The Quad-County Amateur Radio Club

A surprising statistic in the U.S.A. for 2016, as of August 21 there have been 27 fatalities due to lightning, which is the total for 2015! It is difficult to definitively determine why so many people have been killed by lightning strikes so far this year. It could be that the word is not getting out. It could be that people are not hearing the information about the seriousness of lightning. It could be that people are just plain ignoring the fact that lightning is a major factor in deaths, especially during outdoor activities. Personally I believe it is the last possibility.

Lightning strikes the Empire State Building and other buildings

Please heed the warnings especially about moving indoors when you first hear lightning. I have first-hand experience when it comes to seeing the “bolt out the blue”. When the “bolt out of the blue” struck, I believe the storm was about 10 miles away. By the way, myself nor the other fellow who I was talking to heard thunder! Fortunately we were in his house but only about eighty feet from the tree that was struck. That was one lesson learned but everyone does not have the luck of a safe experience of a close strike to talk about.

Click on the photo of lightning striking the building for and interesting list of “Lightning Myths and Facts”.

Check out the National weather Service web site about the lightning strike statistics at:
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/fatalities.shtml

Also check out the web site on ways lightning strikes people at:
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/struck.shtml

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