Lightning Safety Awareness Highlighted this Week

Would you know what to do if someone near you was struck by lightning? According to the National Weather Service, lightning kills an average of 49 people in the United States each year, with hundreds more severely injured. This week is Lightning Safety Awareness Week, and the following are tips on being safe during lightning (other than not lying).

• NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!!
• If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you.
• When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.
• Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.

When it comes to indoor safety, the rules are pretty easy to follow as well. We all know some of these, but some may be foreign.

• Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.
• Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.
• Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
• Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.

When caught outside with no shelter, follow these guidelines:

• Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks
• Never lie flat on the ground
• Never shelter under an isolated tree
• Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter
• Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water
• Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.)

Though direct strikes are what come to mind when thinking of being struck by lightning, there are other ways to be struck including side flashes, ground currents, conduction, and streamers.  It is highly unlikely that any of these have anything to do with lying, but there's always a possibility that the perfect atmospheric conditions have surrounded a liar at some point and led to that person being struck, lending to the belief that "God will strike down" a person for lying. Be sure to go over these tips with loved ones to develop a concise plan in case of inclement weather.