Lightning is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury. Most people do not realize that they can be struck by lightning even when the center of a thunderstorm is 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and there are blue skies overhead.
Did you know that rubber shoes do nothing to protect you from lightning? That talking on the telephone is the leading cause of lightning injuries inside the home? That standing under a tall tree is one of the most dangerous places to take shelter?
• Lightning is a giant discharge of electricity accompanied by a brilliant flash of light and a loud crack of thunder. The spark can reach over five miles (eight kilometers) in length, raise the temperature of the air by as much as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,700 degrees Celsius), and contain a hundred million electrical volts.
• Lightning can kill people or cause cardiac arrest. Injuries range from severe burns and permanent brain damage to memory loss and personality change. About 10 percent of lightning-stroke victims are killed, and 70 percent suffer serious long-term effects.
• Lightning is not confined to thunderstorms. It's been seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest fires, surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms, and in large hurricanes.
• Ice in a cloud may be key in the development of lightning. Ice particles collide as they swirl around in a storm, causing a separation of electrical charges. Positively charged ice crystals rise to the top of the thunderstorm, and negatively charged ice particles and hailstones drop to the lower parts of the storm. Enormous charge differences develop.
• People on or in or near water are among those most at risk during thunderstorms. Swimming is particularly dangerous, as not only do swimmers protrude from the water, presenting a potential channel for electrical discharge, but also because water is a good conductor of electricity.
• Phone use is the leading cause of indoor lightning injuries. Lightning can travel long distances in both phone and electrical wires, particularly in rural areas.
SAFETY TIPS
1] Stay indoors, and don't venture outside, unless absolutely necessary.
2] Stay away from open doors and windows, fireplaces, radiators, stoves metal pipes, sinks, and plug-in electrical appliances.
3] Don't use plug-in electrical equipment like hair driers, electric razors during the storm.
4] Don't use the telephone during the storm. Lightning may strike telephone lines outside.
5] Don't work telephone or power lines, pipelines.
6] Get out of the water and off small boats.
7] Stay in your automobile if you are traveling. Automobiles offer excellent lightning protection. There are exceptions to this, however, as seen here.
Seek shelter in buildings. If no buildings are available, your best protection is a cave.
8] Avoid hilltops, open spaces, wire fences, metal clotheslines, exposed sheds, and any electrically conductive elevated objects.
9] When you feel the electrical charge -- if your hair stands on end or your skin tingles -- lightning may be about to strike you. Drop to the ground immediately.
TAKE CARE......................................................................Rogue.
Did you know that rubber shoes do nothing to protect you from lightning? That talking on the telephone is the leading cause of lightning injuries inside the home? That standing under a tall tree is one of the most dangerous places to take shelter?
• Lightning is a giant discharge of electricity accompanied by a brilliant flash of light and a loud crack of thunder. The spark can reach over five miles (eight kilometers) in length, raise the temperature of the air by as much as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,700 degrees Celsius), and contain a hundred million electrical volts.
• Lightning can kill people or cause cardiac arrest. Injuries range from severe burns and permanent brain damage to memory loss and personality change. About 10 percent of lightning-stroke victims are killed, and 70 percent suffer serious long-term effects.
• Lightning is not confined to thunderstorms. It's been seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest fires, surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms, and in large hurricanes.
• Ice in a cloud may be key in the development of lightning. Ice particles collide as they swirl around in a storm, causing a separation of electrical charges. Positively charged ice crystals rise to the top of the thunderstorm, and negatively charged ice particles and hailstones drop to the lower parts of the storm. Enormous charge differences develop.
• People on or in or near water are among those most at risk during thunderstorms. Swimming is particularly dangerous, as not only do swimmers protrude from the water, presenting a potential channel for electrical discharge, but also because water is a good conductor of electricity.
• Phone use is the leading cause of indoor lightning injuries. Lightning can travel long distances in both phone and electrical wires, particularly in rural areas.
SAFETY TIPS
1] Stay indoors, and don't venture outside, unless absolutely necessary.
2] Stay away from open doors and windows, fireplaces, radiators, stoves metal pipes, sinks, and plug-in electrical appliances.
3] Don't use plug-in electrical equipment like hair driers, electric razors during the storm.
4] Don't use the telephone during the storm. Lightning may strike telephone lines outside.
5] Don't work telephone or power lines, pipelines.
6] Get out of the water and off small boats.
7] Stay in your automobile if you are traveling. Automobiles offer excellent lightning protection. There are exceptions to this, however, as seen here.
Seek shelter in buildings. If no buildings are available, your best protection is a cave.
8] Avoid hilltops, open spaces, wire fences, metal clotheslines, exposed sheds, and any electrically conductive elevated objects.
9] When you feel the electrical charge -- if your hair stands on end or your skin tingles -- lightning may be about to strike you. Drop to the ground immediately.
TAKE CARE......................................................................Rogue.
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