Each year lightning kills approximately 10 Canadians and injures about 100 to 150 others — that’s more than floods, hurricanes and tornadoes combined.
Getting caught outdoors in a thunderstorm can have killer consequences. Research has shown that one-third of lightning injuries and deaths occur in the early stages of a storm, during the storm, and even once the storm has passed. Lightning can reach out kilometres from a storm, hence the saying, “It struck out of the blue.”
Environment Canada is stressing lightning safety and the use of their lightning danger map which indicates recent lightning strikes and highlights danger zones in red.
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Some lightning tips:
- If you hear thunder, try to get indoors.
- Remain indoors for 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder.
- Stay away from metal objects: though they don’t attract lightning, they are great conductors of electricity and can cause serious injury
- Stay away from tall objects
- Never try to keep dry by standing under a tree; it’s better to be wet than dead
- If there’s no building to go to, stay in a car: it’s not the tires that protect you, but rather the metal frame of the car that conducts the electricity from a lightning bolt
Remember: When thunder roars, go indoors!
To get real-time weather for your area, download the Skytracker weather app.
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