Lightning Safety Awareness Week started in 2001 in order to address that lightning is an underrated killer. Since that time, fatalities have dropped due to increased awareness. Numbers around 55 per year in 2001 are now less than 30.
Looking at statistics regarding lightning fatalities, activities like fishing, hanging out at the beach, camping, and farming claim the most lives. Around 80% of those victims are men, as they are the most common participants in these outdoor activities.
What causes thunder? Let's discuss the science behind thunderstorms! Lightning is five times hotter than the surface of the sun (50,000°F)! This causes air to rapidly expand and contract, creating the loud sound wave we hear as thunder. We see lightning before we hear thunder because light travels a million times faster than sound.
You can figure out how far the lightning is by counting the seconds between lightning and the sound of thunder and dividing by five. That wil give you the distance in miles to the lightning. You can be struck by lightning when the storm is up to 12 miles away. If you can hear thunder, you are still in danger of being struck. You obviously want to stay indoors and away from windows during a storm, but you also want to stay clear of indoor plumbing. The metal pipes can act as a conduit for an electrical current.
While lightning is frightening and dangerous, we often don't discuss how beneficial it is for our planet. As much of our atmosphere is comprised of nitrogen, the lightning has the power to break apart nitrogen molecules, turning them into nitrates. This helps fertilize the soil for grass and crops to grow.
In the same process that produces nitrogen for our soil, those nitric oxides can react with oxygen to enhance ozone in our atmosphere which helps shield our planet from harmful UV rays from the sun. Looking for a fun fact to impress your friends? There are 100 lightning bolts striking earth every second. That makes 8 million per day, and 3 billion every year!
