Game delays for lightning may be annoying, but they save lives – a sports meteorologist explains the risk

When lightning strikes a sports arena, officials delay games to protect fans and players. Mark Thorstenson, an Orlando City/MLS representative, explained that fans were furious when nearby lightning forced delays on September 19, 2026, including games between Florida State and Alabama, North Carolina and Clemson, BYU and Colorado State, and Charlotte and Appalachian State.

The anger was especially intense in Alabama, where there was no rain at the stadium. As a lightning and safety expert, I have documented 262 football-related injuries and deaths in the U.S. between 1970 and 2023, including 12 injuries during a 2014 NFL game in Tampa, Florida, and about 40 injuries from lightning striking a group of players running sprints in Grapeland, Texas, in 2004.

Lightning strikes can be lethal, as seen in 2024 when a soccer player in Peru was killed and eight others injured during a match, and in 1998 when multiple soccer players were injured in South Africa. Large stadiums are particularly vulnerable due to their open-air stands and large crowds. If lightning hits the bleachers, electricity can travel through metal seats, causing injury or death to dozens of people. Ground current from a strike can also travel across the field, endangering players, coaches, and officials.

The NCAA has strict lightning safety protocols in place due to the high risk. If approved, a new NCAA proposal would start the college football season a week earlier in 2027, increasing the lightning risk during the late summer and early fall. College sports have had lightning safety policies for nearly 30 years, published in 1997 and regularly updated.

These guidelines specify when to suspend and resume play based on lightning detection within an 8-mile radius. Players and fans clear the field, and fans are encouraged to seek shelter, such as the stadium concourse. Lightning danger persists even after a storm has passed, as electric charge can linger in the clouds. In 2018, a study of 136 college football and NFL games delayed by lightning found that half of the delays occurred when games were already underway, and the average delay lasted less than 90 minutes.

While delays can be frustrating, they are necessary to minimize lightning risk. Some teams employ dedicated event meteorologists who use accurate radar and lightning data to monitor conditions and minimize game delays.