Some Interesting Facts About Lightning.
- Lightning kills people: more than 2000 people (per year) were dead by the caused of lightning. severe burns and permanent brain damage to memory loss and personality change. About 10 percent of lightning-stroke victims are killed, and 70 percent suffer serious long-term effects.
- Ice in a cloud may be key in the development of lightning. Ice particles collide as they swirl around in a storm, causing a separation of electrical charges. Positively charged ice crystals rise to the top of the thunderstorm, and then negatively charged ice particles and hailstones are dropped to the lower parts of the storm.
- If your hair stands up in a storm, it could be a bad sign that positive charges are rising through you, reaching toward the negatively charged part of the storm. Your best bet is to get yourself immediately indoors. Because this is a bad sign!
- Not all lightning forms in the negatively charged area low in the thunderstorm cloud. Some lightning originates at the top of the thunderstorm, the area carrying a large positive charge. Lightning from this area is called positive lightning.
- Use the 30 seconds-30 minutes rule, when visibility is good and there is nothing obstructing your view of the thunderstorm. When you see lightning, count the time until you hear thunder. If that time is 30 seconds or less, the thunderstorm is within six miles (ten kilometers) of you and is dangerous. Seek shelter immediately. Wait at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder before leaving the shelter
- Most lightning deaths and injuries in the world occur during the summer months when the combination of lightning and outdoor activities reaches a peak. People involved in activities such as boating, swimming, fishing, bicycling, golfing, jogging, walking, hiking, camping, or working outdoors all need to take the appropriate actions in a timely manner when thunderstorms approach.
- Swimming is particularly dangerous: People on or in or near water are among those most at risk during thunderstorms., as not only do swimmers protrude from the water, presenting a potential channel for electrical discharge but also because water is a good conductor of electricity.
- In particular, people should stay away from windows and doors and avoid contact with anything that conducts electricity, including landline telephones. Most people hurt by lightning while inside their homes are talking on the telephone at the time.
- On the outside, lightning can travel along with the outer shell of the building or may follow metal gutters and downspouts to the ground. Inside a structure, lightning can follow conductors such as the electrical wiring, plumbing, and telephone lines to the ground.
- Do not lie on the concrete floor of a garage as it likely contains a wire mesh. In general, basements are a safe place to go during thunderstorms. However, avoid contact with concrete walls, which may contain metal reinforcing bars. They are key conductors of lightning.
- Avoid contact with electrical equipment or cords. If you plan to unplug any electronic equipment, do so well before the storm arrives.
- Rubber shoes will not give you any meaningful protection from high voltage lightning.
- Lightning can and often does strike in the same place twice. Tall buildings and mountains are frequently hit by lightning.
- A motor car with a metal top can offer you some protection But keep your hands from the metal sides.
- An umbrella can increase your chances of being struck by lightning if it makes you the tallest and widest object in the area.
- Brightness: lightning flash can generate at least 98,000 lumen/sq meter. the lightning strike is brighter than the sun
- Lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5 times hotter than the surface of the sun).
- Record breaking lightning flashes occurred in 2020 one with a length of 768 kilometers is the longest ever recorded. while another with a duration of 17 seconds is the longest-lasting flash ever detected
