Lightning Safety Awareness Week

Today is the first day of Lightning Safety Awareness Week, which runs through Saturday, June 29th.

Lightning is one of the top 3 causes of weather related death in the United States each year.  From the year 1997 to 2011, Illinois saw 819,717 strikes of lightning.  In those same 14 years, Iowa saw an average of 645,685 lightning strikes per year.  Some of those years had over 1 million bolts of lightning!

The National Weather Service's hope is to help keep you safe during thunderstorms.

Here are a few tips:

• No place outside is safe during a thunderstorm
• "When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors"  A rule of thumb: when you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you or an object close to you
• Wait at least a half hour after the last rumble of thunder you hear before heading back outside to decrease the likeliness of lightning striking
• Stay away from tall objects such as a tree and do not go near power lines
• If you are inside, try to shy away from using electrical equipment during thunderstorm, as lightning can strike and carry the charge through a power cord
• People can be a lightning target on flat land such as a gulf course, where they are sometimes the tallest standing object

The National Weather Service goes much more in depth with lightning and lightning safety.  Check out their safety awareness page by clicking HERE,

And always remember: