Lightning Safety Awareness Week
NOAA Offers Tips for Avoiding Risks When the Thunder Roars
Learn more about thunderstorms, lightning and lightning safety during Lightning Safety Awareness Week, hosted by the U.S. National Weather Service.
Boaters witnessing the drama of a summer thunderstorm have seen a glimpse of nature's raw power and its potential for destruction. In a effort to better educate people of the dangers posed by lightning, the National Weather Service sponsors Lightning Safety Awareness Week each June.
An average of 73 people are killed and 300 are injured by lightning strikes each year in the United States. Meteorologists measure some 25 million strikes each year with Florida being the national leader in the total ground strikes occurring per square mile. Injuries from lightning occur in isolated circumstances and don't receive the press hurricane and tornado incidents create, yet lighting causes more injuries and death than the other events.
When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is promoting this simple safety message. Lightning Safety Expert John Jensenius says, "One of the most common mistakes people and animals make is they huddle under trees and other structures to stay dry during thunderstorms. This can be a deadly mistake. Lightning can strike from a storm that is as far away as 10 miles, so if you hear thunder, you need to get inside a building or car immediately.”
Lightning Awareness Week Schedule - Staff with the National Weather Service put together a week long schedule of public service announcements to introduce people to the dangers of lightning and improve their awareness of thunderstorm safety:
- Lightning & Lightning Safety: An Introduction - Meteorologist John Jensenius introduces viewers to lightning and lightning safety. Awareness and education are key to avoiding lightning related injuries
- Why Do Some Clouds Produce Lightning and Others Don't? - Jensenius details the formation of lightning in thunderstorms and explains why lightning can occur completely within a storm cloud or crash to the ground
- Lightning Safety Outdoors - An overview of basic lightning safety rules and strategies that can be used to avoid injury outdoors
- Safe Shelters & Indoor Safety - Lightning can enter a home from a direct strike to the structure, through electrical wires or metallic pipes, or via the ground. There are several ways to avoid potential injury from lightning while indoors
- The Medical Aspects of Lightning - The lightning awareness series ends with a discussion of the medical effects of lightning. Prompt attention is required after lightning strikes. Rescuers need to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation and more importantly, how to avoid becoming a victim themselves
Lightning Safety Tips - NOAA's National Weather Service offers some basic safety hints that will help prevent injury from lightning.
While Indoors - Wait Inside!
- Stay away from electrical cords and equipment. Unplug electronic gear well before a storm arrives
- Avoid touching building plumbing. This means avoiding the shower, sink, dishwasher or washing machine
- Don't use phones directly connected to the telephone network by a cord
- Once the storm has passed, wait 30 minutes or longer from the last sound of thunder to go outside again
While Outdoors - If shelter cannot not be found indoors:
- Avoid seeking shelter under tall or isolated trees since lightning tends to strike the highest feature found in any area
- Stay out of open areas like fields or meadows where you might be the highest nearby object to attract lightning
- Avoid seeking shelter in partially enclosed buildings
- Tents offer no protection from lightning. Seek shelter in a car or substantial building as a thunderstorm approaches
- Metal fences and power lines conduct electricity. Avoid being near them in a storm
- Boaters should quickly return to shore and find shelter from thunderstorms
The National Weather Service offers more information on lightning and lightning safety at their website.
