Severe Weather Awareness Week: Lightning safety

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – All thunderstorms contain lightning.

It is one of the more dangerous aspects of thunderstorms but is sometimes not taken as seriously.

Lightning can strike as far as 25 miles away from a thunderstorm. If you are close enough to hear thunder, you are close enough to get struck by lightning.

And the type that will threaten your life is cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning.

“It’s not a good time to be outdoors doing activities, when there’s a lot of lightning going on with a storm,” said Brian Smith, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Valley.

Summer is the peak season for lightning.

But don’t be fooled: Strikes can happen at any time of the year.

While lightning fatalities have decreased over the past 30 years, it remains a threat that needs to be taken seriously.

Many people think that rubber shoe soles or rubber boots can be worn for protection, but that is not the case.

“You have to remember that lightning is very powerful, and it’s coming from in the cloud, miles up above you,” Smith said. “Thinking that a small part of rubber is going to protect you or insulate you is kind of silly actually.”

Places to avoid if outside include:

• “Lightning rods” like tall trees in an open area
• Flagpoles
• Open fields
• Hills
• Beaches

Instead, seek shelter in a building.

“You get these different ionized channels or powered channels of electricity that build up over certain areas,” Smith said.

And if you’re in one of those areas, that electricity can flow through you.

“You are going to feel a tingling sensation,” Smith said. “Your hair might try to tend to rise up or even stick out. That’s a danger sign.”

If lightning will strike, and you are one of those channels, you can be severely injured or even killed.

Try to get into a car; it will redirect the strike into the ground, thanks to its metal frame.

“Lightning will tend to flash around the outside of the body of the car and then go into the ground,” he said. “Sometimes, it arcs through the body and into the ground; sometimes it arcs through your tires as well.”

Even if inside, plan to avoid:

• Items that plug into electrical outlets
• Water
• Concrete floors or walls

But the best defense against a lightning strike is to plan ahead and avoid being caught where you might be vulnerable.

Ultimately, when thunder roars, it’s a good idea to head indoors.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
Twitter: JessicaBlumWx 
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