Last week, the UIL announced new heat safety protocols for high school athletes. It involves using a measurement called the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature to dictate whether weather conditions are deemed safe for outdoor activities such as football practice or marching band.
The wet bulb globe temperature is another way to quantify the impact of hot days on the body. Compared to the heat index, it gives a more comprehensive look at the heat's impact by factoring in the air temperature, humidity, winds, sky condition, and sun angle to get a final value. That's why the wet bulb globe is a better estimate for real-time heat risk for a given location, and why that value is now the ultimate deciding factor for if it's safe to practice outdoors in the heat or not.
Kingwood High School head football coach Stacy Williams says using the wet bulb globe temperature is a game changer in keeping his athletes safe, and something they're working around.
"If the trainer says we're in the orange right now or in the yellow, we have to come out of our shoulder pads. That's what we have to do," said Williams.
Additionally, practice is also being scheduled earlier in the morning or later at night to accommodate his athletes in the heat.

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