Lightning Safety
WHAT IS LIGHTNING?
Lightning is a big charge of electricity that can reach from clouds to the ground or to other clouds. It can start fires and it is strong enough to hurt or kill people. Lightning also helps nature by putting nitrogen in the ground for plants to use.
IS LIGHTNING REALLY DANGEROUS?
There are thousands of lightning strikes every day. Scientists think that lightning hits somewhere on the earth about 100 times every second. More people are killed by lightning than by any other kind of storm, including hurricanes and tornadoes.
Every year, about 100 people are killed by lightning in the United States and also about 100 people in Europe. In the whole world, lightning kills more than 1,000 people in a year, maybe many more. A lot more people are hurt by lightning than are killed by it and many of those who live are hurt very badly.
WHERE CAN LIGHTNING STRIKE?
Lightning can strike almost anywhere. Many people are struck before and after the rain falls.
Lightning can strike as far as 10 miles away from a storm. In fact, scientists are now pretty sure that it can strike 15 or more miles away from a cloud.
So, if there is blue sky above you and it is not raining, you still might not be safe if you can see or hear a storm in the distance. Lightning can strike anywhere in a big circle around the where the rain is falling.
There is also what is called "dry lightning." That is when lightning strikes from a cloud that is not making rain. Dry lightning often causes forest fires because there is no rain to stop a fire from spreading.
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.
How close was that lightning?
By counting the seconds between the lightning "flash" and the "bang" of thunder, you can tell how far away the lightning was. Each five seconds equals one mile. If you count 15 seconds, the flash was 3 miles away and you know that you are in a high danger zone. Six miles (30 second count) is still in the high danger zone.
Lightning can strike far from where the rain is falling, and sometimes even when no rain is falling at all. This is why people are sometimes hit where they can see blue sky and the sun is shining.
Ron Holle of the National Severe Storms Laboratory drew this picture to show what "flash-to-bang" distance means... The rings are 1, 2 and 3 miles from the lightning strike and the thunder sound will take 5, 10 and 15 seconds to reach the rings. Remember that lightning can strike up to 10 (maybe even 15 or more) miles away from a storm, so if you drew rings up to 10 miles, there would be danger anywhere inside the 10th ring. How long would it take the sound of thunder to reach the 10th ring?
Can you ever tell when lightning may be about to strike?
Sometimes you can feel when lightning might be about to strike. Try holding your arm very close to the front of a color TV screen that is turned on and see how it feels. Look at the hair standing up on your arm. If you are in or near a storm and you feel this way, then you know that you may be in danger. Lightning could strike any second.
SHELTERS AND THE "LIGHTNING SAFETY POSITION"
When you feel that lightning may be about to strike....
When you feel that you are really in trouble with a thunderstorm....
What can you do IF......
....you are caught in a thunderstorm, lightning seems to be striking all around you, and there is no shelter?
....you and a friend are outside someplace, and your skin and hair feel prickly or you see your friend's hair start to stand up and form a halo?
....your "flash to bang" count (see my flash to bang page) is very short, and there is no shelter anywhere near you?
LIGHTNING SAFETY POSITION
Image (c)1999 Anubis Productions
& Marian Hyuk Grossi
Lightning Safety Position
You may have heard that if you can't find a shelter, you should lie down flat on your stomach. Well, doing that is not safe at all. If lightning hits someplace near you and travels through the ground, it could pass through your whole body and electrocute you.
Lightning safety experts have invented a "lightning safety position" that is very important to know if you are caught in a thunder storm and you can't find a shelter. This position looks hard, but it could save your life. There are several reasons for doing it.
- It makes you a smaller target.
- With your heels together, if lightning hits the ground, it goes through the closest foot, up to your heel and then transfers to the other foot and goes back to the ground again. If you don't put your feet together, lightning could go through your heart and kill you.
- You put your hands over your ears to protect them from thunder.
FIRST AID
Persons struck by lightning receive a severe electrical shock and may be burned, but they carry no electrical charge and can be handled safely. Someone who appears to have been killed by lightning often can be revived by prompt action. When a group has been struck, the apparently "dead" should be treated first.
The American Red Cross says that if a victim is not breathing, you should immediately begin mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, once every 5 seconds to adults and once every 3 seconds to infants and small children, until medical help arrives.
If both pulse and breathing are absent, cardiopulmonary resuscitation--a combination of moutn-to-mouth resuscitation and external cardiac compression--is necessary. This procedure should be administered only by persons with proper training.
Victims who appear only stunned or otherwise unhurt may also need attention. Check for burns, especially at fingers and toes and next to buckles and jewelry. Give first aid for shock. Do not let the victim walk around. Send someone for help. Stay with the victim until help arrives. Be prepared.
A Red Cross first aid course provides excellent instruction on how to render aid to a person who has been struck by lightning.
Source: Oahu Civil Defense Agency, National Lightning Safety Institute, KIDS' LIGHTNING INFORMATION .
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