Day 3 Topic of Severe Weather Awareness Week: Lightning

03/12/2008
Wednesday, Day 3 Welcome to Day Three of Severe Weather Awareness Week! This morning we will be looking at Lightning. WHAT IS LIGHTNING1/2 Lightning is an electrical discharge that results from the buildup of positive and negative charges within a thunderstorm. When the buildup becomes strong enough, lightning appears as a "bolt." This flash of light usually occurs within the clouds or between the clouds and the ground. A bolt of lightning reaches a temperature approaching 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit in a split second. The rapid heating and cooling of air near the lightning causes thunder. DID YOU KNOW. - Lightning bolts can jump 10 or more miles from their parent cloud into regions with blue skies. (Bolt from the Blue) - Temperature of lightning: estimated 50,000°F ( 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun ) - Odds of being struck by lightning: approx. 1 in 600,000. - 9 out of 10 lightning bolts strike the continents rather than oceans. - For each lightning bolt that hits the ground, about 200,000 pounds of rain are also formed. 30/30 LIGHTNING SAFETY RULE Go indoors if, after seeing lightning, you cannot count to 30 before hearing thunder. Stay indoors for 30 minutes after hearing the last clap of thunder.

Related Links:
Day 3 Topic: Lightning - http://www.douglas-county.com/depts/em/docs/pdf/swaw_3.pdf
Douglas County Emergency Management Website - http://www.douglas-county.com/depts/em/em_home.aspx
University of Kansas Weather Policy - http://www2.ku.edu/~kucops/resources/weather.shtml

Media Contact:
Teri Smith, Director
Emergency Management Department
838-2460
tsmith@douglas-county.com