Today, I am going to bring to everyone’s attention – again – the risks of lightning strikes and the potentially fatal consequences of not heeding the warnings and forecasts. We’re writing 2016, and although technology exists that may help predict the movement and formation of severe storms, we – humans – are FAR from immune to the dangers of lightning strikes. In fact, lightning strikes are just as deadly today as they were 10, 100 or 300 years ago.
The irony here is that with an increase of severe weather conditions, there’s an increase of lightning strikes and since people are taking part in outdoor sports activities to a greater extent than before, there’s an increase of lightning strike induced injuries and fatalities compared with previous years.
The old saying of something having a lesser chance of happening than being struck by lightning may even give the false impression that lightning strikes don’t happen. They do. People die from lightning strikes around the world every day, and in countries like the US, there are more lighting strike fatalities so far this year than in total for each of the three previous years (29 deaths so far this year as of August 22, compared to 25 for entire 2015).
It is incredibly important to convey to the public, that lightning danger is real. Although weather is exciting and we really do want to teach our children to enjoy inclement weather too, the way to enjoy a lightning storm is from a safe place indoors. National weather offices and severe weather emergency authorities want to remind people that if you hear thunder, you are likely in range of being hit by a lightning strike. A great slogan is “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!”. And there is no better time to tell your viewers about this than RIGHT NOW.
A great online resource for information about lightning is http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov. Gain tips on how to be prepared and remain safe wherever you are on the planet. Visit the For the Media pages, which are an excellent help in editorial storytelling.
At ChyronHego, we have data products available to help visualize the development of inclement weather. We are getting a lot of interest in the “Lightning Probability within the Next 30 Minutes” product.
Take a look at the video clip below. It’s an amazing data product visualized with ChyronHego Metacast - used as a standalone graphics layer or as part of a more complex visualization with wind streamlines, watches and warnings - that makes a great backdrop for storytelling that may save lives.
Until next time, stay weather aware and weather prepared!
Karl Eggestad, Global Sales Director for Metacast, ChyronHego
