Lightning highly dangerous
Americans are twice as likely to die from lightning as from a hurricane, tornado or flood.
Lightning is a form of electrical discharge between clouds, or between a cloud and the ground.
It results from various charge lead separations. The first stage of a flash of lightning brings down a negative charge of electricity from the cloud base which is met near the ground by a return stroke that takes a positive charge upward along an already formed channel or pathway.
Additional leads and returns may occur, but the duration of a particular lightning flash is about one-fifth of a second. The rapid expansion of the super-heated air at more than 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit produces an explosive shock wave that we hear as thunder. The typical bolt of lightning is actually four times hotter than the surface of the sun.
Lightning is the most dangerous and frequently encountered weather hazard people experience each year. Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Colorado have the most lightning deaths and injuries. Lightning is the No. 1 cause of storm-related deaths and damage costs from lightning are estimated at $4 billion to $5 billion each year in the United States.
Around the globe, there are 100 lightning strikes per second, or 8,640,000 times a day, and there are approximately 100,000 thunderstorms in the U.S. each year.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates there are 200 deaths and 750 severe injuries from lightning each year in the U.S. Annually, there are more than 10,000 forest fires caused by lightning.
If you find yourself in a thunderstorm, stay way from large windows and metal doors. Do not use a telephone. Do not bathe or shower and unplug all TVs, VCRs and sensitive appliances.
The second half of the summer of 2008 will be warmer than the first 45 days of the season, but there is likely to be a bit more thunderstorm activity, especially across the mountains. This could mean some dangerous dry lightning locally that may lead to more wildfires, particularly if these storms are accompanied by strong winds and only spotty rains.