severe weather safety best practices.

Up the coast, the Morristown-Beard School also utilizes an Outdoor Alerting System. Their school weather station not only helps protect student athletes from heat stress but also inspires STEM learning. You can learn more about this exemplary school by watching the video below.

Questions On Severe Weather Protection For Schools

If you have any questions about tools or best practices when it comes to severe weather protection for schools, please let us know in the comment section below. An expert from our team will be in touch to help answer any questions you may have.