By LOIS KINDLE
How many times have you been outdoors and heard thunder rumbling? Did you know that at that moment, you’re in danger of being hit by lightning?
“When thunder roars, go indoors,” said Jen Hubbard, senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service – Tampa Bay office in Ruskin. “At its first rumble, lightning has already occurred. You should always stop what you’re doing and find a sturdy shelter or hard-topped vehicle to protect yourself. Dugouts, picnic shelters and sheds can protect you from rain but not necessarily from lightning.
Per the National Lightning Safety Council, when lightning strikes a home or building, it often follows the structure’s wiring or plumbing to ground itself. So even when you’re indoors, you should avoid using anything plugged into an electrical outlet or a corded phone; avoid activities like showering, bathing or doing the dishes; and keep away from exterior doors and windows.
“The electrical energy in lightning strikes have temperatures of up to 50,000 degrees F, which is five times hotter than the surface of the sun,” Hubbard said. “Lightning can actually strike 10 to 15 miles away from where it’s raining.”
Florida is the lightning capital of the United States. Surrounded by water, it’s a favorable environment for the thunderstorm development, especially during the summer. The state averages more than 100 days of thunderstorms annually.
According to the National Weather Service, there have already been six lightning-related fatalities reported through July 2 this year. Two were in Florida. The first occurred in March and involved a 73-year-old man walking through a field in a park in Tallahassee; the other occurred in Davie in June and involved a 19-year-old man running under a tree in a park.
Nationally, lightning strikes more than 250 people each year, and less than 10% of them die. Back in 2001, when a national lightning safety campaign began, the U.S. averaged 55 lightning deaths a year; however, rising awareness of the dangers of lightning and increasing numbers of people seeking immediate hard shelter have caused that number to drop over the years. Between 2014 and halfway through 2024, the average has dropped to 21.
While that’s encouraging, deaths don’t paint the entire picture. Many of those who are struck by lightning are injured, and some suffer lifelong pain and permanent neurological disability.
According to NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), most lightning starts inside a thunderstorm and travels through the cloud. It can then stay within the cloud or continue to travel through the open air and eventually to ground.
It can even strike where it’s not raining (i.e., out of the blue) or before any rain has time to reach the ground. That’s why it’s so important to quickly find sturdy cover when you hear thunder and stay inside for at least 30 minutes after the last rumble.
CHRISTIANNE PEARCE, NOAA PHOTO
How people are injured by lightning:
• through a direct strike, usually when a person is outdoors in an open area, and he or she becomes a part of a lightning bolt’s main discharge channel.
• by a side flash, where lightning strikes a tall object and part of its current jumps from the object it hits to the victim. For example, this happens when a person is struck while standing under a tree.
• via ground current, when lightning strikes nearby and travels to a person through the ground. This is a major cause of injuries.
• through conduction (when lightning travels through wires and metal surfaces like plumbing), the cause of most indoor lightning deaths and injuries.
For more information, visit www.lightningsafetycouncil.org/.