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What is Lightning?
- The action of rising and descending air within a thunderstorm separates positive and negative charges. Water and ice particles
also affect the distribution of electrical charge.
- Lightning results from the buildup and discharge of electrical energy between positively and negatively charged areas.
- The average flash could light a 100-watt light bulb for more than 3 months.
- Most lightning occurs within the cloud or between the cloud and ground.
- Your chances of being struck by lightning are estimated to be 1 in 600,000 but could be reduced by following safety rules.
- Most lightning deaths and injuries occur when people are caught outdoors.
- Most lightning casualties occur in the summer months and during the afternoon and early evening.
- The air near a lightning strike is heated to 50,000F - hotter than the surface of the sun! The rapid heating and cooling of
air near the lightning channel causes a shock wave that results in thunder.
- Many fires in the Western United States and Alaska are started by lightning. In the past decade, over 15,000
lightning-induced fires nationwide have resulted in several hundred million dollars a year in damage and the loss of
2 million acres of forest.
In recent years, people have been killed by lightning while:
- Boating
- Swimming
- Golfing
- Bike Riding
- Standing Under a Tree
- Riding a Lawnmower
- Talking on the Telephone
- Loading a Truck
- Playing Soccer
- Fishing in a Boat
- Mountain Climbing
Return to Thunderstorm Index Page
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