Lightning strikes prompt cautions

July 8, 2009

By JoAn Bjarko
The Wellington

 

Wellington (Colorado) didn’t get as much rain and hail from a June 22 storm as reported elsewhere in the county, but town residents did report at least two lightning strikes — one in Centennial Park and one in the Wellington (Colorado) West subdivision.

Neither strike caused any injuries, but the strike in the park occurred about an hour after some teenagers had finished playing in the thunderstorm, according to Marleen Pipitone, who lives across the street.

Pipitone said the lightning strike, about 9 p.m., also made her realize she was being careless by talking on the phone during the storm.

According to the National Weather Service, lightning kills an average of 58 people a year.

 That compares with 57 annual deaths caused by tornadoes and 48 deaths due to hurricanes. Documented lightning injuries in the United States average about 300 a year, according to the NWS.

Cardiac arrest is the immediate cause of death for lightning victims, but some deaths can be prevented with immediate first aid and CPR.
The NWS advises people to seek safe shelter during a thunderstorm sooner than most would think. Lightning can strike as far as 10 miles from the area where it is raining, which is about the distance one can hear thunder.

“If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance,” according to the NWS. “Seek safe shelter immediately.”

The National Lightning Safety Institute based in Louisville offers these safety tips.
• If outdoors, avoid water, high ground and open spaces. Avoid all metal objects including electric wires, fences, machinery, motors and power tools.
• Unsafe places include underneath canopies, small picnic or rain shelters or near trees. Where possible, find shelter in a substantial building or in a fully enclosed metal vehicle with the windows completely shut.
• If lightning is striking nearby when you are outside, you should crouch down, put feet together and place hands over ears to minimize hearing damage from thunder. Maintain a minimum of 15 feet of distance to other people.
• If indoors, avoid water. Stay away from doors and windows. Do not use the telephone. Take off head sets. Turn off, unplug and stay away from appliances, computers, power tools and television sets. Lightning may strike exterior electric and phone lines, inducing shocks to inside equipment.
• Suspend activities for 30 minutes after the last observed lightning or thunder.