If you are a native or long time resident of North Texas you may have become complacent about electrical storms due to their frequency in this area. However, did you know that lightning is the number one cause of storm related deaths? That it can reach a temperature of 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit? Or that a cloud-to-ground lightning strike can be up to 10 miles long and carry a charge of anywhere from 100 million to one billion volts of electrical energy?
In real terms, this means that 20 percent of all lightning victims die and that 70 percent of them suffer long term damage such as chronic numbness, hearing loss or muscle spasms.
Who's at risk? The majority of lightning victims are children who are playing outside and young men who are engaged in some type of outdoor activity whether work or recreation.
Especially vulnerable to lightning strikes are participants in outdoor recreational activities such as golfing, hiking, fishing, hunting and camping because they are in open terrain with no safe shelter. Many of these surviving lightning victims report a metallic taste in their mouth and the feeling that their hair was standing on end just before the strike. When you hear thunder you are already in range where the next ground flash may occur.
Because the only safe place in an electrical storm is inside an enclosed building, you should always check the weather forecast before making outdoor plans away from your home. If lightning strikes an enclosed building the charge will be carried through the pipes and wires.
Do not take shelter under small shelters, pavilions or open areas; they attract lightning.
When indoors you should follow these procedures:
- Unplug expensive electronic devices such as televisions, computers and stereos;
- Do not use land line telephones, headphones or electrical appliances during an electrical storm;
- Do not take a bath, shower or do the dishes during an electrical storm;
- Keep doors and windows closed (do not take shelter in an open building or garage);
- Stay away from windows, doors and exterior walls; and,
- Stay indoors for 30 minutes following an electrical storm (most lightning strikes occur at the beginning or ending of a storm).
When outdoors you should follow these procedures:
- Avoid bodies of water, open areas, high ground, tall objects, trees or light poles, sheds, golf clubs or bicycles.
- If lightning is in the area and you have no shelter crouch down with feet close together, elbows beside knees and head tucked to make a smaller target. DO NOT lie down.
- Stay at least 15 feet away from other individuals to prevent lightning from jumping from one victim to another.
- Cover your ears to avoid damage to your hearing.
- If you are traveling in a car pull over to avoid being blinded by lightning flashes (but not under a tree).
- You are relatively safe inside a closed car or bus, but do not touch any metal.
If someone is struck by lightning:
- You should be aware that it is not dangerous to touch them; there will be no residual electrical charge in their body. You should begin appropriate first aid treatment such as burn relief.
- Lightning may have caused their heart to stop. If so you should begin CPR immediately and continue until emergency personnel, or someone more
qualified than yourself, is available to take over. - If the patient is conscious you should transport them to the nearest emergency room for examination and treatment.
