Lightning Safety Training for Athletic Officials

National Weather Service Jacksonville, FL

Photo from Hackensack Fire Dept.

Overview

• Lightning Statistics • Lightning Physics and Terms• The Consequences of a Strike• Threats on the Field• Safety Actions

– 30-30 Rule– Safe & Unsafe Locations– Action Plans– First Aid for Strike Victims

• Resources

Lightning is the Nation’s Underrated Killer

• Causes more U.S. deaths than tornadoes & hurricanes combined

• The #1 weather killer in Florida• Annual U.S. Strikes Kill ~100 and Injure ~1,000 • Causes $5 billion/year in economic damage

Image c/o NLSI

UnreportedOpen Fields Under TreesWater-RelatedGolfMachineryTelephoneRadio

Outdoor Athletics Put Children and Spectators at Great Risk

Unreported, 40%

Open Fields, 27%

Radio, < 1% Machinery, 3%

Telephone, < 2.7%

Under Trees, 14%

Water Related, 8%

Golf, 5%

Data From NLSI

• The #1 location of reported lightning deaths is on open fields, which includes athletic fields.

• The #3 location for lightning deaths is water related, which includes swimming pools.

Possible Resistance when Promoting Lightning Safety

Some may say…

Lightning is not an important hazard. FALSE!

Truth: It is second only to floods as the leading cause of weather related deaths in the U.S. Safety plans are developed for tornadoes and hurricanes, but lightning is a more common and deadly hazard in the U.S.

There is nothing you can do about lightning. FALSE!

Truth: Almost all lightning casualties are preventable. If thunder is heard, go indoors immediately. Most deaths occur before and after a storm.

Litigation Fear: It is better to do nothing, than to do something and fail.

Truth: Failure to take prudent and protective actions is chargeable negligence which could warrant a law suit.

From Roeder, 45th Wx Squadron Patrick AFB

Electrical Current

1. When the negative charge in the cloud becomes great enough, it seeks an easy path to the positively charged ground below.

2. The current looks for a good conductor of electricity, or a tall structure anchored to the ground (such as a tree or a tall building). The negative charge sends out a feeler, called a stepped leader, which is a series of invisible steps of negative charges.

3. As the stepped leader nears the ground, a positive streamer reaches up for it. Only then, once this channel is made, does the visible lightning happen. A return stroke runs from the ground to the clouds in a spectacular flash.

From NASA

Electrical Current Disperses

• Electrical current from a strike will travel through the ground and other conductive mediums.

• Wet fields will conduct electrical current from a strike.

• The charge will electrocute life within its path.

Lightning Can Be Hot Enough To Fuse Sand Into Glass… Called Fulgurite

…Imagine What It Can Do To Your Body!!!

• Thunder is a sound wave created by a shock wave produced by the hot bolt.

• Flash-to-Bang: Count the number of seconds between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder then divide by 5.

• The quotient is approximately how far the storm is from you (in miles).

The sound of thunder travels ~ 1 mi in 5 sec

When Thunder Roars…Go Indoors!The Flash-to-Bang Method

If you hear thunder, you are at risk of being struck by

lightning!

Bolt from the Blue

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Ground strikes are recorded up to 60 miles away from the clouds that produce them (rare).

Lightning can emanate from the upper level cloud of the storm and strike the ground well away from where it is raining, even where there are no clouds.

Heat Lightning• Heat lightning is lightning from a distant thunderstorm.

• Thunder is not heard.

• Not an immediate threat of lightning striking your immediate area, but be aware of the direction the storm is traveling.

Strikes to Humans• 84% of victims are male• Months of most instances: Jun 21%, Jul 30%, Aug 22%• Time of Day of most instances: 2-6 pm• 20% of victims are struck dead; the other 80% often suffer life-

long debilitating neurological problems• Lightning strikes are not the same as electrical shocks: the

strike burns body tissue from the entry point (typically the head) through the exit point.

• Strike survivors may chronically experience all or some of the following: coma, seizures, brain damage, cardiac dysfunction, deafness, severe ocular damage, amnesia, sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, chronic pain.

Victims Do Not Carry Electrical Charge!

Administer CPR as soon as possible!

• How will you communicate lightning alerts to a large and/or noisy crowd?

• Will the audience know how to react and where to go when they hear the lightning alert?

• Where will everyone (athletes, officials, coaching staff, spectators, etc.) go at large outdoor events?

• Will there be adequate safe shelter for everyone?

Some Concerns to Address with a Lightning Safety Action Plan

Outdoor Events + Lightning = A Deadly Combo

• Outdoor events like athletic games put everyone near and on the field at risk of being struck by lightning.

• Many stadium facilities have metal bleachers and long metal fences which may be excellent conductors of an electric charge.

• Wet fields will conduct an electrical strike.

Lightning Targets

Bleachers

Fence/Backstop

Field LightsAntennas

Trees

Photo c/o City of Missouri, TX

3030• Use the ‘30-30 Rule’ to determine if lightning is a threat.

• The 30-30 Rule: If the number of seconds between seeing the lightning flash and hearing thunder is 30 seconds or less, then seek shelter immediately. Your lightning safety plan should be executed and those vulnerable to a strike should be evacuated to safety.

• If you cannot see the lightning but hear thunder, then you are close enough to be struck by lightning. Execute your lightning safety plan immediately.

• Wait at least 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder before leaving the shelter area.

Official Safety Recommendation: The 30-30 Rule

The 30-30 Rules is not too conservative. Most lightning strikes to humans occur before and

after the storm. From Roeder, 45th Wx Squadron Patrick AFB

Seek Proper Shelter

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Lightning Certified Facility

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Lightning Protected Building (Faraday Cage?)

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Shelter Areas

• No place outside near a storm is safe from lightning.

• Buildings are much safer than vehicles.

• Vehicles offer some safety.

• If caught outside in a storm, the last resort is to get low to the ground.

Substantial Building with wiring and plumbing

From Roeder, 45th Wx Squadron Patrick AFB

Unsafe Shelter Areas• All outdoor metal objects like flag poles, fences, gates, mast light poles, metal bleachers, picnic shelters, dug outs & machinery.

• Avoid trees, water, open fields, high ground.

Daily Mail

AFE

AFE

Klein Oak H.S.

Safe Shelter Areas

• Substantial Buildings (a lot of wiring and plumbing) away from windows, plugged-in appliances and out of bathrooms and kitchens.

• The low ground. Seek cover in areas of bushes (not under trees).

Photo Michael Thompson

NLSI

Avoid conducting paths to the outside, which include the following: • Do not use corded telephones• Do not use wired electrical appliances

• TVs, VCRs, And TV Cables• Computers• Light Switches• Electrical Outlets

• Do not use plumbing• Showers• Sinks• Rest Rooms• Pools (indoors too)

• Stay away from windows and doors• Interior rooms are safer

Indoor Lightning Safety

Courtesy of National Lightning Safety Institute

First Aid for Strike Victims

• Lightning Strike Victims DO NOT carry electrical current after they are struck! You will not be shocked nor electrocuted if you touch them.

• 90% of strike victims will survive. Fatal strikes cause cardiac arrest, thus the sooner CPR can be performed on the victim the better chance for their survival.

• Ensure your own safety first before you attempt to help the victim. Make sure that there are no live wires.

• Call 911 and administer CPR immediately.

Lightning Alerts

• The National Weather Service (NWS) does NOT issue Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for Lightning (only for large hail and damaging winds)

• Florida NWS offices monitor lightning frequency in storms and will issue a Special Weather Statement for storms that produce excessive lightning. You will hear this statement on NOAA Wx Radio or can read it on the internet.

• Lightning Detectors can serve as a secondary means of alerting you to the possibility of lightning. The first method should be visually scanning the sky and monitoring the forecast.

• There are some lightning notification services available for a fee. These services use the National Lightning Detection Network and will send you an email, page or fax to alarm you when lightning has been detected near your location.

Lightning Safety Plan Recommendations

• Designate a responsible person as the weather safety lookout. This person will monitor the weather.

• We suggest access to a NOAA Weather Radio and/or access to the Weather Channel.

• 30-30 Rule: When thunder and/or lightning are first observed, use the Flash-to-Bang method to determine about how far away the storm is from you. A Flash-to-Bang count of 30 seconds would approximate the distance of the storm as being 6 miles away, and it is recommended to evacuate the outdoor facility immediately when this criteria is met. Spectators should be evacuated to safe, indoor shelter.

• Outdoor activities should be suspended until 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder is heard.

• Promote Lightning Safety Education!

“If you can see it, flee it. If you can hear it, clear it.”

From Roeder, 45th Wx Squadron Patrick AFB

Lightning and Pessimism

Resources

• National Weather Service Lightning Safety www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov

• National Lightning Safety Institute www.lightningsafety.com

• NLSI Personal Lightning Safety Resources

www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls.html• William Roeder, Lightning Safety for Schools

Presentation

NWS Jacksonville, Florida

www.weather.gov/jax