Blue Ridge Electric Offers Safety Tips When Lightening Strikes
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee R. Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Phone: (828) 758-2383; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (August 23, 2001) – Did you know you really can judge how far away a thunderstorm is by counting the seconds between the flash of lightening and the sound of thunder?
“It is a formula that works,” said Ronnie Jewell, safety training and environmental manager for Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation and Blue Ridge Energies. “To determine the location of a thunderstorm, count the number of seconds between the flash and the rumble of a clap of thunder, and then divide the number by five. The result is the approximate number of miles away the thunderstorm is centered.”
It’s fun exercise to do during a storm, but Jewell and Blue Ridge Electric is reminding everyone to keep safety in mind during intense summer thunderstorms.
Lightening is always a threat during the summer, and whether you can see it or not, it occurs with all thunderstorms. On average, lightening hits the ground about 40 million times a year in the United States alone. Around 93 people are killed and 300 others are injured. The average bolt of lightening discharges 10 to 30 million volts of electricity, according to Jewell’s information.
“The force is unbelievable,” said Jewell. “It is thousands of times stronger that the electricity we run through Blue Ridge power lines. If lightening is powerful enough to rip up a tree through the ground, you can bet it’s going to destroy anything around.”
So, what should you do when you hear thunder in the distance? According to Jewell, if you hear thunder, remember that lightening is around and can strike miles from the center of the storm, so you should take precautions.
First of all, if you can, find shelter. A building or house is best but if nothing else is around, get in a car. “Despite what you hear, you are not safer in car than a building,” said Jewell. “Cars are metal and that can draw lightening. But, a car is better than nothing.”
If you are caught out in the open, and the storm is around you, get into a low-lying area without water. Jewell recommends you squat low to the ground, put your head between your knees, and put your hands on your knees, not on the ground.
“The absolute least contact you have with the ground the better,” said Jewell. “You should never lie down, that is too much contact with the ground, because the ground is a conductor of lightening. Don’t crouch next to anything tall like a tree or a fence. Lightening hits objects that rise up from the ground and if you are next to such an object, you will be hit too.”
Stay away from anything metal; take off your jewelry; do not hold any metal objects like golf clubs, bats, tennis rackets, fishing rods or umbrellas; and take off metal-cleated shoes. If you are in shelter, don’t use regular telephones since phone wires can conduct current from a lightening strike into the house. Also, avoid bathing, showering, washing dishes or anything to do with water.
“Most of it is common sense things, that everybody has heard at one time or another,” said Jewell. “But, it never hurts to be reminded to think about safety during thunderstorms.”
So, do the math and count the seconds between lightening flashes and thunderclaps, but remember to do it safely.
