Don’t ignore the dangers of Florida's summer lightning activity

Leon County gets plenty of lightning. The Earth Networks Lightning Detection network reported that Leon County experienced 56,597 lightning flashes during calendar year 2023 which translates to 85 flashes per square mile or 13 flashes per 100 acres.

Florida leads the nation in the amount of lightning. Although the I-4 corridor receives much more lightning than Leon County, the Democrat recently reported that a man was struck and killed this year while walking with his wife at the Alford Greenway in Tallahassee.

The National Lightning Safety Council (NLSC) reports that the odds of being struck during your lifetime are 1/20,000.  Taking a broader view, the odds that a relative or friend is struck during your lifetime are 1/2000. The NSLC puts this information into perspective:

“Your odds depend on your behavior when thunderstorms are in the area. If you take the lightning threat seriously and always get inside before lightning becomes a threat, your personal odds of being struck are near zero. However, if you ignore the lightning threat or take chances when thunderstorms are in the area, your odds of being struck are much higher.”

Nationwide it is estimated that 275 persons are struck each year.  Although only about 10% die from it, the remaining 90% have varying degrees of injuries. Many injuries are life long, with the most common being neurological deficits. If you encounter someone who was just struck, immediately call 911 for help and administer first aid. You will not get electrocuted if you touch the injured person. In many cases their heart has stopped beating and you will need to administer CPR before help arrives.

Understanding the dangers of lightning

Virtually all lightning casualties occur while outdoors. The NSLC summarizes lightning safety this way, “When thunder roars, go indoors!” Indoors is the only place where you are safe. Being inside a car with a metal roof (not a convertible) with the windows rolled up offers considerable protection, although you are not 100% safe.

If the car would be struck, the current would travel around the car’s metal frame and ultimately to ground, what is called the Farraday Cage Effect.  In a similar way it is estimated that the average commercial airliner is struck by lightning once per year, usually with very little to no damage to the aircraft.

What does “indoors” mean? A totally enclosed structure.  That means four walls—not a carport or covered picnic area.  Once inside stay away from metal objects and anything electrical.

You might think that if a thunderstorm cloud is not overhead that you are safe, but this is not true. Lightning can begin on the side of a cloud and travel through clear air as far as 25 miles before reaching the ground. You could have clear skies overhead and still get struck.  These flashes are called “bolts from the blue”.

Since we would rather not get soaking wet in a thunderstorm, you might think that you can safely stand under a tree if you don’t touch it.  However, this is probably the worst thing you can do. If there is lightning nearby and you are under a tree, your head probably won’t get struck, but the tree might.

The powerful electrical current will travel down its trunk, into the ground, and spread out.  If you are standing close by, the current can then move up your legs and cause injury or death.  This is how most people are struck if under a tree—they are struck from the ground.

You may have heard that lightning always strikes the tallest objects. So, if you are not that tallest object you are safe. However, lightning only tends to strike the tallest objects. Countless objects and people are struck even though there were taller objects nearby. Lightning follows no absolute rules; it goes where it wants to.

We used to hear that if we were caught outdoors and could not reach a building that we could achieve some degree of safety by crouching down, but not lying flat. And, that used to be the National Weather Service’s safety guidance, but not anymore. The reason is that whether you are standing or crouching if a lightning channel approaches from overhead you are likely to be struck. A better approach is avoiding being in this situation to begin with. Know whether thunderstorms are forecast and then monitor the skies for developing storms so that you have time to go indoors.

The first and last lightning flashes of a storm are known to be the most deadly.  The first flash might be unexpected, so you have not sought shelter.  With the last flash we might think “it is all over”.

Being in a boat is not at all safe. Since lightning strikes even smooth surfaces of water, and boats are taller than the water, boats are literally “sitting ducks”. If you see a developing storm, immediately head for shore.  If there is not enough time to reach the shore, stay low in the center of the cabin if there is one, don’t touch any metal or electronic objects, and keep your arms and legs in the boat. You are not safe but are doing the best you can.

I admit that I do not always follow all these safety rules. However, I am going to make a determined effort to reform and hope you will also.

Henry Fuelberg is a professor of meteorology at Florida State University. He can be reached at hfuelberg@fsu.edu .

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Don’t ignore the dangers of Florida's summer lightning activity