Wednesday Lightning Week Tips!

Lightning Safety Week continues with more information that could save your life!
Lightning's Most Deadly Activities

From 2006 to 2013, there were a total of 30 fishing deaths, 16 camping deaths, and 14 boating deaths, and 13 beach deaths. Of the sports activities, soccer saw the greatest number of deaths with 12, as compared to golf with 8. Around the home, yard work (including mowing the lawn) accounted for 12 fatalities. For work-related activities, ranching/farming topped the list with 14 deaths.

Males accounted for 81% of all fatalities, and more than 90 % of the deaths in the fishing and sports categories. Females had comparatively fewer deaths than men in every category, with their highest percentages in the boating-related activities (35%) and routine daily/weekly activities (36%).

Lightning Safety and Sports Activities

Based on the media reports of the fatal incidents, many victims were either headed to safety at the time of the fatal strike or were just steps away from safety.

The only completely safe action when you’re outside during a thunderstorm is to get inside a safe building or vehicle.
Outdoor venue managers can do their part by following these tips http://bit.ly/m9ipWz

More tips on outdoor venue lightning safety from our partners at http://www.lightning-risk.org/ #ImAForce

The National Weather Service encourages recreational facilities to adopt comprehensive lightning protection strategies to protect patrons and employees. A cornerstone of the NWS lightning safety campaign is the NWS Lightning Safety Toolkit. The Toolkit outlines the steps a recreational facility needs to take to earn recognition from the National Weather Service for their lightning safety program. Check it out here:http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/resources/large_venue.pdf

Be a force of nature and stay indoors for 30 minutes after the last thunder clap www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov #ImAForce