D. Lightning Victim Locations

Holle et al. (1992) determined that proximity to trees, water and transport vehicles were the most dangerous places to be. During 1997 most people were outside when struck, but several flashes hit people who were indoors. One man was struck as he was leaning against a sink when an outside flash traveled through the water pipes. Most people were engaged in leisure activities, but working outside can also be hazardous. In 1997, most people were under or near trees when struck. Being in a parked automobile is relatively safe when lightning flashes, but standing next to an automobile is not safe. Open areas of airports and parking lots are not safe as the metal aircraft and the tall light poles attract lightning. Large open areas such as athletic fields and golf courses are also dangerous because people are often the highest objects when so exposed. Just being outside when lightning is occurring is dangerous, as 71% of injuries and at least 88% of fatalities during 1977 occurred outside. Those in particularly vulnerable occupations were roofers, farm workers, and home and lawn maintenance people, of whom 11 suffered injuries and two were killed in 1997.

Table 2. Number of people injured or killed in various locations.

E. Counties with the Most Victims

Climatologically, the lightning maximum is over west-central Florida (Hodanish 1997), where populations are highest. During 1997, most people were struck in the highly populated coastal counties of central and south Florida; more people were struck in Hillsborough County than any other single county. The exceptions were seven interior counties in west-central Florida and one interior county in the Panhandle. These eight counties had 22% of the total injuries and deaths.

Table 3. Geographical regions and counties where lightning injuries and fatalities occurred.

3. SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS

During 1997 lightning injuries and deaths decreased from the previous year, but remained higher than the long-term average. Injuries were lowered by about half and deaths were one less. While this trend is heartening, lightning vigilance must continue. NWS meteorologists can keep lightning awareness high by providing as much detail as possible in Local Storm Reports. Information regarding what people were doing when struck and whether injuries occurred during the beginning, middle, or end of the thunderstorm activity is very helpful in studies such as this. Forecasters can also keep lightning awareness in the public's mind by including specific call-to-action statements concerning the dangers of lightning in Hazardous Weather Outlooks, warnings, statements and Short-Trm Forecasts. The terms "lightning storms" and "thunderstorms" may be interchangeably used in public products. The following NWS products should be used to inform the public of lightning threats.

A. Public Information Statements - should be issued prior to major holidays such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, when larger numbers of people may tend to be outside and vulnerable to lightning.

B. Hazardous Weather Outlooks - should contain lightning-specific awareness statements to inform the public of lightning dangers.

C. Warnings and Statements - call to action statements specifically relating to lightning should be used in warnings and statements. When time permits, descriptive lightning frequency terms "occasional," "frequent," and "excessive" may be used in warnings and statements (see Tables 4, 5).

D. Short-Term Forecasts - when possible, NOWs should be used to alert county size areas of initial lightning threat. Descriptive lightning frequency terms "occasional," "frequent," and "excessive" should be used. Five or 15-min lightning displays from AWIPS and experience gained at NWSO Tampa Bay Area suggest the categories shown in Tables 4 and 5.

Table 4. Flash frequency categories for 15 minute periods.

Table 5. Flash frequency categories for 5 minute periods.

4. REFERENCES

Hodanish, S., D. Sharp, W. Collins, and C. Paxton, 1997: A 10-yr Monthly Lightning Climatology of Florida: 1986-95. WAF, 12, 439-448.

Holle, R. L., R. E Lopez, R. Ortiz, C.H. Paxton, D. M. Decker, and D. S. Smith: 1993, The local Meteorological Environment of Lightning Casualties in Central Florida. Preprints, Conference on Atmospheric Electricity, St. Louis, Amer. Meteor. Soc., Boston.

--, R. E Lopez, R. Ortiz, A. I. Watson, D. S. Smith, D. M. Decker, and C.H. Paxton: 1992, Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Related to Deaths, Injuries, and Property Damage in Central Florida. Proceedings, 1992 International Aerospace and Ground Conference on Lightning and Static Electricity. Atlantic City, N.J.

Paxton, C. H., and R. F. Morales, 1997: Florida Lightning Victims During 1996, Tech. Attach. SR/SSD 97-44.

5. APPENDIX