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WeatherBug Lightning Detection and Alerting System Coming to Florida School District
GERMANTOWN, Md. --(Business Wire)--
Earth
NetworksSM, the owner of the popular WeatherBug®
brand and the operator of the largest weather monitoring, lightning
detection and climate observation networks, announces that Lee County
Public Schools in Fort Myers, Florida, selected its lightning detection
and severe weather alerting technology. Beginning this fall, weather
stations, lightning sensors and outdoor alerting sirens from Earth
Networks - WeatherBug (News - Alert) will be deployed on the rooftops of 13 high
schools in the county to help protect more than 25,000 high school
students from lightning and other forms of severe weather.
"We are bringing this technology to Lee County to help protect our
students," says Ron Davis, Principal of Assignment for Zone Operations
and Athletics, Lee County Public Schools. "Lightning will always be a
serious concern in our district, which informed our decision to install
technology for advanced warning. It will help take the guesswork and the
human element out of when to stop outdoor games and activities and go
indoors when lightning and severe weather approaches."
Every year, hundreds are seriously injured or even killed by
cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. Yet the majority of lightning takes
place in the clouds. This in-cloud lightning often provides a critical,
early indication of severe weather, such as dangerous lightning strikes,
high winds, hail and even tornadoes.
The outdoor
alerting system coming to Lee County High Schools automatically
produces a high-decibel, attention-getting signal when in-cloud and
cloud-to-ground lightning enters a predetermined radius, such as 10
miles, surrounding the school.�The lightning sensors that will be placed
on each school will be part of the world's
largest total lightning network, which is operated by Earth Networks
- WeatherBug.
Thirteen Lee County high schools will also have a WeatherBug weather
station onsite. These stations are connected to the Internet and measure
temperature, wind speed and direction, precipitation, and other
variables, every few seconds. Four of the 13 schools currently have
WeatherBug weather stations, and the remaining nine schools will have
weather stations installed.
As the weather stations and lightning detection sensors are deployed,
the Lee County High Schools will become part of the ABC7 WVZN WeatherBug
Schools Program. The schools will be able to provide weather data
for meteorological teams at news station WVZN, and other stations across
the country, to broadcast online and on-air. The schools' weather
stations will also provide real-time weather and lightning alerts to
people in the community who use WeatherBug apps on their iPhones and
Android (News - Alert) smartphones. In addition, the equipment will also be used to
enhance the science, technology and math school curriculum at the
schools using WeatherBug Achieve web-based software.
"With the lightning detection and alerting technology available today,
there is absolutely no reason to remain in harm's way when lightning and
severe weather is in the area," says WeatherBug Director of Enterprise
Solutions, Frank McCathran. "It is about ensuring peace of mind by
knowing that you are helping keep your students, athletes, coaches and
fans safe through advanced warning.�We are proud to be helping the Lee
County Schools' staff and community with this important initiative."
WeatherBug solutions will be deployed at the following Lee County,
Florida, High Schools: Cape Coral High School, Cypress Lake High School,
Dunbar High School, East Lee County High School, Estero High School,
Fort Myers High School, Ida S. Baker High School, Island Coast High
School, Lehigh Senior High School, Mariner High, North Fort Myers High
School, Riverdale High School and South Fort Myers High School.
About Earth
Networks - WeatherBug
As a provider of comprehensive atmospheric data for nearly 20 years,
Earth NetworksSM is Taking the Pulse (News - Alert) of the Planet with the
world's largest weather observation, lightning detection, and greenhouse
gas monitoring networks and is establishing a network for collecting
data within the planetary boundary layer. The company's popular
WeatherBug® website,
desktop
application and mobile
apps for major smartphone platforms provide real-time neighborhood-level
weather and advanced severe weather alerts to millions of consumers.
Enterprise solutions from Earth Networks enable organizations and
markets, including energy and utilities, agriculture, schools, sports
and recreation, emergency operations and government entities, to
safeguard lives, prepare for weather and climate events and improve
business operations.�Founded in 1993, Earth Networks (www.earthnetworks.com)
is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with additional locations
in Mountain View, Calif.; New York, NY; Milan, Italy and a local
presence in 50 countries worldwide.
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