AccuWeather.com reports a dozen people were struck and injured by lightning over the Memorial Day holiday weekend but with lightning forecast over a large part of the nation into Wednesday, more people could suffer the same fate or worse.
In the Northeast Sunday, storms that pummeled areas from Connecticut to Massachusetts with damaging winds and large hail also produced dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning that struck one person in Quincy, Mass.
Lightning also injured four hikers along the Appalachian Trail in northwestern New Jersey Sunday afternoon. Lightning had struck the ground near the hikers. All four of them were taken to an area hospital. Other lightning-related injuries were reported in Florida and Colorado over the past few days.
There are an estimated 25 million flashes of lightning every year across the United States. The current of a lightning bolt averages 10,000 to 200,000 amps. That is compared to the 120 amps of wiring in a home.
This intense charge of electricity is why lightning poses an extreme danger to people and animals. Structural fires can also start from a lightning strike. Do not undermine the power of a thunderstorm if a warning is not issued. The criteria for a severe thunderstorm involves damaging winds and hail, not lightning.
There were 28 deaths reported from lightning strikes in the United States in 2008. The 30-year average is 62 deaths each year. That is the same as the number of deaths tornadoes average yearly.
The 2008 data is still being compiled, but extensive research has already been done on the lightning deaths from 2007. A total of 45 people were killed across the nation that year. The deaths were reported in 24 states. Florida had the most deaths, the ninth consecutive year Florida had that unfortunate claim.
State Deaths
Florida 70
Wyoming 28
Texas 27
Georgia 22
North Carolina 18
Alabama 15
Ohio 15
South Carolina 14
Louisiana 13
Pennsylvania 12
The table to the right displays the top ten states with the most deaths from 1999 to 2008. This information is from the National Weather Services' Storm Data.
Of the 45 people killed by lightning in 2007, 24 died outside and in open areas. Eight people were killed underneath a tree. Forty of the lightning deaths were male; the other five were female. Be advised, lightning does not discriminate based on sex or other category.
If you are caught outdoors during a thunderstorm, make yourself the smallest target possible. Crouch down with your knees together and your weight on the balls of your feet. Put your head down and cover your ears. Do not lie flat. The goal is to minimize your height and your body's contact with the ground.
Never seek shelter underneath a tree. The lightning charge can strike the tree, then cause fatalities up to 100 feet away. Avoid lakes, streams and swimming pools since water conducts electricity.
A thunderstorm may not be directly overhead, but you could still get hit by lightning. A bolt of lightning can strike people and buildings 10 miles away from where it is raining. In extremely rare cases, lightning has been detected almost 50 miles from the parent thunderstorm.
A sturdy and enclosed building or a car is the safest place to be during a thunderstorm. Water, windows, plumbing and electrical appliances should be avoided. Roughly 4 to 5 percent of people that have been struck by lightning were talking on a corded telephone.
Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski
Justin Roberti
Roberti@AccuWeather.com
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