Weather Operations

Turn the forecast into a coordinated, repeatable response — multi-source monitoring, severe-weather alerts, per-attraction tolerance profiles, and automated operational phases that move your whole operation together.

Why it matters

Protect the operating day when the sky turns.

When conditions turn, two things hang on the next decision: the safety of everyone on property, and the revenue a lost or mishandled day takes with it. The Park Operations Platform makes that decision a system — watching multiple weather sources at once, applying each attraction's own tolerance profile, and moving the operation through defined weather phases automatically, so the call to close a pool, hold a coaster, or open a shelter never rides on who happens to be on the radio. Outdoor venues live and die by the sky, and the hazards are real and measurable.

16%
of U.S. economic output swings year to year with the weather — outdoor leisure is among the most exposed sectors
~43
people killed by lightning in the U.S. in an average year, most while outdoors in summer
700+
heat-related deaths a year in the U.S. — and they are considered largely preventable

Sources: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Larsen), U.S. Economic Sensitivity to Weather Variability; National Weather Service, lightning fatalities (30-year average, 1989–2018); U.S. CDC, Heat-Related Deaths — United States, 2004–2018.

Who uses it

  • Operations directors
  • Duty managers
  • Ride supervisors
  • Waterpark supervisors
  • Guest services
  • Communications

What it does

From the first reading to the all-clear.

Monitoring sources

One trusted picture of the sky, not four screens that disagree.

  • On-property weather stations
  • National Weather Service feeds
  • Commercial weather services and lightning detection
  • Manual observations, reconciled across sources
Current conditions

Know what's happening right now, down to what your rides care about.

  • Temperature, humidity, and dew point
  • Wind speed, direction, and gusts
  • Lightning distance and frequency
  • Precipitation, UV index, and visibility
Forecast data

See the weather day coming so you can plan the response, not just react.

  • Hourly forecasts for the next 48–72 hours
  • Daily forecasts out to 7–14 days
  • Precipitation probability and severe-weather likelihood
  • Forecast confidence levels
Severe-weather alerts

When a warning hits, the right attractions and response actions are already named.

  • Official watches and warnings, plus manual alerts
  • Affected attractions determined automatically
  • Defined response actions for each alert
  • Full alert lifecycle — issued, active, expired
Operational weather phases

The whole operation moves together, by rule, the moment conditions cross a line.

  • Defined phases — Heat Advisory, Lightning Warning, Wind Advisory and more
  • Per-attraction tolerances (this ride opens in winds under 25 mph)
  • Auto-activation on live conditions, with manual override
  • Full phase-activation history
Shelter activations

Get guests to safe space fast, and account for who's there.

  • Designated shelter locations
  • Capacity and guest-count tracking
  • Activation events with duration tracking
Daily briefings

Every shift starts already knowing what the day could bring.

  • Pre-shift weather briefing
  • Forecast summary and anticipated impacts
  • Phase preparations and team communication points
Alert notifications

Staff and guests hear it through the channels that actually reach them.

  • Staff alerts via field app, radio, and SMS
  • Guest alerts via PA, digital signage, and app push
  • Defined escalation paths
Post-weather recovery

Reopen the moment it's safe, and recover the rest of the day.

  • Damage-assessment workflow
  • Recovery procedures and capacity restoration
  • After-action review

Built for parks

The protocols you actually run.

Lightning protocols

8-mile and 10-mile rules built in, with pool closures, outdoor-attraction standdowns, and shelter activation all handled together.

Wind operations

Per-ride wind limits drive gradual capacity reduction and selective closure, so only the affected attractions come down.

Heat operations

Hydration messaging, modified break schedules, misting-station activation, and guest communication coordinated from one phase.

Cold operations

Shoulder-season support including ice management — limited at most parks, but ready when the season calls for it.

How it works in practice

Sample workflows.

Workflow Lightning event
  1. Lightning is detected 8 miles from the park.
  2. The platform activates the Lightning Warning phase for outdoor pools and waterpark attractions and closes affected attractions automatically, per each tolerance profile.
  3. Operators are notified via the field app to begin standdown, and designated indoor shelters are activated.
  4. Guest communication fires over the PA and digital signage: outdoor pools and slides are closing, with directions to shelter.
  5. The active alert is tracked. When lightning clears for more than 30 minutes outside the threshold, the phase deactivates and reopening procedures are triggered.
Workflow Forecast-driven planning

On a Friday afternoon, the forecast shows a high probability of severe storms between 2 and 5 pm Saturday. The operations director uses the platform to review the affected attractions and pre-position shelter staff.

Communication messaging is planned in advance, food service is coordinated for extra indoor-shelter capacity, and the team is briefed at the Friday end-of-day meeting using a pre-built briefing template.

See Weather Operations in action.

A 30-minute working conversation — we'll walk through weather operations with scenarios drawn from operations like yours.

Book a demo