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With the goal of educating millions of children about lightning safety,
the National Weather Service teamed its experts with educators and the
media to build awareness of lightning’s life-threatening risks during
the 2nd Annual Lightning Safety Awareness Week (April 28 – May 4). Lightning
is the second deadliest weather-related killer in the nation, averaging
73 deaths annually and hundreds of serious injuries.
In Salt Lake City, Utah Governor Michael Leavitt (third from left)
kicked off the National Weather Service’s 2nd Annual Lightning Safety
Awareness Week (April 28- May 4) at the state capitol. He was joined
by Vickie Nadolski (second from left), National Weather Service western
region director; Dave Toronto (fourth from left), Salt Lake City warning
coordination meteorologist; and broadcast meteorologists from local
CBS, ABC and Fox affiliates.
Life-saving Tips
• Since lightning can strike more than 10 miles from a thunderstorm,
the best rule to follow is: if you hear it, clear it... if you
see it, flee it. Stay safe inside for 30 minutes after thunder
or lightning ends.
• Keep an eye on the sky. Look for darkening skies, flashes
of lightning,or increasing wind, which may be signs of an approaching
thunderstorm. Coaches and other leaders should listen to NOAA
Weather Radio for a severe weather tone-alert during practice
sessions and games.
• Don’t wait for rain to postpone outdoor activities. Many people
take shelter from the rain, but most people struck by lightning
are not in the rain. Go quickly into a completely enclosed building,
not a carport, open garage or a covered patio. If no enclosed
building is convenient, get inside a hard-topped all-metal vehicle.
• Avoid these places: under or close to trees, sheds, picnic
shelters, baseball dugouts, bleachers, open fields. If there
is no shelter, crouch in the open, keeping twice as far away
from a tree as it is tall. Also stay away from clothes lines,
fences, exposed sheds and electrically conductive elevated objects.
• Get out of the water because it’s a great conductor of electricity.
Stay off the beach and out of small boats or canoes. If caught
in a boat, crouch down in the center away from metal hardware.
Swimming, wading, snorkeling and scuba diving are NOT safe during
thunderstorms and inclement weather. Lightning can strike the
water and travel some distance beneath and away from its point
of contact. Don’t stand in puddles of water.
For more information visit: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov
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