Lightning safety, tips, and common myths that come with it
Lightning all starts because of rising warm air. This rising air produces the storm clouds that are needed for lightning in the first place. As the storm clouds form, the ice particles and water droplets collide inside the cloud. As this collision occurs, it causes positive and negative charges, and after enough charges are produced, the charges organize themselves. The positive charges move to the top of the cloud, while the bottom of the cloud contains negative charges. Under the base of the storm, at the surface, positive charges are usually present, but ahead of the storm, a mix of both types of charges can be present.
The energy from the negative charges at the base of the cloud meets the leader from positive charges, and once these charges meet, a flash is generated, which we know as lightning. Ahead of the storm, where a mix of both charges is present at the surface, a positive strike from the storm anvil to the surface can occur. This is often the most deadly type of strike, as it is usually not anticipated due to the lack of precipitation in that area. These types of strikes and lightning strikes as a whole can occur miles away from the main storm, so when thunder roars, go indoors!
If you happen to be caught outside when lightning is nearby, there are a couple of safety tips to follow. First, these electrical currents can travel easily through water and metal. So, stay away from water, wet items, and metal objects, such as fences or poles. Second, lightning tends to strike the tallest object in any open space. Due to this, you should avoid open fields, the top of hills, ridges, trees, and other tall objects.
With these tips often come myths that can create a false sense of security. The first myth is that crouching down outside reduces the risk of being struck. This does not make you any safer, so instead of trying to get lower to the ground, you should run to a substantial building or any sort of hard-topped vehicle. There is no other good alternative to this option, as nowhere is safe outdoors from lightning.
Another myth is that lightning never strikes the same place twice. Lighting actually strikes the same place multiple times, especially if it is a tall, pointy, or isolated object. For example, the Empire State Building gets struck about 23 times a year on average.
One final myth is that if it's not rainy or cloudy overhead, you are safe from being struck. Lightning strikes often occur more than 3 miles from the center of the thunderstorm, which can commonly be well outside the rain or thunderstorm cloud. Another occurrence, known as "bolts from the blue," can strike 10-15 miles away from the thunderstorm.
The main message when it comes to lightning safety is that if you can hear the rumbles of thunder from those lightning strikes, you are in the danger zone for being struck yourself. Any time you hear thunder, even if it isn't actively raining or storming over you, the first course of action is to get indoors.
