10 Tips To Stay Safe From Lightning

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Image: Lightning kills more people than any other natural weather event and causes billions of dollars in property damage (NOAA).

With summer here, and temperatures rising, people will be spending more time enjoying outdoor activities. However, at some point they will likely encounter stormy weather.

According to the National Weather Service (www.nws.noaa.gov), summer is the peak season when lightning occurs, yet people can be struck at any time of the year.

Lightning strikes the ground approximately 25 million times a year in the U.S. It accompanies all thunderstorms and is extremely dangerous. Except for flooding, lightning is the nation’s deadliest weather phenomenon.

It kills more people than any other natural weather event and causes billions of dollars in property damage, resulting in fire and destruction of property. According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), each year an average of 51 people, are killed by lightning and hundreds more are seriously injured.

June, July and August are the peak months for lightning and lightning fatalities. To date, there have been 11 lightning fatalities in the U.S. this year.

Rain is a natural part of a thunderstorm and all too often individuals assume that once the rain subsides and the skies turn blue, the immediate threat of danger has passed. Yet lighting often strikes outside the area where heavy rain occurs. For this reason, many lightning deaths often occur either ahead of the storm or after, when the storm “appears” to have passed.

Lightning is an erratic and unpredictable characteristic of a thunderstorm. Your best defense is to know and follow proven lightning safety guidelines to greatly reduce your risk of injury or death. Lightning is an underrated killer, for the majority of lightning casualties that occur are preventable.

Did you know? A single bolt of lightning:

• Can reach anywhere from two to 10 miles and carry a hundred million volts of electricity.
• Its temperature range, 15,000 to 60,000 degrees Fahrenheit, is hotter than the surface of the sun.
• Lightning travels about 62,000 miles per second, or one-third the speed of light.

Indoor Lightning Safety

• Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.
• Avoid plumbing, including sinks, bathtubs and faucets.
• Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
• Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.

Caught Outside with No Safe Shelter

NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area! If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you. When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter - a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.

When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!

Stay in a safe shelter for at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder. If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby, the following actions may reduce your risk:

• Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks.
• Never lie flat on the ground.
• Never shelter under an isolated tree.
• Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
• Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water.
• Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.).

For more information on lightning safety, click here to visit the National Weather Service website.