What is Lightning?

Lightning is a charge of electricity that can reach from clouds to the ground or to other clouds. lightning can start fires and it is strong enough to hurt or kill people. Lightning harms more people than hurricanes or tornadoes. At any moment now there are more than 2,000 lightning storms around the world now and Everyday someone is struck by Lightning.

FAQ’s

How can you tell how far away a storm is?

You can tell how far away lightning struck by counting seconds between the flash and the thunder. Every 5 seconds equals one mile, so if you count 10 seconds until you hear the thunder, the lightning flash was 2 miles away

Do you know what to do during a storm?

Do

Do

General Information

Lightning’s behavior is random and unpredictable. Preparedness and quick response are the best defenses towards the lightning hazard.

Watch for Developing Thunderstorms: Thunderstorms are most likely to develop on spring or summer days but can occur year round. As the sun heats the air, pockets of warmer air start to rise and cumulus clouds form. Continued heating can cause these clouds to grow vertically into towering cumulus clouds, often the first sign of a developing thunderstorm.

An Approaching Thunderstorm: When to Seek Safe Shelter: Lightning can strike as far as 10 miles from area where it is raining. That's about the distance you can hear thunder. If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance. Seek safe shelter immediately.

Outdoor Activities : Minimize the Risk of Being Struck: Most lightning deaths and injuries occur in the summer in locations where organized outdoor sports activities take place, coaches, camp counselors and other adults must stop activities at the first sound of thunder to ensure everyone time to get a large building or enclosed vehicle. Leaders of outdoors events should have a written plan that all staff are aware of and enforce.

Indoor Activities: Things to Avoid: Inside building, stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity or plumbing. Buy ground fault protectors for key equipment. Follow the 30-30 rule and stop activities at the first clap thunder and wait 30 minutes until after the last thunder strike.

Unsafe Buildings

Examples of buildings which are unsafe include car ports, covered but open garages, covered patio, picnic shelters, beach shacks/pavilions, golf shelters, camping tents, large outdoor tents, baseball dugouts and other small buildings such as sheds and greenhouses that do not have electricity or plumbing.

Safe Vehicle

A safe vehicle is a hard-topped car, SUV, minivan, bus, tractor, etc. (soft-topped convertibles are not safe) . If you seek shelter in your vehicle, make sure all doors are closed and windows rolled up. Do not touch any metal surfaces.

PLAN in advance your evacuation and safety measures. When you first see lightning or hear thunder it’s 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.

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 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, & TV sets. Lightning may strike exterior electric and phone lines, inducing shocks to inside equipment.

Lightning Safety Program for Ball Fields

At the first signs of lightning or thunder, leave the ball field. Go to your vehicle and take shelter there with the windows rolled up. ("If you can hear it (thunder), Clear It (suspend activities)."

Wait 30 minutes after the last observed lightning or thunder before you leave shelter.

Helping a Lightning Strike Victim: If a person is struck by lightning, call 911 and get medical care immediately. Cardiac arrest and irregularities, burns, and nerve damage are common in cases where people are struck by lightning. However, with proper treatment, most victims survive a lightning strike. You are in no danger helping a lightning victim.