Thunderstorms can occur throughout the year, but they are more likely to pop up in late spring and early summer as temperatures and humidity levels rise.
The first thing to know is that all thunderstorms, no matter how severe, come with lightning, University of Texas meteorology lecturer Troy Kimmel said.
“Folks, anytime we get a thunderstorm, there’s an inherent threat of lightning,” he said. “This is something that I’m glad we’re talking about, because I need people to appreciate the fact that when you can hear thunder, you need to be inside.”
The safest place you can be is indoors — away from windows and away from plumbing and copper-line telephones wired through your house. If you are stuck on the road when a thunderstorm rolls through the area, stay inside your vehicle with the windows rolled up, Kimmel said.
People tend to think rubber tires are what make vehicles safe from lightning, but that’s not the case, Kimmel explained. If lightning hits your vehicle, it will travel around the body of the vehicle and move toward the ground, he said.
“It’ll scare you to death, but at the same time, vehicles are safe because of this cage effect,” Kimmel said.
The National Weather Service offers these tips if you get caught outside when lightning occurs:
• Avoid open fields, the top of a hill or a ridgetop. If you are camping in an open space, seek low areas. A tent will not protect you from lightning.
• Stay away from tall, isolated trees or other tall objects. If you are in a forest, stay near a lower stand of trees.
• If you are in a group, spread out to avoid allowing an electrical current to travel between individuals.
• Stay away from water, wet items or metal objects. Water and metal do not attract lightning, but they are excellent conductors of electricity.
“If skies are starting to get dark, head on in, don’t wait,” Kimmel said. “Let’s try to be more proactive instead of reactive.”
So far this year, two people have been killed by lightning in the United States, the National Weather Service said. Motorcyclist Benjamin Austin Lee, 45, was hit in the head by a lightning bolt Sunday while driving on Interstate 95 near Ormond Beach in Florida, the Fayetteville Observer reported.
In Texas, Robert Klemme was camping in Junction on May 3 when he was struck and killed by lightning, the National Weather Service said.
Lightning-related injuries include wounds where the bolt enters and exits your body on its way to the ground, Kimmel said. Lightning will melt a person’s shoes and often cause a person’s heart to stop, he said.
First responders or those trained in CPR should start the process of resuscitation the moment it is safe to do so, he said.