#Lightning crashes full

Lightning can kill people (3,696 deaths were recorded in the U.S.

The odds of being struck in your lifetime is 1 in 3,000. The odds of becoming a lightning victim in the U.S.It is estimated that Earth as a whole is struck by an average of more than a hundred lightning bolts every second. Lightning detection systems in the United States monitor an average of 25 million strokes of lightning from clouds to ground during some 100,000 thunderstorms every year.The immense heat and other energy given off during a stroke has been found to convert elements into compounds that are found in organisms. Some scientists think that lightning may have played a part in the evolution of living organisms.The spark can reach over five miles (eight kilometers) in length, raise the temperature of the air by as much as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (27,700 degrees Celsius), and contain a hundred million electrical volts. Lightning is a giant discharge of electricityaccompanied by a brilliant flash of light and a loud crack of thunder.Scroll down for the answers to these and other questions-and for tips and procedures to protect yourself and your property against one of nature's most lethal phenomena. Most people do not realize that they can be struck by lightning even when the center of a thunderstorm is 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and there are blue skies overhead.ĭid you know that rubber shoes do nothing to protect you from lightning? That talking on the telephone is the leading cause of lightning injuries inside the home? That standing under a tall tree is one of the most dangerous places to take shelter?Īnd what does it mean if your hair starts to stand on end during a thunderstorm? Lightning is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury in the United States.

#Lightning crashes full

Organized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other partners, L ightning Safety Awareness Week is held the last full week of June each year.