Lightning Safety Tips

According to the National Weather Service (NWS) the U.S. averages three hundred documented injuries from lightning strikes annually, resulting in sixty-two deaths. Many more go unreported, but with these numbers the odds of being struck over an eighty-year lifetime are one in three thousand. Only floods surpass lightning strikes in causing U.S. deaths directly attributed to weather. Taking appropriate steps to avoid being struck reduces these odds.

Planning To Avoid Lightning

• Organizing any outdoor event involves checking weather forecasts for conditions that may be considered undesirable. Placing people unnecessarily in the path of lightning is never a wise choice. Being educated on the times of year most prone to lightning storms is helpful. Keeping up with the most current forecast is also a good idea. The Storm Prediction Center has an excellent website with severe weather predictions up to three days out. Beware that even a storm that generates thousands of bolts in your vicinity will not warrant a severe thunderstorm warning if it does not meet certain wind and or hail criteria. Though the precise cause of lightning is debatable, it is known that areas with high instability and high moisture facilitate lightning; the National Center for Atmospheric Research has weather model maps that depict these variables. There are various methods of six to twenty four hour lightning prediction that researchers are attempting to make useable. Unfortunately, forecasts are not always correct or clear, thus the need to expect the unexpected. Keep a weather radio with SAME (specific area message encoding) technology and charged batteries around to warn of impending storms.

Outdoor Safety

• If you are outdoors when lightning is near, get indoors. If you can't, find the lowest spot, away from tall and or metal objects. Do not take shelter under things such as trees as these are the most likely areas for cloud-to-ground bolts to hit. An automobile with its rubber tires is a safe place, but beware that it is not safe if tornadoes or high straight line winds are in the area. A rule of thumb for determining distance from lightning is when it is seen to start counting ...a thousand one...a thousand two, when you hear thunder stop counting. The number you stopped at is the distance in thousands of feet. Having said this, since strikes can occur miles away from where they originate, the NWS recommends taking shelter at the first clap of thunder.

Indoor Safety

• Indoor safety precautions include staying off of computers, land line phones, and other electrical equipment. It is also wise, as in the case with any dangerous weather, to stay away from windows. Although it is rare, there have been cases of people being blown off of toilet seats! A professionally installed lightning rod can mitigate these potential issues. Do not attempt to install one yourself, as an improperly installed rod can increase the chances of a strike and a resulting fire.