Clear the pools in time. Reopen when it's actually safe.
Lightning is the whole game for a water park, and the government doesn't warn on it. SiteWarn™ puts live meteorologists on your exact footprint throughout your operating season, warns your aquatics staff at the radius your policy calls for with time to clear every pool and slide, and gives you a real all-clear based on where the last strike actually was — so guests are back in the water in minutes, not sitting in the parking lot for an hour.
Trusted for 14 years at more than 400 sites in all 50 states, with a 100% client renewal rate.
Customized for a single site — or for a command or operations center monitoring hundreds, even thousands, of sites from one screen.
Why water parks and aquatic centers choose SiteWarn
A fully customized program: you set the thresholds, we watch the weather.
Lightning warnings the NWS won't give you
The National Weather Service issues no public warning for cloud-to-ground lightning. We track every strike, alert you at the radius your policy calls for — 10 miles, 8 miles, whatever you set — and give you time to clear pools, slides and wave pools before the first strike in range.
A real all-clear, not a guess
The 30-minute rule only works if you know where the last strike was. We time your all-clear from the actual last strike inside your radius, so you reopen as soon as it's safe instead of adding another 30 minutes every time someone hears thunder.
Your park, not the entire region
Instead of an oversized warning covering thousands of square miles, we monitor your exact footprint. A storm passing well north of you shouldn't empty your pools — and when an NWS polygon includes your site but your park is clear, a null-warning notification tells you so.
Alerts your way, unlimited users
Portal, app, email, text or push, and a live phone call to the aquatics director or duty manager — to lifeguard supervisors, guest services and operations. Interactive radar with your park mapped, at no extra cost per user. Seasonal programs available.
What a typical water park program looks like
Every program is built with your aquatics director. Here is a common starting point for a single park; municipal systems repeat it per pool.
- Lightning: alert on cloud-to-ground strikes within 10 miles (staff up, prepare guests), warning within 8 miles (clear all water), all-clear 30 minutes after the last strike inside the radius — adjusted to your written policy.
- High wind: warnings at your threshold for slide towers and shade structures — for example, gusts above 35 mph — with onset and end timing.
- Tornado and severe thunderstorm: park-specific warnings with expected arrival time for guest sheltering; null-warning notification when the NWS polygon includes you but the storm does not.
- Hail, heat and heavy rain: hail warnings for exposed guests; heat-index alerts at your threshold for guard rotations and guest services; heavy-rain warnings for visibility in pools.
- Daily outlook: a morning forecast for the park with the day's lightning windows, for staffing and group-booking decisions.
- Delivery: portal and push alerts to aquatics and operations, live phone call to the duty manager for lightning warnings if you prefer, text to lifeguard supervisors — and an API feed into your park messaging system.
- Heat (WBGT or heat index): advisories and warnings at your thresholds for guard rotations and guest services, on either scale.
Take the one-page overview with you
Everything on this page on a single sheet — pool-clearing lightning warnings, a real all-clear, and how to start a Free Live Trial. Made to forward to your aquatics director or parks board.
"I am simply amazed at how accurate you guys are!"
Earl Studdard, NCFDFC Baseball Complex, New Braunfels, TX
"We could not possibly go without your services! We routinely make believers out of event venues when they overreact to an inaccurate TV weather forecast."
Cheryl Bailey, Yellow Umbrella Events, Austin, TX
Questions aquatics directors ask
How do you handle the 30-minute lightning rule?
We time your all-clear from the actual last cloud-to-ground strike inside your radius, using real-time lightning detection. You reopen 30 minutes after that strike — not 30 minutes after the last time someone heard thunder — and we adjust the radius and wait time to match your written policy.
What radius do you use for clearing pools?
Whatever your policy calls for. Most facilities use an 8- to 10-mile warning radius with a wider alert radius for staffing up; both are set with you during setup.
Can we run seasonally?
Yes. Seasonal programs cover your operating season. Single-site programs start at $99.95 a month; multi-site discounts apply — ten sites does not cost ten times one.
Can you cover our indoor aquatic center too?
Yes. Indoor facilities typically use lightning warnings for outdoor deck and pool areas and severe weather warnings for guest sheltering; the program is built to your facility.
What does the Free Live Trial involve?
We set up your real park, thresholds and delivery methods and monitor them exactly as we would for a paying client — no credit card and no obligation. Most sites are live the same day; overnight requests are set up the next morning.
See it live before the next hot weekend
Not a demo. We set up your real park with your real lightning radius and policy and monitor it exactly as we would for a paying client.
- Site forecasts and live lightning warnings and all-clears for your actual park
- Portal, app and radar access for aquatics, operations and guest services
- Your thresholds, lead time and delivery methods
- No credit card, no contract, no obligation
Prefer to talk first? Call (512) 504-3151 or email sitewarn@weatherguidance.com during business hours, and we'll get right back to you.
SiteWarn also serves amusement parks, summer camps, parks and sports complexes and more than a dozen other industries. See what the portal and app look like.