Lightning Information

"The flash of light that accompanies a high-tension natural electric discharge in the atmosphere". This description of lightning comes from the dictionary. Although this states what lightning is, it is not very informative. It doesn't explain to us the nature of lightning, the dangers involved, or how to protect ourselves from injury due to lightning.

What is Lightning ?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service (NOAA) it is as follows:

• The action of rising and descending air within a thunderstorm separates positive and negative charges. Water and ice particles also affect the distribution of electrical charge.
• Lightning results from the buildup and discharge of electrical energy between positively and negatively charged areas.
• The average flash could light a 100-watt light bulb for more than 3 months.
• Most lightning occurs within the cloud or between the cloud and ground.
• Your chances of being struck by lightning are estimated to be 1 in 600,000 but could be reduced by following safety rules.
• Most lightning deaths and injuries occur when people are caught outdoors.
• Most lightning casualties occur in the summer months and during the afternoon and early evening.
• The air near a lightning strike is heated to 50,000 degrees hotter than the surface of the sun. The rapid heating and cooling of air near the lightning channel causes a shock wave that results in thunder.
• Many fires in the western United States and Alaska are started by lightning. In the past decade, over 15,000 lightning-induced fires nationwide have resulted in several hundred million dollars a year in damage and the loss of 2 million acres of forest.

People have been killed by lightning while:

• boating
• standing under a tree
• playing soccer
• swimming
• riding on a lawn mower
• fishing in a boat
• golfing
• talking on the telephone
• mountain climbing
• bike riding
• loading a truck

Personal Lightning Safety Tips from
The National Lightning Safety Institute (NLSI)

1. Plan in advance your evacuation and safety measures. When you first see lightning or hear thunder, activate your emergency plan. Now is the time to go to a building or a vehicle. Lightning often precedes rain, so don't wait for the rain to begin before suspending activities.
2. If Outdoors ... Avoid water. Avoid the high ground. Avoid open spaces. Avoid all metal objects including electric wires, fences, machinery, motors, power tools, etc. Unsafe places include underneath canopies, small picnic or rain shelters, or near trees. Where possible, find shelter in a substantial building or in a fully enclosed metal vehicle such as a car, truck or a van with the windows completely shut. If lightning is striking nearby when you are outside, you should:



• Crouch down. Put feet together. Place hands over ears to minimize hearing damage from thunder.
• Avoid proximity (minimum of 15 ft.) to other people.


3. If Indoors...Avoid water. Stay away from doors and windows. Do not use the telephone. Take off head sets. Turn off, unplug, and stay away from appliances, computers, power tools, and TV sets. Lightning may strike exterior electrical lines and phone lines, inducing shocks to inside equipment.
4. Suspend Activities for 30 minutes after the last observed lightning or thunder.
5. Injured Persons do not carry an electrical charge and can be handled safely. Apply First Aid procedures to a lightning victim if you are qualified to do so. Call 911 or send for help immediately.

Lightning Myths and Misconceptions:

• Lightning never strikes twice...it strikes the Empire State Building in NYC some 22-25 times per year.
• Rubber tires or a foam pad will insulate me from lightning...it takes about 10,000 volts to create a one inch spark. Lightning has millions of volts and can easily jump 10-20 feet.
• Lightning rods will protect my ropes course...lightning rods are "preferential attachment points" for lightning. You do not want to "draw" lightning to any area with people nearby.
• We should get off the water when boating, canoeing or sailing...tall trees and rocky outcrops along shore and on nearby land may be a more dangerous place.
• A cave is a safe place in a thunderstorm...if it is a shallow cave, or an old mine with metallic nearby, it can be a deadly location during lightning.

Lightning Myths and Facts:

• Myth:  If it is not raining, then there is no danger from lightning.
• Fact:    Lightning often strikes outside of heavy rain and may occur as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall.
• Myth:  The rubber soles of shoes or rubber tires on a car will protect you from being struck by lightning.
• Fact:    Rubber-soled shoes and rubber tires provide NO protection from lightning. However, the steel frame of a hard-topped vehicle provides increased protection if you are not touching metal. Although you may be injured if lightning strikes your car, you are much safer inside a vehicle than outside.
• Myth:  People struck by lightning carry an electrical charge and should not be touched.
• Fact:    Lightning-strike victims carry no electrical charge and should be attended to immediately. Contact your local American Red Cross chapter for information on CPR and first aid classes.
• Myth:  "Heat lightning" occurs after very hot summer days and poses no threat.
• Fact:    What is referred to as "heat lightning" is actually lightning from a thunderstorm too far away for thunder to be heard. However, the storm may be moving in your direction.