How should our HOA board set a lightning policy for the pool and courts, especially with no lifeguard?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 20, 2026

How an HOA board writes a lightning policy for the pool and courts: when to clear, the 30-minute wait, who decides with no lifeguard, sign wording and Texas rules.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Adopt a short written rule and post it at every gate: when anyone hears thunder or sees lightning, everyone leaves the pool, the deck and the courts and goes to a building or a hard-topped car. Nobody goes back until 30 minutes have passed with no thunder, and each new rumble restarts the count. Then decide who calls it. If a lifeguard or attendant is on duty, that person clears the pool and reopens it. If nobody is on duty, the sign is the policy and every user is responsible for following it, so the wording has to be plain enough for a 12-year-old. The 30-minute wait and the thunder trigger come straight from National Weather Service guidance, which says that if you can hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you. This guide covers the policy, the sign, the tools and the gaps boards leave. It is general education, not legal advice. Pool rules vary by state, county and your governing documents.

Why your pool needs a written rule

Texas, Florida and Colorado are three of the worst states in the country for lightning deaths. National Weather Service figures for 1959 through 2017 rank Florida first with 498 deaths, Texas second with 226 and Colorado fourth with 148. Adjusted for population, Colorado ranked fourth and Florida fifth. A community pool puts people in the water, on wet concrete and under metal shade frames during the summer afternoons when storms build. The Weather Service's lifeguard guidelines list indoor and outdoor pools, diving boards and lifeguard stands as vulnerable locations, and the Boulder office warns that even indoor pools are not safe when lightning is occurring. The same sources list places that feel like shelter but are not: open-sided pavilions, picnic shelters, porches, carports, tents, restrooms, changing rooms and outdoor showers. That rules out the cabana, the shade structure and the pool bathroom. Name the real shelter in the policy: the clubhouse, if it is open, or cars in the lot.

Who decides, staffed or not

Write down who has authority before the first storm. With a lifeguard company, the contract should require a lightning plan, and the board should read it and match the posted rule to it, so guards are not enforcing one standard while the sign says another. Texas makes this concrete for staffed pools. Under 25 TAC 265.182, a pool run by a property owners association for its members and guests is a Class C pool, and 25 TAC 265.191(i)(3) requires any pool emergency action plan to include a response plan for inclement weather such as a thunderstorm, lightning or high wind, including evacuation areas. Our guide on how to hire a lifeguard company for an HOA pool covers what else that contract should say. Most small associations run unstaffed pools with key fobs. There the board cannot promise that anyone will clear the water, and it should not write a policy that implies someone will. The CDC's Model Aquatic Health Code, guidance that state and local health departments can adopt, calls for an inclement weather plan that covers evacuation and when it is acceptable to reopen, and its annex recommends that pools without a lifeguard or operator post a sign listing conditions that require immediate closure, with lightning named as one. Florida and Colorado set pool rules through state and county health departments; ask yours whether your pool is regulated and what plan, if any, it expects.

How to tell when lightning is close

The simplest tool is the one the sign already uses: thunder. The Weather Service's flash-to-bang method gives distance. Count the seconds from the flash to the thunder and divide by five to get miles, so 5 seconds is about 1 mile and 50 seconds is about 10. Its lifeguard guidelines say most lightning strikes within 10 miles of a storm, recommend notifying or evacuating patrons when storms move within 10 miles, and suggest a larger radius when a crowd needs time to clear or the storm is part of an organized line. Staffed pools can add better tools: a NOAA weather radio, a phone app that shows strike distance, or a commercial alert service. Some larger pools mount a detector with a horn and strobe that sounds automatically. If you buy one, the policy should say what the horn means, how the all-clear is signaled, and what users do if the device is broken. Assign one person each day, usually the attendant or the lead guard, as the weather watcher who checks the forecast at opening. Never let a device become the only rule. Thunder still means out.

Policy and sign wording to copy

Board motion: "Moved that the association adopt the following lightning rule for the pool, deck, sport courts and playground, effective [date], and post it at each entrance: When thunder is heard or lightning is seen, all users must leave the water, the deck and the courts immediately and go to an enclosed building or a hard-topped vehicle. Pavilions, cabanas, restrooms and shade structures are not shelter. Users may return 30 minutes after the last thunder. Any new thunder restarts the 30 minutes. When a lifeguard or attendant is on duty, that person's instructions control. Anyone who refuses to leave may lose amenity access under the association's enforcement policy." Sign text, short enough to read from the steps: "LIGHTNING RULE. Hear thunder? Get out of the pool and off the courts now. Shelter in a building or a car, not under the cabana. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder. No lifeguard on duty. Emergencies: call 911." Add the pool's street address under the 911 line so a caller can give it.

Courts, parties and swim team

Apply the same rule to the tennis and pickleball courts, the playground and the dog park. A fenced court is still outdoors, and the Weather Service says no place outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area. For clubhouse and pool rentals, add a clause to the rental agreement saying the renter must follow the lightning rule and clear their guests, and saying what happens to the fee: either weather closures are not refunded or the renter gets one rain date. Pick one and print it. A party host with 30 guests is far less likely to call it early than a lifeguard, so put the duty in writing. Swim teams and leagues that use the pool usually have their own lightning rules. Ask for a copy, make sure their wait is at least as strict as yours, and write into the use agreement that the stricter rule wins. Our guide on how to set pool and court hours covers the rest of the amenity rules that should sit next to this one.

If someone is struck

Put the response in the policy and in the lifeguard plan. The Weather Service's lifeguard guidelines start with scene safety and note that lightning victims do not carry an electrical charge, so they can be touched right away. Call 911, move the person away from further strikes if it is safe to do so, and start CPR or use an AED if needed. Heart rhythm problems, shock and sudden loss of consciousness are possible, so keep a conscious victim calm and watch them closely until help arrives. If the clubhouse has an AED, the sign should say where it is. After any strike near the pool, the board should have the pool equipment, lights and bonding checked by a licensed electrician before reopening, and log the incident and the closure.

Mistakes boards make

Writing "the pool will close during storms" when nobody is there to close it. Telling users to wait out a storm in the cabana or the pool restroom. Using a shorter reopening wait than the Weather Service's 30 minutes because a parent complained. Posting the rule only on the website, where nobody standing in the pool will see it. Buying a detector and never testing the horn before Memorial Day. Letting a swim meet or birthday party run on a looser rule than residents follow. Forgetting the courts and playground. Once the rule is adopted, apply it the same way every time, including on the last hot weekend of the season.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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