Leon County Schools was the first school district to use WeatherSTEM systems to monitor weather conditions in 2019, and now they will also be the first to receive the local company’s latest alert system.
The brand-new Blast system will be used at the county’s Gene Cox Stadium to provide real-time warnings to visitors of impending weather conditions. The stadium on Paul Russell Road, where the county’s five public high schools play football, is the first place the system has been installed, company president Ed Mansouri said Tuesday.
Will Oberschlake, account manager at WeatherSTEM, said the Blast system is designed to withstand any storm on its own and is powered by solar energy using its cellular system.
The system’s horn is triggered manually or automatically by NWS warnings of tornadoes or severe thunderstorms, extreme heat warnings and lightning in the area.
“There is lightning in the area, please seek shelter,” was the acoustic message broadcast by the blast system over the stadium’s loudspeaker system during a demonstration.
“It’s so important to be able to verbally communicate what’s going on,” he said. “This is the first device that actually offers text-to-speech capabilities and actual voice activation.”
Previously, officials waited for updates from the National Weather Service or the Weather Channel to know if an event would be canceled due to inclement weather.
Oberschlake said the system costs about $17,000, but it was free for the district. “We are very excited to partner with Leon County Schools and deploy our technology there,” Mansouri said.
WeatherSTEM was founded by Mansouri in Tallahassee in 2015 and initially offered educational components to Leon County Schools as part of its partnership.
Blast loudly announces all alarming weather conditions in the stadium area to enable quick and efficient evacuation at sporting events.
But the WeatherSTEM partnership is not limited to the stadium; it is also used in conjunction with the district’s Rapid Communication System, meaning parents whose contact information is listed on the Focus online portal will receive real-time weather alerts on their cell phones.
The installation came after parents criticized the district in May for delayed and unclear communication after three tornadoes swept through the city, destroying trees and power lines and disrupting school operations for days.
Superintendent Rocky Hanna said the system will aid the district’s communications with the National Weather Service.
“My most important responsibility as a school principal is to ensure the safety of our children and our staff. This is another step in that direction to ensure that even during severe weather, we take all necessary precautions to keep people out of harm’s way,” Hanna said.
Alaijah Brown covers children and families for the Tallahassee Democrat. You can reach her at [email protected]Follow her on Twitter/X: @AlaijahBrown3.
