When lightning strikes
Fourteen-year-old Taylor Zimmerman was under a tree in the front yard of her Stillwater home Tuesday when a lightning bolt struck. That tragic story is all too common in lightning fatalities. Trees are often the highest object in the landscape, and their roots conduct lightning currents into the ground.
Numbers tell the lightning story best:
24 people have died in the U.S. so far this year from lightning strikes.
7 of those fatalities have occurred near or under trees.
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2 deaths have occurred in Minnesota this year. (A 42 year old man was killed in St. Cloud on May 6th while doing yard work.)
100% of all lightning deaths since 2007 have occurred outside.
Lightning strikes U.S. soil about 23 million times a year on average.
About 1 million of those strikes occur in the Upper Midwest.
Minnesota averages 386,131 cloud to ground lightning strikes per year.
About 400 people are struck by lightning in the U.S. each year.
55 to 60 of those are killed.
Cloud to ground lightning is most frequent in Florida and along the Gulf Coast states. Other high frequency areas include tornado alley and desert southwest. I have talked with Ron Holle many times who is a lightning expert with Vaisala Inc. in Tucson, Arizona. Vaisala runs the National Lightning Detection Network. The network uses an array of sensors to detect and pinpoint cloud to ground lightning. Ron has studied lighting for decades. He has seen documented images of lighting bolts travelling sideways for over 30 miles and striking ground far away from thunderstorms.
Ron and others helped develop the 30-30 rule for lightning safety. You should seek shelter indoors if there are under 30 seconds between a lightning flash and when you hear thunder. You should stay indoors for 30 minutes after the storm has passed to be safe. Most people are struck by lighting before storms arrive and after thunderstorms have passed. Use the 30-30 rule to be safe.
I remember working the day 5 people were struck by lightning during the U.S.Open in 1991 at Hazeltine. I was on the air broadcasting severe thunderstorm warnings about 30 minutes before the strike as storms moved up the Minnesota River Valley toward Chaska. All 5 were seeking shelter under a tree when the bolt hit.
Stay inside your home or car when lightning is near. It's the best way to stay safe.
PH