TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - It may be called the Sunshine State, but Florida leads the nation in lightning related deaths and thanks to a Tallahassee local, every county in the state now has a new tool to put an end to these deaths, while also teaching kids about science.
It's all thanks to a WeatherSTEM weather station that collects real-time atmospheric data and distributes it through a website and mobile app.
Each station sends personalized alerts to schools to let them make safety related calls, like delaying soccer practice or canceling a football game, because of the threat of lightning or a major storm.
"We created a platform that sort of blends education and safety together," explains WeatherSTEM Founder Ed Mansouri. "There are a lot of platforms that educate, there are a lot of platforms that alert. WeatherSTEM is one that does both, because our motto has sort of become - 'an educated public is a safer public'. So our platform first alerts you of something important or significant but them follows up with some educational information as well."
The weatherSTEM, system was honored this week with a Florida Governor's Innovation Award.
It's given annually to an individual or organization making developments in the fields of hurricane preparedness, response, recovery, or mitigation in the state of Florida.
For more information, visit www.WeatherSTEM.com
