If there is one thing I am more passionate about than an amazing cup of coffee, that would be Thunderstorm awareness.
In just 2010 alone, 28 lives were taken and 238 people were injured by lightning strikes in the United States. This is too many people. With proper awareness and education, these numbers can go down.
Now to the basics…
Thunder will not hurt you. It is the lightning that will do the damage. Within every thunderstorm, there will be lightning.
This lightning occurs when the air within the storm is rising and descending separating positive and negative charges. Water and ice particles (which is what makes up clouds along with other particulates), affect the electrical charge distribution. The strongest of these negative charges are concentrated near the base of the clouds and the strongest of the positive changes are concentrated down near the Earth’s surface. While this is occurring, a positive net charge is formed on the surface. Physics tells us that ‘like’ charges repel each other and opposite charges will attract. The separation between the surface and the clouds sets the stage for an electrical charge to occur between the two. The air starts to break into a pathway that the electrical charges can travel through. This pathway is formed when the air becomes ionized between the cloud and Earth (positive ions will want to travel up to towards the cloud to become neutralized). This pathway is lightning! You would think that this ‘pathway’ would be a straight line in nature, fact is that ‘air’ is made up of other particles, dust, and such that will interfere and will break down quickly creating the usual jagged lines of the lightning.
Fun Fact: The average lightning strike is hundreds to thousands of degrees, even hotter than the surface of the sun!
The resulting thunder that you hear is essentially a shock wave that is a result of the very rapid heating and cooling of air near that lightning pathway.
Lightning is indeed very neat, and there is SO much more to discuss but let’s not let our excitement get us off topic! I will cover lightning in another posting at a later time.
Imagine getting zapped and fried by hundreds of watts of energy and having your heart stop. In a split second your heart goes in to cardiac arrest and you’re dead. I was blessed to have met and done some work with a lightning strike survivor. His story is something amazing….you can check it out on: (insert link). In fact, I highly suggest you check this out. Ever since I met him, I have also been on a mission to spread the word on thunderstorm/lightning safety awareness. Long story short, two things helped save his life: 1.) The sweat and moisture on his body, and 2.) A fellow golfer who knew CPR.
Learn how to safe a life: Learn More About CPR
Speaking of Physics, this video clip from struckbylightning.org is fascinating!
How are thunderstorms formed?
A few key ingredients are a necessary:
1.) Unstable air; convection, warm air rising rapidly and cold air sinking
2.) Moisture to form clouds and precipitation
3.) Lift: air in fronts(frontal storms), sea breezes (airmass storms), mountain ranges (orographic storms). Any kind of lifting mechanism.
If the warmer surface air continues to be forced to rise and colder air sinks, convection will occur. This is such a key element when Meteorologists look for thunderstorm formation.
Supercell thunderstorms are some of the most strongest microscale storms (as well as some of my favorite weather). This occurs when there is a super strong updrafts and downdrafts. The updrafts allow for rapid intensification of the storm. The downdrafts can typically allow for the intense momentum of the storm. As the updrafted air, sometimes traveling at upwards of 90 mph plus, cools, water vapor condenses and forms cumulus clouds, cumulonimbus clouds in this case. When this condensation occurs, heat (latent heat energy) is released and adds to further growth of the thunderstorm. The downdrafts will allow for precipitation to fall in the form of rain or ice (hail) as well as potentially very strong winds in excess of 60 mph!
How to protect yourself:
Thunderstorms can occur in any season (yes, even in the Winter). They are more prominent during the Spring and Summer months. When you see the clouds beginning to billow and dark skies are moving in, it is time to seek shelter.
Note: You can have blue sunny skies about you and you can still be struck by lightning by a storm that is 5-20 miles away!
If you hear a clap of thunder, you are already too close to be struck. Seek shelter in a building or an enclosed vehicle. Please, do not hide under a tree or small sheds! When inside, stay away from water; showers (the metal pipes are conductors of electricity, and anything that carries an electrical current (that is wired into the wall) such as a computer, telephone, video games and such. It is also a good idea to stay away from windows and doors as you can get struck by lightning there as well.
If you are caught outside, remember this rule: lightning will strike anything that is tall and isolated. That means you! Be sure to find a low spot that is away from poles, fences, and trees. **If you begin to feel your skin start to tingle (aside from nerves), squat low to the ground on the balls of your feet…you want to make yourself the smallest target as possible making yourself take up the smallest space as possible to minimize your contact with the ground.
Now you know a little more about thunder storms. It is not something to take lightly…Spread the word!
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