Snap, Crackle, Pop Recent Storms Demonstrate Dangers Of Lightning

The chances of getting hit by lightning in the United States are better than winning the lottery. Nationally, an average of 85 people are killed every year.

Only flash floods claim more lives.

But residents of the Inland Northwest sometimes forget just how dangerous lightning can be, weather service officials said last week.

“Each year in the Inland Northwest, five to 10 people are struck by lighting, with one or two being fatal,” according to a recent bulletin from the National Weather Service.

The odds of being hit by a bolt of lightning are one in 600,000.

The odds of a single set of numbers matching the Lotto jackpot in Washington state are one in 7 million.

Most vulnerable to lightning are people enjoying outdoor activities such as boating, hiking, fishing, camping, softball and golf.

Already this year, the Inland Northwest has had two major thunderstorms, plus several smaller ones. Those are calling attention to the dangers.

Mark Strobin, a forecaster for the weather service in Spokane, said he saw people taking unnecessary risks during last Monday’s storm.

He said he saw children playing organized softball in an open field on the South Hill during the brunt of it. They were swinging aluminum bats in front of a metal backstop.

Not only are the odds greater of lightning striking someone in the open, he said, but metal objects add to the danger.

“We don’t want any kids getting zapped,” Strobin said.

Public swimming pools are usually closed when thunderstorms hit, but other activities don’t always stop.

“If you have a choice, you want to be inside a house,” said John Livingston, meteorologist in charge of the weather service office in Spokane.

During a lightning storm, it is best to stay away from the telephone, plumbing and electrical appliances. Lightning charges can travel through pipes and wires.

Delicate electronic appliances should be unplugged to protect them. Lightning can hit power lines and travel into homes and other buildings and burn out circuitry.

“It gravitates to metal and travels through phone lines,” he said.

Livingston said he once had a videocassette recorder, among other appliances, ruined during a thunderstorm when he was living in Florida. The lightning hit a power line about a quarter mile away, he said.

If a building is not nearby, a vehicle can provide shelter. The outer surfaces give protection against the heat and electricity if lightning strikes.

Lightning generates intense heat. The air around a bolt of lightning can be 50,000 degrees hotter than the surface of the sun.

Out in the open, people should stay low to the ground. If they are in trees, get away from the tallest ones, but it’s a good idea to remain under the forest canopy.

“Lightning does funny things,” Livingston said.

It can strike a tree, travel through the trunk and spread along the ground.

Experts said caution should be taken when the delay between a flash of lightning and a thunder clap falls below 10 seconds. That means the storm is getting close.

Livingston said thunderstorms can be more frequent and more intense in the mountains of the Inland Northwest.

That’s why campers, hikers and other outdoors enthusiasts should be careful when a thunderstorm approaches.

Lightning tends to strike the highest point in the vicinity. Hikers climbing along ridges might be smart to switch directions.

“I’d turn around and start going down,” Livingston said.

Here are some other tips:

Avoid an isolated tree. Stay in a group of trees, but not near the tallest one.

In open areas, seek a ravine or valley.

Get off open water.

Put down the golf clubs.

If you are in a group, spread out.

If your hair stands on end, or you taste a sensation like having a copper penny in your mouth, lightning may be about to strike. Lie down on the ground immediately.

While other regions of the country have more frequent lightning storms, the Inland Northwest is not immune.

The storms on May 31 and again last Monday produced violent conditions similar to Midwest storms.

In fact, three tornadoes were sighted in Eastern Washington on May 31. One woman’s home in north Spokane County was damaged from hail up to 2 inches in diameter the same afternoon.

Last Monday, two tornadoes each were reported in Kettle Falls and in Nespelem.

Weather service officials said they want the public to notify them if they experience severe weather such as high winds, large hail or tornadoes.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Lightning and its hazards