Reassessment of U.S. Lightning Mortality

This article was posted 02/12/2010 and is most likely outdated.

Reassessment of U.S. Lightning Mortality

Subject - A Reassessment of U.S. Lightning Mortality

February 12, 2010
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A Reassessment of U.S. Lightning Mortality

The National Weather Service (NWS) issues specific watches and warnings for mitigating a variety of storm perils – except lightning. In fact, the NWS does not issue watches or warnings for lightning, no matter how intense the flash rate is within thunderstorms.

Yet, lightning kills more people than tornadoes, hurricanes, or high winds on average each year in the U.S. In comparison to all thunderstorm-related phenomena, only floods have more average annual fatalities than lightning. Unique to the lightning hazard, deadly events are caused by a single lightning stroke, which may last only a few tens of microseconds – even a thunderstorm with little lightning can produce a fatality. This is different from the other phenomena, which are considerably larger in time and space and therefore require more ingredients for their occurrence.

In the American Meteorological Society's publication, Ashley and Gilson seek to reassess and update the findings from contemporary literature on lightning mortality by first investigating the strengths and deficiencies of existing fatality data sources that were employed by these prior studies.

Read the publication (1.44MB): A Reassessment of U.S. Lightning Mortality
By Walker S. Ashley, Christopher W. Gilson
Meteorology Program, Department of Geography, Northern Illinois University

Related links:
NOAA’s National Weather Service
National Weather Service Lightning Safety

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Comments

I worked for GTE & Verizon. When we had lightning strikes on residencial equipment it would be blown 30/50 feet away from the structure with ensueing interior fire damage. Lightning has also traveled over two miles on telephone lines doing extensive damage to anyone unlucky enough to be online at the time. Don't use your cellphone or portable handset during lightning. I also service communications towers and we get down if we can see it. Reports of strikes to towers on clear days with lightning reported twenty (20) miles away. We had customers near windows thrown against walls when lightning struck outside the window. I also saw tree roots 18" deep dug up by the lightning. No one knows for sure what the stuff will do but protect yourself as best you can and use common sense. That means no standing at the tent flap relieving oneself when the lightning is around. Worked with the receipient of that one and he never has been a fast talker since.

Kim Wilde

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