Summer camp athletes had to move indoors for the first day of camp due to dangerous weather. Twenty-one camps were affected by today’s weather.

After heavy downpours began early this morning, school officials made the decision to move camps indoors when warnings were issued by the school’s Thor Guard detectors. These detectors monitor lightning in the area using thermal sensors to detect, identify, track, and report local weather. They are located on top of the school, as well as near the football field.

“We watch the weather a lot. The day before, we look at the events we have and try to plan it out. Usually, the ‘day of’ we’ll look at the different forecasts and see what’s happening, be it rain, snow, or cold,” Ronaldo Vazquez, athletic director, said. “When we determine that, we have to change [location], usually on a day to day basis, if it’s a contest, we call it before [2pm].”

In the event of bad weather, the relocation of each sport depends on the seniority of the team and space available. In extreme cases, the entire practice is cancelled, Vazquez said.

“I don’t want to see anybody get hurt,” Vazquez said, “If it’s thunderstorming outside, we have to get the kids inside to safety.”

Nightlinger and Vazquez highly recommend rSchoolToday.com for teams and athletes who want to stay up to date on events and weather-related issues. Vazquez informs the athletes’ guardians about subscribing to the website at team pledge meetings. This website incorporates details and information about the sports schedules at LZHS. When a practice or game is cancelled, the parents can get notifications or emails sent to their phone. They may also check the website manually.

As for the school, they use multiple ways of ensuring student safety.

“We have a radio that’s attached to the National Weather Service,”  Kent Nightlinger, principal, said. “Whenever there is a tornado warning [or watch], severe thunderstorm warning, and all those different types of alerts, those [warnings] go off and we get that information [to make a decision].”