Appalachian State Uses WeatherSTEM App to Help Protect Students

BOONE, NC — While most apps take 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or even an hour to update, WeatherSTEM is constantly measuring real-time conditions and putting them in the palm of your hand.

“Getting that real-time data is very key to the success of our program and keeping our student-athletes safe, and our students,” says Appalachian State Senior Associate Athletics Director Jon Mitchell. “It gives you the opportunity to see what the wind is, what the temperature is, whether that’s on the ground, in the air, or wherever it might be. It gives you that real data that’s right then, at that minute, at that time. This is really huge, especially for what we utilize. One of the aspects for us, for heat, we can see what we’re getting at that wet bulb temperature to see if our student-athletes are safe, or if we have to modify practice or cancel practice.”

“I think any time you can have real-time data it certainly helps with your decision-making processes. It helps us plan better, it helps us make better operational decisions, and helps us just have a safer environment,” says Appalachian State Director of Environmental Health, Safety & Emergency Management Jason Marshburn. “It also has a camera, so we can see sky conditions, which is nice, because we can match sky conditions with the weather conditions, and if we’re not on campus and have to make decisions, we can at least get some visual of what’s taking place around the area.”

“Lightning, it’s coming in the area, we can identify it, we can give the coaches a heads-up, we can get the kids off of the field,” says Mitchell. “And then not only that, it lets us know when it’s safe to go back.”

So whether you want severe-weather detection, information on what you should wear outside today, or even a timelapse of the past day, WeatherSTEM has proven data that you can trust.