Lightning Safety Training for Athletic Officials

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Lightning Safety Training for
Athletic Officials
Photo from Hackensack Fire Dept.

• National Weather Service Jacksonville, FL

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Overview

• Lightning Statistics
• Lightning Physics and Terms
• The Consequences of a Strike
• Threats on the Field
• Safety Actions
• 30-30 Rule
• Safe Unsafe Locations
• Action Plans
• First Aid for Strike Victims
• Resources

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Lightning is the Nations Underrated Killer
Image c/o NLSI

• Causes more U.S. deaths than tornadoes
  hurricanes combined
• The 1 weather killer in Florida
• Annual U.S. Strikes Kill 100 and Injure 1,000
• Causes 5 billion/year in economic damage

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Outdoor Athletics Put Children and Spectators at
Great Risk
Open Fields, 27
Unreported, 40
Under Trees, 14
Water Related, 8
Golf, 5
Radio, Machinery, 3
Telephone, Data From NLSI

• The 1 location of reported lightning deaths is
  on open fields, which includes athletic fields.
  
• The 3 location for lightning deaths is water
  related, which includes swimming pools.

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Possible Resistance when Promoting Lightning
Safety
Some may say Lightning is not an important
hazard. FALSE! Truth It is second only to
floods as the leading cause of weather related
deaths in the U.S. Safety plans are developed
for tornadoes and hurricanes, but lightning is a
more common and deadly hazard in the U.S. There
is nothing you can do about lightning.
FALSE! Truth Almost all lightning casualties
are preventable. If thunder is heard, go indoors
immediately. Most deaths occur before and after
a storm. Litigation Fear It is better to do
nothing, than to do something and fail. Truth
Failure to take prudent and protective actions is
chargeable negligence which could warrant a law
suit.
From Roeder, 45th Wx Squadron Patrick AFB
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Electrical Current

• When the negative charge in the cloud becomes
  great enough, it seeks an easy path to the
  positively charged ground below.
• The current looks for a good conductor of
  electricity, or a tall structure anchored to the
  ground (such as a tree or a tall building). The
  negative charge sends out a feeler, called a
  stepped leader, which is a series of invisible
  steps of negative charges.
• As the stepped leader nears the ground, a
  positive streamer reaches up for it. Only then,
  once this channel is made, does the visible
  lightning happen. A return stroke runs from the
  ground to the clouds in a spectacular flash.

From NASA
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Electrical Current Disperses

• Electrical current from a strike will travel
  through the ground and other conductive mediums.
• Wet fields will conduct electrical current from
  a strike.
• The charge will electrocute life within its
  path.

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Lightning Can Be Hot Enough To Fuse Sand Into
Glass Called Fulgurite
Imagine What It Can Do To Your Body!!!
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When Thunder RoarsGo Indoors! The Flash-to-Bang
Method

• Thunder is a sound wave created by a shock wave
  produced by the hot bolt.
• Flash-to-Bang Count the number of seconds
  between seeing the lightning and hearing the
  thunder then divide by 5.
• The quotient is approximately how far the
  storm is from you (in miles).

If you hear thunder, you are at risk of being
struck by lightning!
The sound of thunder travels 1 mi in 5 sec
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Bolt from the Blue
Lightning can emanate from the upper level cloud
of the storm and strike the ground well away from
where it is raining, even where there are no
clouds.

Ground strikes are recorded up to 60 miles away
from the clouds that produce them (rare).
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Heat Lightning

• Heat lightning is lightning from a distant
  thunderstorm.
• Thunder is not heard.
• Not an immediate threat of lightning striking
  your immediate area, but be aware of the
  direction the storm is traveling.

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Strikes to Humans

• 84 of victims are male
• Months of most instances Jun 21, Jul 30, Aug
  22
• Time of Day of most instances 2-6 pm
• 20 of victims are struck dead the other 80
  often suffer life-long debilitating neurological
  problems
• Lightning strikes are not the same as electrical
  shocks the strike burns body tissue from the
  entry point (typically the head) through the exit
  point.
• Strike survivors may chronically experience all
  or some of the following coma, seizures, brain
  damage, cardiac dysfunction, deafness, severe
  ocular damage, amnesia, sleep disorders, anxiety
  disorders, chronic pain.

Victims Do Not Carry Electrical Charge!
Administer CPR as soon as possible!
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Some Concerns to Address with a
Lightning Safety Action Plan

• How will you communicate lightning alerts to a
  large and/or noisy crowd?
• Will the audience know how to react and where to
  go when they hear the lightning alert?
• Where will everyone (athletes, officials,
  coaching staff, spectators, etc.) go at large
  outdoor events?
• Will there be adequate safe shelter for everyone?

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Outdoor Events Lightning A Deadly Combo

• Outdoor events like athletic games put everyone
  near and on the field at risk of being struck by
  lightning.
• Many stadium facilities have metal bleachers and
  long metal fences which may be excellent
  conductors of an electric charge.
• Wet fields will conduct an electrical strike.

Antennas
Field Lights
Fence/Backstop
Trees
Bleachers
Lightning Targets
Photo c/o City of Missouri, TX
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Official Safety Recommendation The 30-30 Rule

• Use the 30-30 Rule to determine if lightning
  is a threat.
• The 30-30 Rule If the number of seconds
  between seeing the lightning flash and hearing
  thunder is 30 seconds or less, then seek shelter
  immediately. Your lightning safety plan should
  be executed and those vulnerable to a strike
  should be evacuated to safety.
• If you cannot see the lightning but hear
  thunder, then you are close enough to be struck
  by lightning. Execute your lightning safety plan
  immediately.
• Wait at least 30 minutes after the last rumble
  of thunder before leaving the shelter area.

The 30-30 Rules is not too conservative. Most
lightning strikes to humans occur before and
after the storm.
From Roeder, 45th Wx Squadron Patrick AFB
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Shelter Areas
Seek Proper Shelter

• No place outside near a storm is safe from
  lightning.
• Buildings are much safer than vehicles.
• Vehicles offer some safety.
• If caught outside in a storm, the last resort is
  to get low to the ground.

Substantial Building with wiring and plumbing
From Roeder, 45th Wx Squadron Patrick AFB
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Unsafe Shelter Areas

• All outdoor metal objects like flag poles,
  fences, gates, mast light poles, metal bleachers,
  picnic shelters, dug outs machinery.
• Avoid trees, water, open fields, high ground.

AFE
Daily Mail
AFE
Klein Oak H.S.
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Safe Shelter Areas

• Substantial Buildings (a lot of wiring and
  plumbing) away from windows, plugged-in
  appliances and out of bathrooms and kitchens.
• The low ground. Seek cover in areas of bushes
  (not under trees).

NLSI
Photo Michael Thompson
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Indoor Lightning Safety

• Avoid conducting paths to the outside, which
  include the following
• Do not use corded telephones
• Do not use wired electrical appliances
• TVs, VCRs, And TV Cables
• Computers
• Light Switches
• Electrical Outlets
• Do not use plumbing
• Showers
• Sinks
• Rest Rooms
• Pools (indoors too)
• Stay away from windows and doors
• Interior rooms are safer

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First Aid for Strike Victims

• Lightning Strike Victims DO NOT carry
  electrical current after they are struck! You
  will not be shocked nor electrocuted if you touch
  them.
• 90 of strike victims will survive. Fatal
  strikes cause cardiac arrest, thus the sooner CPR
  can be performed on the victim the better chance
  for their survival.
• Ensure your own safety first before you attempt
  to help the victim. Make sure that there are no
  live wires.
• Call 911 and administer CPR immediately.

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Lightning Alerts

• The National Weather Service (NWS) does NOT
  issue Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for Lightning
  (only for large hail and damaging winds)
• Florida NWS offices monitor lightning frequency
  in storms and will issue a Special Weather
  Statement for storms that produce excessive
  lightning. You will hear this statement on NOAA
  Wx Radio or can read it on the internet.
• Lightning Detectors can serve as a secondary
  means of alerting you to the possibility of
  lightning. The first method should be visually
  scanning the sky and monitoring the forecast.
• There are some lightning notification services
  available for a fee. These services use the
  National Lightning Detection Network and will
  send you an email, page or fax to alarm you when
  lightning has been detected near your location.

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Lightning Safety Plan Recommendations

• Designate a responsible person as the weather
  safety lookout. This person will monitor the
  weather.
• We suggest access to a NOAA Weather Radio and/or
  access to the Weather Channel.
• 30-30 Rule When thunder and/or lightning are
  first observed, use the Flash-to-Bang method to
  determine about how far away the storm is from
  you. A Flash-to-Bang count of 30 seconds would
  approximate the distance of the storm as being 6
  miles away, and it is recommended to evacuate the
  outdoor facility immediately when this criteria
  is met. Spectators should be evacuated to safe,
  indoor shelter.
• Outdoor activities should be suspended until 30
  minutes after the last rumble of thunder is
  heard.
• Promote Lightning Safety Education!

If you can see it, flee it.
If you can hear it, clear it.
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Lightning and Pessimism
From Roeder, 45th Wx Squadron Patrick AFB
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Resources

• National Weather Service Lightning Safety
  www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov
• National Lightning Safety Institute
  www.lightningsafety.com
• NLSI Personal Lightning Safety Resources
• www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls.html
• William Roeder, Lightning Safety for Schools
  Presentation
• NWS Jacksonville, Florida
• www.weather.gov/jax