Real-time lightning monitoring, automated team alerts, auditable safety records, and all-clear countdowns, powered by Vaisala's lightning detection network, trusted by the FAA and the National Weather Service. Any coordinates, any country. Live within 48 hours.
StrikeWatch monitored all 16 FIFA World Cup 2026 stadiums across the United States, Mexico, and Canada in real time - tracking thousands of lightning events across simultaneous venues during the largest sporting event on Earth. That same infrastructure, powered by Vaisala's FAA-grade detection network, now protects your venue. No stadium price tag required.
StrikeWatch is an independent information service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to FIFA or any of its tournaments.
Every outdoor venue faces the same problem. The question isn't whether lightning will disrupt your operations - it's whether you'll be prepared when it does.
When lightning injures someone at a venue, the question that follows is what the venue knew, and when. Two wrongful-death suits against US golf clubs are running now. StrikeWatch keeps a time-stamped record of every alert and every change of status.
Resuming play too early means evacuating again minutes later. Every unnecessary suspension costs revenue, disrupts schedules, and erodes trust. StrikeWatch's precise strike tracking minimizes false positives and gives you a clear countdown to safe resumption.
Traditional lightning detection systems require $10,000–$30,000 in sensors, sirens, and installation - per site. World tours can't ship hardware to every city. Construction firms can't install sensors on every crane. StrikeWatch is pure software: enter any coordinates on Earth and you're live.
If your people are outside and lightning is a risk, StrikeWatch gives you the intelligence to make the call.
Stadiums, training grounds, school athletics
World tours, open-air concerts, festivals - one subscription, every venue, every country
Crane operations, rooftop work, OSHA compliance
Pro tours, country clubs, municipal courses
Outdoor rides, water parks, guest safety
Athletic programs, recreation, municipal duty of care
A golf course is a large open space with people on it, often a long way from shelter, and most courses still rely on a ranger and a phone app. StrikeWatch was built to close that gap without the five-figure hardware bill.
Your players are dispersed across the entire property - back nine, practice range, halfway house. Marshals can't reach everyone by radio or horn before a storm arrives. StrikeWatch texts every registered phone within minutes of a change in status, no chasing carts required.
Pro shop, marshals, superintendent, F&B, and maintenance all get the same alert at the same moment. Suspension and restart become a coordinated operation instead of a scramble - and the decision is documented automatically.
The 30-minute all-clear countdown eliminates the "is it safe yet?" guesswork that delays course reopening and costs green-fee revenue. Every staff member sees the same clock, counting from the most recent strike inside your radius.
In one public tender (City of Denton, Texas), on-site lightning hardware was quoted at more than $11,000 per site to install, before any software fees: hard to justify for many municipal and semi-private courses. StrikeWatch delivers Vaisala-network lightning detection and alerting from $249/month, with setup within 48 hours, no hardware, and a time-stamped record of every alert.
No installation. No technician visit. No hardware order. Just coordinates and a browser.
Tell us where your venue is. We support any location on Earth - from New York to Tokyo, London to São Paulo. Same setup, same precision, anywhere.
StrikeWatch connects to Vaisala's global lightning detection network - the same professional-grade infrastructure used by the National Weather Service, airlines, and power utilities. Coverage spans every continent.
Receive SMS alerts at configurable thresholds: 20-mile watch, 10-mile warning, 8-mile suspension. Plus a 30-minute clear-to-play countdown after the last strike.
How software-based lightning monitoring compares with on-site hardware.
Every venue manager has heard it: "We just check a weather app." Here's what that answer costs when it matters.
Start with the question a plaintiff's attorney will ask: can you prove you were monitoring? Every StrikeWatch alert and change of status is logged with a timestamp, giving your venue a record of what it knew and when. A free weather app on someone's phone leaves no record at all.
Then there's the human factor. A free app alerts one phone - if that person happens to check it. StrikeWatch notifies your entire operation simultaneously: pro shop, marshals, superintendent, F&B, maintenance. No one has to remember to look.
A consumer app tells you "lightning nearby." StrikeWatch gives you operational protocol: configurable professional thresholds - 8-mile suspension, 10-mile warning, 20-mile watch - matching your venue's written safety policy exactly. And when the storm passes, the 30-minute clear-to-resume countdown answers the question every staff member is asking: when does the course reopen? When can the crew go back up? When do outdoor activities resume? One clock, visible to everyone, counting from the most recent strike.
Finally, there is nothing on your site to break, maintain or replace. On-site sensors and sirens need power, servicing and repairs. StrikeWatch runs on Vaisala's lightning detection network, and your staff see it on the phones and screens they already have.
Defense lawyers now advise golf courses to document their lightning protocol and enforce it consistently. StrikeWatch keeps that record for you.
Perry Weather is the Official Weather Platform of the PGA of America, and Thor Guard is a long-established maker of lightning hardware. Both offer on-site equipment. In one public tender (City of Denton, Texas, RFP 6942), installation was quoted at $12,060 per site for Perry Weather and $11,282 per site for Thor Guard, before software. StrikeWatch delivers Vaisala-network lightning detection and alerting from $249/month, with no installation, no hardware and no maintenance.
| StrikeWatch | Perry Weather | Thor Guard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation cost | $0 | $12,060 per site | $11,282 per site |
| Annual software cost | From $2,988/year | Quoted per site (public records: about $3,500/year) | $1,700/year |
| Maintenance | None | Included | $800/year per site |
| Hardware required | None - software only | Weather stations, sirens, cameras | Electromagnetic sensor array |
| Setup | Within 48 hours, software only | Site installation | Site installation |
| On-site hardware to maintain | None | Yes | Yes |
| Time-stamped alert log | Included | Ask the vendor | Ask the vendor |
Installation, Thor Guard software and maintenance figures from City of Denton, TX RFP 6942 public procurement records. Perry Weather annual figure from Tulsa Public Schools procurement records. Prices vary by package and site.
These are real cases. The claims are allegations, not court findings. Ask your insurer what a documented lightning safety protocol is worth.
In July 2025, a 28-year-old golfer was struck by lightning during a tournament at Ballyowen Golf Club in New Jersey and died a week later. His family's wrongful-death lawsuit, filed in December 2025, alleges the resort had a duty to use "functional weather-monitoring and lightning-detection systems" and failed to monitor the weather, warn golfers or suspend play.
A wrongful death lawsuit over a 2023 lightning death at Bentwater Golf Club in Georgia alleges the club failed to have weather monitoring, warning sirens, or lightning detection equipment.
Both cases turn on the same question: what did the club know, and when?
For about $8 a day, a course can have live Vaisala-network lightning monitoring and a time-stamped record of every call.
No setup fees. No hardware costs. No hidden charges. Save 2 months with annual billing. Cancel any time.
No setup fees · first invoice after go-live
No setup fees · first invoice after go-live
No setup fees · first invoice after go-live
Launch pricing available - ask on your demo call. Prefer a walkthrough first? Book a demo below.
$249 per venue per month for a Single Site, $499 per month Multi-Site (up to 5 sites), $999 per month Portfolio. No setup fees, your first invoice comes only after your monitoring is live, annual billing includes two months free, and you can cancel any time.
No. StrikeWatch is software only: we monitor your exact coordinates on the Vaisala global lightning detection network, the same detection standard relied on by aviation and national weather services. Setup takes up to 48 hours.
Siren and prediction systems are on-site hardware, typically $10,000 to $50,000 installed, plus maintenance. StrikeWatch delivers detection-network alerting with nothing on your site to buy, break or maintain, at $249 a month. If you already run a siren, StrikeWatch adds the documented alert trail and staff-wide notifications sirens cannot provide.
Simultaneous SMS to every designated person as strikes cross 20 miles (watch), 10 miles (warning) and 8 miles (suspend), then a 30-minute all-clear countdown from the most recent strike. Every alert is logged with a timestamp.
StrikeWatch is decision-support, not a substitute for your own protocol: your venue keeps its own written lightning policy and makes its own decisions. What StrikeWatch adds is the professional detection source and the timestamped record that lets you demonstrate exactly when you knew and what you did, aligned with the approach in NWS, CISA and NFHS guidance.
Yes. StrikeWatch monitored all sixteen stadiums of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in real time, logging nearly 3,000 cloud-to-ground strikes across the tournament. StrikeWatch is independent and not affiliated with FIFA.
Tell us about your operation and we'll get you set up. No setup fees; your first invoice comes only after your monitoring is live.