Lightning Safety Week 2007
June 24-30 is Lightning Safety Week. In 2006 there were 47 lightning fatalities in the United States, and 246 lightning-related injuries. Over the last 30 years, the U.S. averaged 66 lightning fatalities annually. You might be surprised to know that lightning kills more people each year than tornadoes; flash flooding is actually the number one weather-related killer.
Tennessee is no stranger to thunderstorms with vivid lightning, especially each afternoon this time of year. A bolt of lightning is only the width of a pencil, but can be four times hotter than the surface of the sun (each bolt can approach 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit). If you can hear thunder, you’re close enough to be struck by lightning…even if it’s not raining overhead. During a thunderstorm it’s best to head indoors, and stay there for 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder.
Tennessee is high on the list of lightning strikes per square mile (according to the National Lightning Detection Network, courtesy alabamawx.com):
1. Florida 26.3
2. Louisiana 21.1
3. Mississippi 18.4
4. Alabama 16.5
5. South Carolina 14.8
6. Tennessee 14.4
7. Indiana 14.3
8. Georgia 14.2
9. Oklahoma 13.8
10. Missouri 13.7
Click here to view national lightning strikes over the last two hours.
3 Responses to ' Lightning Safety Week 2007 '
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on June 25th, 2007 at 10:10 am
What a great picture!! Be Safe everyone!! Hope we luck out with some rain today, I think Rutherford County COMPLETELY missed out yesterday.
on June 25th, 2007 at 10:26 am
awesome pic!
yeah, we enjoyed the temp drop, but waited and waited…rain never came. maybe the boro will get lucky soon.
so is it true if your car is hit by lightning you’ll be safe cuz of the rubber inthe tires?
isn’t that the tale?
on June 25th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Au contraire!
If you’re in a car that’s hit by lightning, you should be safe, but not because of the rubber tires. The metal body of the car will shield you from the electricity. The lightning is conducted along the car’s exterior and often jumps to the surrounding ground.