Lightning Awareness Week - Wednesday

The National Weather Service has declared the week of June

24th through 28th LIGHTNING SAFETY AWARENESS WEEK in Maine
and New Hampshire. This is the third in a series of five
public information statements to be issued by the National
Weather Service Office in Gray, Maine containing
information on lightning and lightning safety.

LIGHTNING SAFETY AND SPORTS ACTIVITIES

Whether you're out kicking a ball around with a friend, or at a
major sports event, you should be prepared to get to a safe
place if a thunderstorm threatens. From 2006 to 2018, sports
activities (golf, soccer, running, baseball, football, etc.)
contributed to 32 lightning deaths in the United States. In
many cases, those involved in the activities failed to realize
the developing danger.

For anyone outside, whether you're involved in sports or another
outdoor activity, keep an eye on the sky and head to safety at
the first sign of a developing or approaching storm. If you hear
thunder, you're already in danger and should head inside a
substantial building or hard-topped vehicle immediately.

Officials in charge of organized sports should have a lightning
safety plan, and those involved in the sport (and their parents)
should understand the plan and know what to do. The plan should
include where the participants and spectators go for safety,
when the event should be stopped, when the event should be
resumed, and who is in charge of making weather-related safety
decisions. It's also important to designate a person to monitor
conditions and to keep those in charge informed of weather-
related threats. The plan should also account for the time
required to get everyone to safety.

The National Weather Service has developed toolkits which provide
templates to help design a safety plan.  Those toolkits can be
found at: https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-toolkits

Whether you're out for a run, watching your child's game, or
attending a major sports event, remember that there's no safe
place outside in a thunderstorm. When thunder roars, go
indoors!   

Question of the day: Are there more golfers killed by lightning
than by any other activity?  

While golfing is very dangerous when a thunderstorm is in the
area, from 2006-2018, soccer contributed to more sports-related
lightning fatalities than golf. During that time, golfing led to
10 fatalities. This compares with 12 for soccer, 5 for running,
3 for baseball, and 1 for football. In comparison, fishing led to
38 lightning deaths, more than all sports combined.

Here's a list of topics for other days this week.

MONDAY - Lightning and Lightning Safety - an Introduction
TUESDAY - Lightning's Most Deadly Activities
THURSDAY - Lightning Safety at Work
FRIDAY - Lightning Safety Around the Home

For additional information about lightning or lightning
safety, visit NOAA's Lightning Safety Awareness web site
at:

     https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning

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National Weather Service
Gray...Maine
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