Second Lightning Horn in Spring Rock, Old System Moving to Springdale

The has scheduled an overhaul of the weather-detection system for this spring with a new system that will more effectively notify parkgoers and athletic participants of lightning and storm danger.

A new Thorguard Lightning Prediction and Warning System will be installed on the equipment shed just west of the park’s roller-hockey rink, where the current system is at the moment. The main advantage is that the new system allows for a second horn cluster to be placed remotely: in this case, on the “Steve’s Place” shack in the east of the park.

Director of Parks Craig Himmelman said that the dual horns would make it more difficult for people in the parks to accidentally ignore the signs of danger.

“If you’re involved in a game… and all the audience and the people who are there watching the game are also watching that activity intently, then you might not hear horns off in the background or see the strobe light flashing a block away,” Himmelman said. “Groups have told us, sometimes you don’t hear it.”

Meanwhile, the current system will be relocated atop the pavilion building in , providing danger warnings for the Village’s second most-used park for athletics. Springdale Park is not large enough to require a multiple-horn system.

Thorguard systems are predicated upon prediction rather than detection, monitoring electrostatic potential to warn of danger before having to actually spot a lightning strike.

“If I was down there standing on the roof and lightning was fifteen miles away, I might not see it—this thing sees it,” said Park District staffer Dennis Conway.

The order for the new system has been placed and the transition is scheduled to occur as soon as it arrives, hopefully in time for when spring sports begin.