GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — With thunderstorms come lightning strikes which can be pretty dangerous. As we continue to prepare for stronger storms during Severe Weather Awareness Week we need to understand how to remain safe around lightning.
The saying goes... "When thunder roars get indoors." It's an important saying to remember during any storm severe or not. It takes less than one second for electrons in the atmosphere to go through the process of creating a lightning strike, which is typically hotter than the surface of the sun reaching temperatures around 50,000 degrees. There are 6 different kinds of lightning strikes that cause damage, as lightning kills about 20 people yearly across the U.S. and hundreds more are injured.
According to NOAA outdoor activities such as fishing, being at the beach and camping are the top 3 activities where the most lightning deaths occur. To stay safe around lightning you want to stop any outdoor activity and head inside. You need to allow 30 minutes for the storm to pass as lightning can strike more than 20 miles from the parent storm. Now if you do find yourself caught outside you want to avoid open fields or high ground and stay away from any tall single trees or objects….finally, avoid any water, wet objects or metal as these do not attract lightning but are excellent conductors of electricity.
