Lightning Awareness Week

While the number of storms is expected to be down today, lightning remains a serious weather hazard through the summer months. Here’s the latest installment on Lightning Awareness from the National Weather Service.

-Brian-

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
500 AM CDT WED JUN 25 2014

...THIS WEEK IS NATIONAL LIGHTNING SAFETY AWARENESS WEEK...

TODAY'S TOPIC IS LIGHTNING SAFETY AND SPORTS ACTIVITIES.
LIGHTNING KILLS. WHEN THUNDER ROARS, GO INDOORS!

WHETHER YOU'RE OUT KICKING A BALL AROUND WITH A FRIEND, OR AT A
MAJOR SPORTS EVENT, YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE
IN CASE A THUNDERSTORM THREATENS. SINCE 2006, SPORTS ACTIVITIES
(GOLF, SOCCER, RUNNING, BASEBALL, FOOTBALL) CONTRIBUTED TO 29
LIGHTNING DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES. IN MANY CASES, THOSE
INVOLVED IN THE ACTIVITIES FAILED TO REALIZE THE DEVELOPING
DANGER.

FOR ANYONE OUTSIDE, WHETHER YOU'RE INVOLVED IN SPORTS OR SOME
OTHER ACTIVITY, KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY AND HEAD TO SAFETY AT THE
FIRST SIGN OF A DEVELOPING OR APPROACHING STORM. IF YOU HEAR
THUNDER, YOU'RE ALREADY IN DANGER AND SHOULD HEAD INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING OR HARD-TOPPED VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY.

OFFICIALS IN CHARGE OF ORGANIZED SPORTS SHOULD HAVE A LIGHTNING
SAFETY PLAN, AND THOSE INVOLVED IN THE SPORT (AND THEIR PARENTS)
SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE PLAN AND KNOW WHAT TO DO. THE PLAN SHOULD
INCLUDE WHERE THE PARTICIPANTS AND SPECTATORS GO FOR SAFETY, WHEN
THE EVENT SHOULD BE STOPPED, WHEN THE EVENT SHOULD BE RESUMED, AND
WHO IS IN CHARGE OF MAKING WEATHER-RELATED SAFETY DECISIONS. IT'S
ALSO IMPORTANT TO DESIGNATE A PERSON TO MONITOR CONDITIONS AND TO
KEEP THOSE IN CHARGE INFORMED OF WEATHER-RELATED THREATS. THE PLAN
SHOULD ALSO ACCOUNT FOR THE TIME REQUIRED TO GET EVERYONE TO
SAFETY.

FOR STADIUMS AND LARGER VENUES, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS
TOOLKITS WHICH PROVIDE TEMPLATES TO HELP DESIGN A SAFETY PLAN.
THOSE TOOLKITS CAN BE FOUND AT:
WWW.LIGHTNINGSAFETY.NOAA.GOV/MORE.HTM

WHETHER YOU'RE OUT FOR A RUN, WATCHING YOUR CHILD'S GAME, OR
ATTENDING A MAJOR SPORTS EVENT, REMEMBER THAT THERE'S NO SAFE
PLACE OUTSIDE IN A THUNDERSTORM. WHEN THUNDER ROARS, GO INDOORS!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...ARE THERE MORE GOLFERS KILLED BY LIGHTNING
THAN BY ANY OTHER ACTIVITY?

WHILE GOLFING IS VERY DANGEROUS WHEN A THUNDERSTORM IS IN THE
AREA, DURING THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, SOCCER HAS CONTRIBUTED TO MORE
SPORTS-RELATED LIGHTNING FATALITIES THAN GOLF. DURING THAT TIME,
GOLF LED TO 8 FATALITIES. THIS COMPARES WITH 12 FOR SOCCER, 5 FOR
RUNNING, 3 FOR BASEBALL, AND 1 FOR FOOTBALL.

THURSDAY'S TOPIC WILL BE LIGHTNING SAFETY AT WORK.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON LIGHTNING SAFETY, GO TO
WWW.LIGHTNINGSAFETY.NOAA.GOV, OR CONTACT JIM STEFKOVICH,
METEOROLOGIST-IN-CHARGE, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AT
205-664-3010, EXTENSION 222, OR JOHN DE BLOCK, WARNING
COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST, AT EXTENSION 223.

FOR THE LATEST WEATHER, CLIMATE, AND WATER INFORMATION FOR CENTRAL
ALABAMA, VISIT YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV AND THEN CLICK ON CENTRAL ALABAMA.

$$

Category: Alabama's Weather