Severe Weather Preparedness Week: Lightning Safety

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Each day of this week, we will be covering various severe weather topics to better prepare you and your family for any weather situation that may arise this spring.

Thursday’s topic is “Lightning Safety.”

As meteorologists, this is the weather phenomenon we probably know the least about on Earth. Mostly due to how hard it is to study.

First off, lightning is about 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hotter than the sun’s surface. Plus, it travels near 200,000 mph.

So, the average duration of time for a stroke of lightning is about 30 microseconds. Here in Georgia, we typically see over 600,000 lightning strikes around the state within a year.

If lightning is in your area, the safest place to be is indoors. You want to avoid being out in the open areas, or near any isolated tall structures.

Since lightning is such a common occurrence, it is not considered to be its own severe weather category. However, you can always know when is near your area by adding it to your alert settings on the WTOC First Alert Weather app.