by Ron Holle, Raul Lopez, and Susan Cobb

Lightning is the most dangerous and frequently encountered weather hazard that most people experience each year. Summaries of weather-related fatalities continue to show lightning as the second most-frequent killer in the United States (flooding and flash flooding are number one). The National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) shows that lightning strikes the ground in most locations of the country each year. It also occurs every day in the summer and on all but a few days during the rest of the year. The NLDN locates an average of over 20 million cloud-to-ground flashes a year in the U.S.! About 100 people are killed and more than 500 are injured by lightning every year-- and, in the U.S. since 1959, 91% of lightning incidents involving deaths had only one fatality. Lightning is a single-victim event.

Watches, warnings, statements, and advisories for weather hazards ranging from thunderstorms to blizzards are issued to the public by the NWS through the media. Since lightning is so widespread and so frequent, it would not be possible to issue lightning warnings for every flash for each person. The responsibility of lightning safety must be shouldered by each individual.

Stories of surviving close lightning strikes, which are well publicized in the media, have lead to a wide public misperception of the risk of death from lightning exposure. These misperceptions lead one to take risks based on casual attitudes towards lightning. There is a need for the public to understand basic characteristics of lightning e.g. how to identify safe shelter from lightning, and how lightning travels along the ground and through water.

Using new knowledge about lightning, NSSL is leading an effort to collaborate with other groups to develop educational resources aimed towards informing the public of lightning hazards and improving planning for lightning avoidance. Flashes detected by the NLDN have been used to develop climatologies that better define the lightning risk for several states including: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Georgia and South Carolina. This information was even used, more specifically, to identify the lightning risk at various venues during the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Climatologies for other states are planned. Another study is using NLDN data to find the distances between successive flashes; this knowledge will improve planning for lightning avoidance.

Recent studies of lightning victims revealed commonly-occurring highly-vulnerable situations and activities. For example, taking shelter under trees has been found to be a widespread problem. A poster on this threat was developed in English and Spanish with Ken Howard of NSSL. Over 12,000 copies have been distributed to teachers, NWS staff, and others. A large and growing portion of lightning casualties in the last few decades has occurred during recreation and sports situations. We work with sports medicine staff at William and Mary College and at East Carolina University to spread information about lightning, and we assisted in the development of a lightning policy for sports that was recently published by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. A broader audience for soccer, baseball, and other leagues for school children and adults also exists.

In addition, we are collaborating on guides and studies with medically-oriented people and others at the Lightning Data Center in Denver, its outgrowth at the National Lightning Safety Institute, with medical staff at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Queensland in Australia, and with staff members of the NWS at Chicago IL, Denver CO, Fort Worth TX, Medford OR, Melbourne FL, Sioux Falls SD, and Tampa FL.

We have also written papers with a science teacher for education publications to bridge the gap between textbooks that often do not treat new topics in weather, and the meteorological literature that tends to be too complex for general science teachers. These articles describe the flash-to-bang method, lightning safety and other weather subjects, and received a wide positive response. They have been published in The Earth Scientist of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, and in state teachers magazines for Illinois and Indiana.

It is important that research results are synthesized into concepts that are understood by the public. Presenting this information in various forms such as posters, policy statements, and educational materials seems to be effective. We also present talks to groups, with an emphasis on speaking to educators in order to reach as many people as possible. As expected, interviews with the media have become frequent during the spring and summer, and the effects of lightning are receiving more visibility: Lightning is highlighted at the "Powers of Nature" exhibit that recently opened at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute. We hope that our efforts with collaborators will reduce the number of lightning victims.

For more information contact: Ron Holle at holle@nssl.noaa.gov or Raul Lopez at lopez@nssl.noaa.gov