Lightning! The Not-so-silent Killer!

Lightning! The Not-so-silent Killer!

We've all been there... you're settling in to watch a movie with the family, or snuggling in to a warm bed and just shutting your eyes, when you hear it... That low throaty rumble in the distance. You sometimes think, "Nah, it's just a passing truck or something." But then a few seconds later, you see a flash of light and then another small boom in the distance... 

Rats! it's about to storm. Now most people in Texas, particularly along a corridor stretching from the pan-handle and following along the Red River into Northeast and east Texas, fear the dreaded severe weather because of the other things that these storm bring with them, hail, high winds, torrential rains, and Tornadoes. We normally think that lightning is just a beautiful light show and a bit of diversion from the real dangerous parts of the weather. oh, how wrong we are...

Sometimes we take the dangers of lightning for granted. We sprint across our yards to get into the car "real quick" to avoid being struck by lightning, but if you're not the Flash, you're moving to slow. We also trivialize lightning by having pages like "Fun lightning facts for Kids" or "God's little light show". What we really need to be teaching our kids is that lightning is dangerous and should be treated with respect. As a matter of fact, lightning could have robbed us of one of the wisest men that ever lived, Benjamin Franklin. Now Franklin did indeed stand out in a thunderstorm and fly a kite to study lightning. He hung a small brass key close to the end of the kite string, and when he placed his hand close to the key, a spark zapped his finger, thereby discovering electricity. I don't think he really thought about the fact that a real lightning bolt, had it struck him, would have killed him. 

Here's some facts about lightning from the web page www.metoffice.gov.uk that should bring a bit of perspective about lightning into focus, for those of us that live in a lightning prone area:

1. The speed of lightning

While the flashes we see as a result of a lightning strike travel at the speed of light (670,000,000 mph or 186,000,000 mps) an actual lightning strike travels at a comparatively gentile 270,000 mph.

This means it would take about 55 minutes to travel to the moon, or around 1.5 seconds to get from London to Bristol.

2. When lightning strikes a beach

When lightning strikes sand or sandy soil, it fuses together the grains to create a small glass-like tube known as a fulgurite.

They are not only prized by collectors, they are also of great scientific value in demonstrating past occurrence of lightning storms.

3. The most lightning-struck location in the world

Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is the place on Earth that receives the most lightning strikes. Massive thunderstorms occur on 140-160 nights per year with an average of 28 lightning strikes per minute lasting up to 10 hours at a time.

That's as many as 40,000 lightning strikes in one night!

4. Helicopters cause lightning

Recent research from the Met Office revealed that helicopters can cause an isolated lightning strike. While flying, the helicopter acquires a negative charge, so if it flies close to an area that is positively charged (e.g. hail or the base of a cumulonimbus cloud) it can trigger a lightning strike.

5. 1,400,000,000 strikes every year 

Lightning is one of nature's most recurrent and common spectacles. Around the world, there are over 3,000,000 flashes every day.

That's around 44 strikes every second.

6. Lightning destroys trees

Trees can often be destroyed by lightning strikes. When lightning hits a tree, it usually travels just below the tree's bark where there is a layer of sap and water.

This layer becomes instantly heated and expands causing the bark to be blasted off the tree and sometimes splitting the wood.

7. But it can help plants grow

While nitrogen is in the air all around us, for plants to be able to absorb it (a process vital for their growth) they rely on a process called Nitrogen fixation.

Although much of this process is done by bacteria and algae, the extreme heat of a lightning strike causes nitrogen to bond with oxygen to create nitrogen oxides which combine with moisture in the air to fall as rain and water plants with nitrate-rich water.

8. The width of a thumb and hotter than the sun

While the intensity of a lightning strike can make them appear as thick bolts across the sky, the actual width of a lightning bolt is only about 2-3 cm. The average length of a lightning bolt is about 2-3 miles.

The charge carried down this small channel is so intense that the temperature of the lightning reaches 30,000 °C - that's five times hotter than the surface of the Sun.

9. Volcanic lightning

While lightning storms are impressive in their own right, they don't quite compare to the spectacle when volcanic eruptions trigger lightning strikes.

When an eruption occurs, earth and ash are thrown into the air in a giant plume, colliding to create an electrical charge. In the same way as normal lightning, the imbalance between the plume's electrical charge and the charge in the atmosphere leads to lightning strikes.

10. Counting lightning

To tell how far away a thunderstorm is, simply count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the boom of thunder that follows. Divide this number by five and this tells you how many miles away you are from the storm (or divide by three for the distance in kilometres).

And finally...

Did you know, until the late 18th century it was believed that ringing church bells repelled lightning so many church bells bore the inscription fulgura frango, meaning 'I chase lightning'.

During a thunderstorm, bell ringers would run to the bell tower to ring the bells. However, a high tower with a metal bell was in fact about the worst place to be.

Between 1753 and 1786 in France, 103 bell-ringers were struck by lightning and killed, resulting in the custom being banned.

 Fascinating fact! With Spring being sprung, we Texans are coming out of hibernation and are keen to hit the great outdoors with picnics, barbecuing, hiking, Golfing, and of course swimming as some of our favorite post winter activities. With these many adventures, going on across the state, we know that our weather (especially in Spring) is a tad bit unpredictable so we need to be aware of changing weather and be prepared for the eventual lightning storm. But, before we get to that, please be aware of what lightning can do and what are the signs that lightning is about to strike close to you.

Lightning can, and does, kill! on average about 30 people are killed by lightning strikes each year, and I know you're thinking "that's not that much!", but you have to ask yourself if you want to be one of those struck? Most of the people struck by lightning survive, about 90%, but they usually have severe physical and sometimes mental health issues because of the damage caused by the lightning traveling along our neuron paths. So, to avoid being a statistic, let's finally look at a few tips on avoiding lightning if you are caught outside without shelter:

• Find indoor shelter. Get inside the nearest available hard-topped vehicle or building, keeping all windows shut, and stay there for at least 30 minutes after the storm passes before returning outside. Avoid picnic tents, pavilions or other open, outdoor structures.
• Get to low ground. Avoid hilltops and open areas. Lightning seeks the highest ground, so if indoor shelter is not available, crouching down in the nearest, lowest, unexposed point is a better bet.
• Distance yourself from tall objects. Never stand near tall structures — particularly metal ones — which can act as lightning rods. Avoid lone trees, flagpoles, telephone poles, fences and antennas.
• Feel the Static. Most of the time, if you are close to a place that is about to be struck by lightning, you can feel the static in the air. If you feel this, get as close to the ground as you can and run away from the spot as fast as you can. Remember lightning can strike up to 16 miles away from a storm, so you may not think the clouds in the distance can hurt you but don't be fooled.

Enjoy your cookouts, sunbathing, swimming and Golf outing, knowing you have a bit more information about what to do in the event of a sudden lightning storm... And stay safe!