Stuttgart - This year's thunderstorm season started very early. The months of April, May and the beginning of June are characterised by an extremely high number of thunderstorms. The number of lightning strikes has tripled compared to last year. VfB Stuttgart now relies on innovative technology and uses a new type of thunderstorm warning system to protect the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The system receives live coordinate data of actual lightning strikes in the vicinity with the highest accuracy and immediately passes this data on as a warning, alarm and all-clear to responsible persons in and outside the security centre. This data is based on the most modern observation system for thunderstorm lightning.
The warning and all-clear is fully automatic - without human intervention - and offers multiple advantages compared to manual thunderstorm warnings in sports and event venues. The warning system objectifies weather warnings and replaces subjective assessments, which may be incorrect and dangerous to people, with factual measurement technology. The warning system has been developed and tested for several years by the Cologne-based company Coptr and is also used in the Bundesliga and at many other sports facilities.