Craig Koplien: Weather or Not

Tornadoes and Lightning...Plus More Safety Tips

Story Created: Apr 24, 2008

Story Updated: Apr 24, 2008

Tornadoes and Lightning...Plus More Safety Tips

Craig Koplien

email:  ckoplien@todaystmj4.com



...TORNADO AND SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK IS APRIL 21-25...







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...TORNADO CLASSIFICATION AND SAFETY...
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...TORNADO CHARACTERISTICS...
TORNADOES CAN OCCUR IN MANY DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES RANGING FROM A
FEW YARDS TO OVER A MILE IN WIDTH.  THEY CAN MOVE VERY SLOWLY...
ALMOST STATIONARY...TO AS FAST AS 60 MILES PER HOUR.

REMEMBER THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF A TORNADO DOES NOT NECESSARILY SAY
ANYTHING ABOUT ITS STRENGTH OR ITS CAPABILITY TO INFLICT DAMAGE.
SINCE TORNADOES CAN CHANGE INTENSITY QUICKLY...THEY SHOULD ALL BE
CONSIDERED DANGEROUS.

THE VERTICAL WINDS IN THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF TEMPORARILY
LIFTING HEAVY OBJECTS SUCH PEOPLE OR EVEN VEHICLES A HUNDRED FEET
ABOVE THE GROUND. THEY ARE ALSO STRONG ENOUGH TO CARRY LIGHTWEIGHT
OBJECTS A FEW MILES AWAY FROM THEIR ORIGINAL LOCATIONS.

...TORNADO CLASSIFICATIONS...
TORNADOES ARE CLASSIFIED INTO THREE MAIN GROUPS BASED ON THEIR
ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS...

     ...WEAK /EF0 AND EF1/...WIND SPEEDS OF 65 TO 110 MPH. CAN EXIST
        FOR 1 TO 10 OR MORE MINUTES.

     ...STRONG /EF2 AND EF3/...WIND SPEEDS OF 111 TO 165 MPH. CAN
        EXIST FOR 10 TO 20 MINUTES OR MORE.

     ...VIOLENT /EF4 AND EF5/...WIND SPEEDS OF 166 TO OVER 200 MPH.
        CAN EXIST FOR 20 MINUTES TO OVER 1 HOUR.

  NOTE...THE OLD F-SCALE RATING SYSTEM WAS REPLACED BY THE NEW
ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE RATING SYSTEM IN FEBRUARY 2007.  NEW RESEARCH
SUGGESTED LOWER WIND SPEEDS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING MORE DAMAGE
THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS NEW RATING
SYSTEM...PLEASE VISIT...

  HTTP://WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV/EFSCALE/           /ALL LOWER CASE/

...RECENT VIOLENT WISCONSIN TORNADOES...
EVEN THOUGH 80 PERCENT OF WISCONSIN/S TORNADOES HAVE BEEN RATED WEAK
IN INTENSITY...WISCONSIN HAS SEEN 3 TORNADOES THAT WERE RATED AS
VIOLENT SINCE 1950.  ONE OF THESE VIOLENT TORNADOES OCCURRED AS
RECENTLY AS 1996...PEAKING IN STRENGTH EAST OF THE VILLAGE OF
OAKFIELD IN FOND DU LAC COUNTY.  THE OTHER TWO VIOLENT TORNADOES
OCCURRED IN 1984 NEAR WALES /WAUKESHA CO./ AND NEAR BARNEVELD /IOWA
AND DANE COUNTIES/.  VIOLENT TORNADOES ACCOUNT FOR 70 PERCENT OF ALL
TORNADO DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES.

...SAFETY TIPS...
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IF A TORNADO APPROACHES IS IN A PERMANENT
STRUCTURE ON THE LOWEST LEVEL /PREFERABLY A BASEMENT OR CELLAR/ IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM WITH NO WINDOWS SUCH AS A CLOSET OR BATHROOM.  DO NOT
WASTE PRECIOUS TIME BY OPENING WINDOWS IN YOUR HOME.  INSTEAD...
IMMEDIATELY HEAD FOR SHELTER AND AVOID FLYING GLASS OR DEBRIS THAT
COULD SERIOUSLY INJURE YOU.

...MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES...
MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES ARE THE WORST PLACES TO BE WHEN A TORNADO
APPROACHES. BOTH CAN BE EASILY TOSSED BY A TORNADO/S VIOLENT WINDS.
TAKE SHELTER IN A STURDY NEARBY STRUCTURE OR LIE DOWN IN A ROADSIDE
DITCH AND PROTECT YOUR HEAD FROM AIRBORNE DEBRIS THAT CAN BECOME
DEADLY PROJECTILES.

TORNADOES CAN BE VERY UNPREDICTABLE AND CAN CHANGE DIRECTION AND
SPEED VERY QUICKLY. MANY TORNADO DEATHS HAVE OCCURRED BY MOTORISTS
ATTEMPTING TO OUTRUN TORNADOES.

MOST IMPORTANTLY...ALWAYS MONITOR THE WEATHER CONDITIONS IN YOUR
AREA. IF SEVERE WEATHER IS A THREAT STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA ALL
HAZARDS WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL TV AND RADIO STATIONS FOR THE LATEST
INFORMATION ON WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN YOUR AREA.

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...LIGHTNING...
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...LIGHTNING DANGER...
LIGHTNING IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH
THUNDERSTORMS. LIGHTNING CAN OCCUR AT ANY TIME OF DAY AND AT ANY TIME
OF THE YEAR...SO YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE AWARE OF THE DANGERS IT BRINGS.

REMEMBER...IF YOU HEAR THUNDER YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE STRUCK BY
LIGHTNING. THERE HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED CASES OF LIGHTNING STRIKING 20
MILES AWAY FROM THE PARENT THUNDERSTORM. YOU DON/T NEED A
THUNDERSTORM OVERHEAD IN ORDER TO HAVE LIGHTNING STRIKE THE GROUND
NEARBY.

...LIGHTNING CHARACTERISTICS...
THUNDER IS ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH LIGHTNING.  THUNDER IS ACTUALLY A
SHOCK WAVE CREATED BY SUPER HEATED AIR...INSTANTLY WARMED BY THE
EXTREME HEAT FROM THE BOLT OF LIGHTNING.  THE TEMPERATURE OF A SINGLE
BOLT OF LIGHTNING CAN EXCEED 50000 DEGREES F...THAT/S FOUR TIMES
HOTTER THAN THE SUN.  LIGHTNING ALSO CONTAINS VERY HIGH VOLTAGE. A
SINGLE LIGHTNING BOLT CAN CONTAIN ANYWHERE FROM 100 MILLION VOLTS TO
AS MUCH AS 1 BILLION VOLTS.

...LIGHTNING CASUALTIES...
MOST LIGHTNING RELATED CASUALTIES OCCUR DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS AND
DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. IN WISCONSIN BETWEEN THE
YEARS 1982 AND 2007...22 PEOPLE WERE DIRECTLY KILLED BY LIGHTNING...
OR A LITTLE LESS THAN 1 PER YEAR ON AVERAGE. ONE HUNDRED AND
EIGHT-FOUR PEOPLE WERE INJURED BY LIGHTNING DURING THIS TIME PERIOD.
THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING SURVIVE...HOWEVER THE
LONG TERM AFFECTS OF BEING STUCK BY LIGHTNING CAN BE VERY SERIOUS
AND QUITE PAINFUL.

IN THE UNITED STATES DURING THE 20-YEAR PERIOD OF 1988-2007...AN
AVERAGE OF 53 PEOPLE DIED FROM LIGHTNING STRIKES EACH YEAR.

...LIGHTNING FACTS...

     ...LIGHTNING/S SPEED IS ABOUT 90000 MILES PER SECOND /ONE
        HUNDRED MILLION FEET PER SECOND/.

     ...THE AVERAGE DIAMETER OF A BOLT IS ONLY 1 TO 2 INCHES.

     ...OVER THE CONTINENTAL 48 STATES...AN AVERAGE OF 20 MILLION
        CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING FLASHES ARE DETECTED EACH YEAR.

     ...WHO SAYS LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE...IT HAS HIT ONE
        PARTICULAR U.S. PARK RANGER SEVEN DIFFERENT TIMES.

     ...ONE QUICK WAY TO FIND OUT THE DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND A
        LIGHTNING STRIKE IS TO COUNT THE NUMBER OF SECONDS BETWEEN
        SEEING A LIGHTNING FLASH AND HEARING THE THUNDER. EACH 5
        SECONDS OF TIME EQUALS ONE MILE OF DISTANCE.

NEVER TAKE CHANCES WITH LIGHTNING. IF A THUNDERSTORM THREATENS...SEEK
SHELTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

...LIGHTNING PROTECTION...
THE BEST PROTECTION FROM LIGHTNING IS A STURDY STRUCTURE SUCH AS A
HOME OR BUSINESS OR A HARD-TOPPED VEHICLE WITH A STEEL FRAME. STAY
AWAY FROM METAL OBJECTS IN YOUR HOME. DO NOT USE A CORDED PHONE OR
OTHER ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. LIGHTNING IS
CAPABLE OF TRAVELING THROUGH POWER OR PHONE LINES...PLUMBING PIPES
AND EVEN THROUGH OPEN WINDOWS. CELLULAR PHONES ARE SAFE TO USE
DURING A THUNDERSTORM BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT/T CONNECTED PHYSICALLY TO
THE OUTSIDE.

UNPLUG SENSITIVE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT DURING A LIGHTNING STORM TO
PREVENT A POSSIBLE SURGE IN POWER AND SUBSEQUENT DAMAGE.  SURGE
PROTECTORS ARE ONLY AFFECTIVE FOR LOW POWERED SURGES AND NOT FOR
LIGHTNING.

MOST LIGHTNING DEATHS AND INJURIES OCCUR WHEN PEOPLE ARE CAUGHT
OUTDOORS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUT IN THE OPEN...GO TO A LOW LYING AREA
AND STAY AWAY FROM TALL OBJECTS SUCH AS TREES OR POLES.  NEVER STAND
IN OR NEAR WATER AND EVACUATE GOLF COURSES OR BALL FIELDS AS QUICKLY
AS POSSIBLE.

IF YOU FEEL YOUR SKIN TINGLE OR YOUR HAIR STAND ON END...LIGHTNING
MAY BE ABOUT TO STRIKE YOU. IMMEDIATELY SQUAT LOW TO THE GROUND ON
THE BALLS OF YOUR FEET. PLACE YOUR HANDS ON YOUR KNEES. MAKE YOURSELF
THE SMALLEST TARGET POSSIBLE. DO NOT LIE FLAT ON THE GROUND BECAUSE
EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT/T STRUCK DIRECTLY...ELECTRICITY WILL SPREAD OUT
FROM THE POINT IN WHICH WAS STRUCK. LAYING FLAT ON THE GROUND WILL
GIVE YOU A BETTER PROBABILITY OF BEING INDIRECTLY HIT. ALSO...IF
LIGHTNING DOES HIT YOU DIRECTLY...BEING IN A SQUATTED STANCE WILL
FORCE THE LIGHTNING TO TRAVEL DOWN YOUR BACK AND THROUGH THE BOTTOMS
OF YOUR FEET...MINIMIZING DEADLY EXPOSURE TO THE HEART AND VITAL
ORGANS.

...MEDICAL TREATMENT...
IF LIGHTNING INJURES SOMEONE...THEY NEED PROMPT MEDICAL ATTENTION.
EVEN THOUGH A LIGHTNING VICTIM MAY BE BURNED...THEY DO NOT HOLD AN
ELECTRICAL CURRENT...AND HELPING THEM WILL NOT ELECTROCUTE YOU. WHEN
A GROUP OF PEOPLE HAS BEEN STRUCK...THOSE THAT APPEAR LIFELESS
SHOULD BE TREATED FIRST.

ALWAYS MONITOR CURRENT AND FUTURE WEATHER CONDITIONS...AND KEEP UP TO
DATE ON THE LATEST SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS VIA NOAA ALL
HAZARDS WEATHER RADIO AND YOUR LOCAL TV OR RADIO STATIONS BEFORE
HEADING OUTDOORS.  WHEN HEADING OUTDOORS...BRING A PORTABLE WEATHER
RADIO ALONG WITH YOU SO YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO CONTINUOUS WEATHER
INFORMATION.

FOR ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION...UP TO DATE FORECASTS...
AND ANY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT:

HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MKX/              /ALL LOWER CASE/

On Demand