National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Lightning Safety Awareness Week runs from June 24th through June 30th this year.  When you hear thunder, you can be struck by lightning, even if it isn't raining.  In fact, some the most powerful lightning strikes (positively charged strikes) can occur miles away from the main thunderstorm activity.  

Introduction to Lightning Safety

In the United States each year, there are about 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. While lightning can be fascinating to watch, it is extremely dangerous. According to the National Lightning Safety Institute, between the years 1990 and 2003, there were 756 lightning deaths in the United States. Bringing that down to the local level, Wisconsin had 12 reported lightning deaths during that time.

Currently, 54 people die each year due to lightning, based on a 30-year average.  While lightning fatalities across the country have come down significantly in recent years, the problem is, there are still people who wait too long to seek safe shelter.  We continue to urge people to follow the motto, "When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors . . .and stay there at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder." 

 Here are topics for each day of the business week to consider

The Wisconsin Emergency Management folks and their ReadyWisconsin initiative have a press release found here.

National severe weather statistics, including lightning fatalities, can be found here.

In Wisconsin, for the period of 1982 through 2011, 23 lightning fatalities and 208 injured people were reported.  To view lighting-related information and graphics for Wisconsin, click here.

 Costliest Lightning Events in Wisconsin ($1M)

Brooks/AFK  (some material above adopted from the NWS Brownsville office's web site)

NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan