Monday, November 26, 2007

Take quick safety measures
if lightning threatens outing

“When thunder roars, go indoors!” shouted Bill Roeder, a meteorologist with the United States Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron. “When thunder roars, go indoors!”

Speaking to 180 professional and volunteer Scouters gathered at the BSA’s 2007 National Outdoor Program Seminar, held November 14-18 at the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base in Islamorada, Florida, Roeder said lightning is the most under-rated weather problem and needs to be taken seriously by all Scouters involved in planning and conducting outdoor activities.

Lightning is the second most common cause of storm deaths in the United States, Roeder said, exceeded only by flooding. An expert who teaches lightning safety to groups nationwide, Roeder’s Air Force unit provides weather forecasting services to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Lightning is a special concern in Ohio, which ranks as fourth among the states in lightning casualties, according to statistics Roeder presented. Although 90% of lightning strike victims survive, 70% of them require extended medical care as a result of their injuries.

Roeder advised Scouts to seek indoor shelter at the first sign of thunder and to stay indoors for 30 minutes after the last thunderclap is heard. That provides the greatest amount of protection from lightning strikes, he said.

Active Scouting units may not always be able to seek indoor shelter, Roeder acknowledged, so he provided an up-to-date set of planning guidelines and precautions:

* Avoid scheduling outdoor events when thunderstorms are forecast. If necessary, reschedule events or move them indoors if thunderstorms are imminent.

* Know the weather patterns in the area in which you are traveling. For example, many mountainous regions frequently have afternoon thunderstorms, making it imperative to hike to lower elevations before the weather turns nasty.

* When caught outside and it is possible to find indoor shelter or a safe vehicle, go inside immediately when thunder begins. Stay there until 30 minutes after the last thunderclap is heard.

* Avoid anything that serves as an electrical conductor, such as corded telephones, electronics, plumbing or even wet rope. Lightning travels through conductors, making it possible to get electrocuted while using electronics or plumbing.

* If you must be outside, avoid unsafe places, such as elevated areas, open spaces, near tall isolated objects or under trees. Surprisingly, Roeder said, many people still stand under trees to avoid getting wet during thunderstorms, even though they have been educated about the lightning danger since childhood.

* Choose campsites that are away from open fields on hilltops, ridges or near isolated tall trees or other tall objects. Camp near a lower stand of trees, a ravine or another low-lying area.

* Tents and open pavilions offer no protection from lightning, Roeder said, nor do foam ground pads.

* If you feel your skin tingling, hair sticking out or hear a buzzing noise, a lightning strike is imminent, so move immediately to a safer area.

* Proceed quickly to the safest spot available to you. If you are in a group, separate each person by several body lengths (15 feet or more), because lightning travels along the surface once it strikes, radiating outward from the point of impact.

* As a last resort, assume the lightning crouch position, standing on your feet with your body compressed as low to the ground as possible and with your ears covered. If you have time to move to a safer area, Roeder said to keep moving rather than crouch down. Only crouch when a lightning strike is imminent.

Roeder said meteorologists adopted the catch-phrase “When thunder roars, go indoors” to replace the older “flash-to-bang” method of counting the seconds between the flash of lightning and the peal of thunder that follows it (five seconds equals one mile). He said the flash-to-bang method is accurate, but most people simply get the math wrong.

Dispelling a popular myth about lightning, Roeder emphasized it is safe to apply first aid to victims of lightning strikes. By the time you’re aware someone has been struck, he said, the electrical charge has dissipated and the person is safe to touch. He cited instances in which victims died needlessly because potential first responders were afraid to apply first aid.

Lightning victims often suffer cardiac arrest from a lightning strike, Roeder said, so a first responder should prepare to start cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or use an automated electronic defibrillator (AED) device. Severe burns, shock and other injuries also result from lightning strikes.

The BSA is developing a new online training module called “Planning and Preparing for Extreme Weather,” which will include lightning safety measures. Roeder also recommended a National Weather Service web site, http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/, for more information.

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