Loudoun Deploys Weather Notification System
Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia has deployed a weather alert system from WeatherBug Professional and Sprint. Called WeatherBug Protect, the system uses mobile phones to alert faculty and staff of weather-related issues that could impact schools and outdoor events.
WeatherBug Protect is a location-based system that provides alerts on severe weather to any cell phone on the system within six miles of an impending threat. These alerts can include heat index, lightning, wind, and "all the standard severe weather alerts issued from the National Weather Service," according to WeatherBug. Loudoun County, the first district in the mid-Atlantic region to deploy the system, will disperse 160 Sprint phones with WeatherBug Protect to faculty and athletic directors at all of its high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools. School principals will receive WeatherBug alerts via their Blackberrys.
The WeatherBug system, used by the NFL, has also been deployed at Broward County Schools in Florida for about a year.
Loudoun County Public Schools serves about 53,000 students in 72 schools, including 47 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, one intermediate schools, 10 high schools, and two instructional centers.
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About the author: David Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's online education technology publications, including THE Journal and Campus Technology. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
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