Policy for Lightning and Thunder on Carroll County Fields:
For Carroll County fields at Schools and Parks fields:
Thunder & Lightning Policy per Carroll County Recreation and Parks:
Once lightning is observed or thunder is heard during outdoor activities, all athletic fields must be cleared for a period of 30 minutes. If lightning is observed (or thunder heard) again, the 30 minute period of cleared fields starts over.
For High school fields:
Carroll County Public Schools is pleased to announce the recent installation of a lightning detection system near high school athletic fields. The purpose of this new technology from Earth Networks Weather Bug is to assist high school staff in the event of a lightning storm in their area and to allow adequate time for athletes and spectators to reach cover.
When lightning is detected within a 10 mile radius of the school, the sound of a horn will be heard for 15 seconds, alerting all people in the area to seek shelter. At the same time, a strobe light will be activated and will remain in effect for the entire at-risk time frame. Once lightning has not been detected in the area for a period of 30 minutes, there will be three 5-second horn sounds notifying everyone in attendance that it is safe to return to the area.
Below are all the FSC fields used. They are broken down by location (Sykesville, Owings Mills and Reisterstown).
Field address and link to map from Google are listed for each field.
