Lightning safety tips

WEATHER: Like It or Not!

Larry Mowry Image
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
WEATHER: Like It or Not? Lightning safety
Meteorologist Larry Mowry shares safety tips to practice when you see lightning.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Lightning can be one of the most dangerous parts of any thunderstorm. Practicing lightning safety can protect you and your family from harm.

So where is the safest place to be when you see lightning? You may be outside when a storm approaches. Where should you go when the lightning sirens go off at the park?

The safest place is indoors or in a car. You should never seek shelter under a tree or out in the open.

Lightning can strike 15 to 25 miles away from the storm or where it is raining. There is no safe place to be outdoors during a lightning storm.

After the storm passes, you should wait 30 minutes after the last time you hear thunder before you go back outside.

On average, 27 people are killed by lightning each year in the United States.

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