The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Monday, June 22, 2009

Lightning safety

Well, weatherwise, this weekend was nothing but HOT, HOT, HOT. We had the 6 cousins all together for some excitement though. Unfortunately, with the heat, our outdoor activities were limited. We had picked up some water balloons a while back and had a "great water-balloon war", which of course, required them to be hosed off afterwards, wink, wink... Aside from the fun times with cousins, we didn't have much going on. Locally, skies were clear, no thunderstorms, no rain. Apparently, that wallop Thursday night took all the available energy. Elsewhere in the country, some folks are dealing with the aftermath of tornadoes, mostly in Iowa and Minnesota... but there was the stray in Idaho (yes, you read that right).

Link to storm reports.

Some significant damage was reported from yesterday's storms.Tornadoes are destructive, but a more common severe weather killer is lighning. This week is Lightning Safety Awareness Week. An average of 62 people per year in the United States are killed by lightning strikes. When thunder roars, go indoors! So far this year, there are 15 reported lightning fatalities. Death from lightning strikes this year have been caused by people... walking to vehicle (wait until it passes)... Riding motorcycle (get indoors when thunder starts booming-pulled radar support for Mini-Dew's dad this week when he got caught on the interstate on his motorcycle in a horrible thunderstorm with frequent cloud to ground lightning)... yard work (it'll still be there later)... in a corn field (don't be the tallest thing, or standing around/near the tallest thing)... walking to catch bus (wait inside)... playing baseball... jogging... near tree doing yard work... under tree... near tree camping... golfing... fishing... was it worth it? No way.

The only safe place from lightning is indoors, whether in your home, school, car or place of business. It is important that if you hear thunder, that you quickly get to safety. Here is a link to the game Leon the Lightning Lion, which tests your lightning safety IQ. I hope you too, will score a 100%. Most of the country is at risk for thunderstorms today, so here is a great chance to be safe and put your lightning knowledge to work.

Have a great AND SAFE day!
~Dewdrop

1 comment:

  1. a happy monday to you.
    enjoyed your post today.
    alas we've heat and humidity here in virginia...did manage to get the lawn mowned before next storm :)

    ReplyDelete

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