Weather Tidbits: Lightning Safety

This edition of Weather Tidbits discusses lightning safety. It is important to be knowledgeable about lightning safety, particularly during the summer because people spend a lot of time outdoors and it’s the most active time of the year for thunderstorm development. Firstly, you must go inside when you hear thunder or see lightning. The safest places to be is inside a sturdy house or building. Inside a car with a hard-roof top is an excellent choice as well. You want to stay indoors for at least 30 minutes after you last hear thunder. Lightning can travel as much as 10 miles away from the actual thunderstorm, sometimes more. By waiting at least 30 minutes, this allows one to gain enough distance from the thunderstorm before safely going outside.

Unideal places to retreat to with lightning in vicinity are dugouts, sheds, pavilions, or other small structures. Make sure to stay away from tall trees, water sources, metal objects, and windows. All of those are conductive to lightning strikes. Finally, it is safest to not use electronics, outlets, or corded until the thunderstorm passes.