When can the game restart?
Lightning within 8 miles stops play, and it cannot resume until 30 minutes pass with no new strike inside that circle. We watch the lightning around every outdoor stadium with a game on, and run that clock.
How this works
NOAA's weather satellites record every lightning flash over the United States and publish it every 20 seconds. We measure each flash's distance from the stadium. A flash inside 8 miles starts a 30-minute hold; another one restarts it. When the clock reaches zero, the all-clear can be given — teams usually warm up before play resumes.
This is an estimate, not a safety tool. Stadium officials use their own ground-based lightning detectors, which are more precise than a satellite, and their clock may differ from ours by several minutes. Always follow the stadium's instructions.