Learn to Improve Parks and Recreation Weather Safety from Lee County

We know one facility that is: Lee County Parks and Recreation Department in Florida. The Lee County Parks and Recreation Department is oversees 31,500 acres of parks, preserves, and facilities. A lot of these outdoor areas face severe weather threats every day.

Severe weather is a daily occurrence in Lee County, Florida. Thunderstorms pop up nearly every afternoon during the warmer half of the year. During hurricane season, this coastal community also must remain vigilant. In 2017, Major Hurricane Irma caused widespread flooding and power outages.

What severe weather conditions threaten your operations? If lightning was the first thing that came to mind, you’re not alone. 74% of respondents in the survey we mentioned before indicated that lightning was their largest weather-related concern

The Lee County Parks and Recreation Department wasn’t just up against frequent severe weather conditions. They were also up against outdated safety protocol and faulty lightning “prediction” systems. While thunderstorms are common in the area, lightning can strike out of the blue. We see this happen all the time while monitoring conditions from our total lightning network. The problem is that lightning can strike from over 10 miles away from a storm. That means you could be enjoying a seemingly beautiful day and still be at risk from above.

This little-known fear was realized when in 2012 a out-of-the-blue lightning bolt struck and killed an 11-year-old football player at a school in Lee County. Alise Flanjack, deputy Direct of the Lee County Parks and Recreation Department, remarked that “There was no National Weather Service alert,” and that their outdated lightning “prediction” warning system remained silent as well.

After this tragedy, Lee County knew they needed a comprehensive solution that was based in science and relied on industry best practices. So what did Lee County Parks and Recreation do? Download the case study to find out.