Severe Weather Awareness Week - Lightning Kills

                      ...LIGHTNING KILLS AND STARTS MANY WILDFIRES IN COLORADO...
 
THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL WEATHER ON EARTH...INCLUDING TORNADOES...FLASH FLOODS...LARGE HAIL...AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS. HOWEVER...THE MOST DANGEROUS ASPECT OF THUNDERSTORMS IS USUALLY LIGHTNING.
 
FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS...LIGHTNING HAS KILLED AND INJURED MORE PEOPLE IN COLORADO THAN ANY OTHER THUNDERSTORM HAZARD...WITH AN AVERAGE OF 3 FATALITIES AND 15 INJURIES EACH YEAR. THE TOLL COULD BE EVEN WORSE SINCE STUDIES INDICATE THAT MANY LIGHTNING ACCIDENTS ARE NOT REPORTED. DURING 2006 IN COLORADO...THERE WERE 5 DOCUMENTED FATALITIES AND 15 INJURIES FROM LIGHTNING.
 
LIGHTNING ALSO CAUSES MANY FOREST AND RANGELAND FIRES IN COLORADO...WITH AN  AVERAGE OF ABOUT 2500 WILDFIRES EACH YEAR. MANY OF THESE WILDFIRES OCCUR WHEN LIGHTNING IS GENERATED FROM THUNDERSTORMS WHICH PRODUCE LITTLE OR NO RAINFALL. THIS TYPE OF LIGHTNING IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS DRY LIGHTNING.
 
GUSTY WINDS OFTEN ACCOMPANY THUNDERSTORMS WHICH PRODUCE DRY LIGHTNING. THESE GUSTY WINDS ACCELERATE THE SPREAD OF FIRES...AND CAN QUICKLY TURN SMOLDERING ORGANIC MATERIAL INTO A RAGING FIRE.  THUNDERSTORM WINDS TEND TO BE ERRATIC IN DIRECTION AND SPEED...POSING ONE OF THE GREATEST DANGERS FOR FIREFIGHTERS.
 
THE WILDFIRE THREAT IN COLORADO NORMALLY INCREASES SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER THE MIDDLE OF JUNE. THIS THREAT USUALLY PEAKS IN EARLY JULY...AND REMAINS HIGH THROUGH AUGUST AND EARLY SEPTEMBER. DEPENDING ON CLIMATIC CONDITIONS...THE TIME OF YEAR FOR THE PEAK WILDFIRE THREAT CAN BE ABOUT A MONTH EARLIER OR LATER THAN NORMAL.
 
NEARLY HALF A MILLION LIGHTNING BOLTS STRIKE THE GROUND IN COLORADO EVERY YEAR. EACH STROKE CONTAINS MILLIONS OF VOLTS OF ELECTRICITY...ENOUGH TO SUPPLY POWER TO SEVERAL HOMES FOR A MONTH. LIGHTNING ALSO HEATS THE SURROUNDING AIR UP TO 50 THOUSAND DEGREES FAHRENHEIT...CREATING A SHOCK WAVE THAT RESULTS IN THUNDER.
 
LIGHTNING IS UNPREDICTABLE AND OCCASIONALLY BEHAVES IN A STRANGE MANNER. IT CAN DESTROY ONE OBJECT WITHOUT TOUCHING ANOTHER ONE NEARBY. LIGHTNING CAN ALSO HIT A TREE AND THEN TRAVEL ACROSS THE GROUND SHOCKING ANYTHING IN ITS PATH.  LIGHTNING NORMALLY STRIKES THE TALLEST OBJECT IN AN AREA. STAY AWAY FROM WATER AND METAL ITEMS...AS THEY ARE GOOD CONDUCTORS OF ELECTRICITY FROM LIGHTNING.
 
MOST LIGHTNING FATALITIES OCCUR OUTDOORS...MOST NOTABLY UNDER OR NEAR TALL TREES ...IN OR ON WATER...OR ON HILLTOPS. LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE THE GROUND UP TO 20 MILES AWAY FROM THE THUNDERSTORM. BASED ON THIS INFORMATION...IT BECOMES OBVIOUS WHY YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM THUNDERSTORMS WHEN YOU ARE OUTSIDE.
 
ONE WAY TO ESTIMATE YOUR DISTANCE FROM LIGHTNING IS TO EMPLOY THE FLASH-TO-BANG TECHNIQUE...WHEREBY YOU COUNT THE NUMBER OF SECONDS BETWEEN THE TIME YOU SEE LIGHTNING AND THE TIME YOU HEAR THE THUNDER. EVERY FIVE SECONDS EQUATES TO ABOUT ONE MILE. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY SEEK SHELTER IF THE TIME BETWEEN THE LIGHTNING FLASH AND THE RUMBLE OF THUNDER IS 30 SECONDS OR LESS. YOU SHOULD NOT RESUME ACTIVITIES UNTIL 30 MINUTES AFTER THE LAST THUNDER.
  
STAY OFF CORDED TELEPHONES WHEN LIGHTNING IS IN YOUR AREA...SINCE THE ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE CAN TRAVEL ALONG THE TELEPHONE LINES AND PRODUCE FATAL RESULTS. IT IS ALSO RECOMMENDED THAT YOU UNPLUG SENSITIVE ELECTRONICS SUCH AS COMPUTERS WHEN LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR NEARBY. STAY AWAY FROM ELECTRICAL DEVICES WHEN LIGHTNING IS IN YOUR AREA. GET OUT OF SHOWER STALLS...BATH TUBS...SWIMMING POOLS AND OFF OF LAKES WHEN THUNDERSTORMS THREATEN.
 
THE BEST DEFENSE TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST A LIGHTNING STRIKE IS TO PLAN AHEAD AND AVOID BEING CAUGHT WHERE YOU MIGHT BE VULNERABLE. CHECK THE WEATHER FORECASTS PRIOR TO VENTURING OUT...ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE HEADING INTO THE MOUNTAINS. PLAN YOUR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR EARLY IN THE DAY BEFORE THUNDERSTORMS TYPICALLY DEVELOP. STAY TUNED TO NOAA ALL HAZARDS WEATHER RADIO AND CHECK THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV.
 
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT ALL SPORTS LEAGUES AND OTHER OUTDOOR GROUPS HAVE A LIGHTNING RESPONSE PLAN THAT IS UNDERSTOOD AND CONSISTENTLY APPLIED FOR THE SAFETY OF THE PARTICIPANTS. PART OF THE PLAN WOULD INCLUDE A DESIGNATED WEATHER WATCHER AT EACH OUTDOOR EVENT WITH THE AUTHORITY TO POSTPONE OR CANCEL THE EVENT DUE TO THE THREAT OF LIGHTNING.
 
IF THUNDERSTORMS THREATEN...SEEK SHELTER IN A BUILDING OR IN AN ENCLOSED METAL ROOF VEHICLE...MAKING SURE THAT ALL WINDOWS ARE CLOSED. NEVER SEEK SHELTER UNDER AN ISOLATED TREE OR A SMALL GROUP OF TREES. IF IN A HEAVILY FORESTED AREA...SEEK SHELTER IN A LOW SPOT AND AWAY FROM THE TALLER TREES.  HOWEVER... AVOID SEEKING SHELTER IN AREAS WHICH COULD BE PRONE TO FLASH FLOODING.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON LIGHTNING SAFETY...PLEASE CHECK OUT THE WEB SITE
WWW.LIGHTNINGSAFETY.NOAA.GOV
 
 
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