Lightning Strikes
“Lightning makes no sound until it strikes.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.
This week is National Lightning Awareness Week 2016 and if anyone was awake early Thursday morning and witnessed the powerful tempest that raked through the Midwest you would have seen the mighty power of Mother Nature as she unleased her wrath upon us all. Ok, that might be a little dramatic but the storm certainly was very powerful and impressive. To date here in the United States, there have been six deaths attributed people being struck by lightning (1 woman & 5 men and none of them were playing golf!). This past Tuesday (June 21, 2016) in India, with the start of the Monsoon season, over 120 people were killed by lightning (over 2,800 hundred people die last year in lightning strikes in India). So, it really does happen, people really do get killed by being out in a storm where lightning is produced.
There are some common misnomers about lightning and safe places to be…
Myth: If you're caught outside during a thunderstorm, you should crouch down to reduce your risk of being struck.
Fact: Crouching doesn't make you any safer outdoors. Run to a substantial building or hard topped vehicle. If you are too far to run to one of these options, you have no good alternative. You are NOT safe anywhere outdoors. See our safety page for tips that may slightly reduce your risk.
Myth: If it’s not raining or there aren’t clouds overhead, you’re safe from lightning.
Fact: Lightning often strikes more than three miles from the center of the thunderstorm, far outside the rain or thunderstorm cloud. “Bolts from the blue” can strike 10-15 miles from the thunderstorm.
Myth: If outside in a thunderstorm, you should seek shelter under a tree to stay dry.
Fact: Being underneath a tree is the second leading cause of lightning casualties. Better to get wet than fried!
Myth: If trapped outside and lightning is about to strike, I should lie flat on the ground.
Fact: Lying flat increases your chance of being affected by potentially deadly ground current. If you are caught outside in a thunderstorm, you keep moving toward a safe shelter. Check out NOAA for more myths and facts. (http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/myths.shtml)
There have been over three hundred deaths in the US over the past 10 years and most of those have been when people have been doing everyday things like hiking, working in the yard, participating in outdoor sporting events and family gatherings. Due to the nature of how lightning forms, there is no telling where the lightning may or may not strike. Because of this uncertainty, it is imperative that when you hear thunder or see lightning that you make for safe shelter immediately and wait out the storm. I can say from personal experience, twenty five years ago when I was a young man, friends and I were watching storms out on the Lake Michigan when a storm came up from behind us and we were trapped under a massive storm. We ran for shelter (we were all on bikes at the time) which consisted of a small storage barn with a small overhang. Lightning was striking all around us (the barn was situated in a wooded area) and it was one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever been in. Several trees near us where hit and blown apart and as fast as the storm came over us it was gone but for about 10 intense minutes we weren’t sure if we were going to make it. I have always had a much better respect for the power of Mother Nature and the effects of lightning since then.
As we move into the weekend and as thunder storms continue to ramble about please be alert and safe, don’t become a statistic in a column where it could have been prevented. As always, I thank you for reading and please pass this on to share with others, you never know who it might save. I hope everyone has a good weekend, take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com