It is summertime! The time when there is more lightning:June, July and August have the most lightning of the whole year. We are currently visiting in Missouri where we have had thunder and lightning every day we have been here so far!
If you are aware of an impending storm, remember:The safest place to be is INDOORS!
Recently, some people in Colorado and Iowa have been struck by lightning. Here are the news stories...
3 injured by lightning strike in Rocky Mountain National Park
written by: Jeffrey Wolf reported by: Chris Vanderveen and Anastasiya Bolton Date last updated: 7/9/2008 12:14:19 AM
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=95369
ESTES PARK ? Park rangers say three people were thrown to the ground when lightning hit them on Tuesday in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The National Park Service says they received a cell phone call around 12:20 p.m. that three people had been hit by lightning near Mills Lake in the Glacier Gorge area.
Park rangers responded and as they were headed up the trail, they encountered a 46-year-old man, a 52-year-old man and a woman who is married to one of the men. They had been hit by lightning but all three were conscious and walking around, according to park rangers.
Rangers learned the three did not take a direct hit and all checked out just fine. The three people were part of a group of eight that was hiking together.
"There were about eight people standing in the same vicinity. Three people were apparently struck in some way by lightning," said Kyle Patterson, spokesperson for Rocky Mountain National Park.
They were near Mills Lake when the group was hit and suffered minor injuries when they were knocked to the ground. The two men had minor burns on their feet and the woman had minor burns on her arm, according to rangers.
They were treated at the scene and declined any further medical attention.
Rangers say the eight people were a family of seven and a friend, all from Houston.
They were just below 10,000 feet when they were hit by the lightning.
"We've had overcast skies now for two days, with the possibility of some severe thunderstorms and certainly when you're talking about the different elevations that you have here in the park, it's really a concern people need to be paying attention to," said Patterson.
Initial reports said there was a fourth victim who was hit by lightning and went missing, but park rangers determined that to be untrue.
On Sunday, lightning hit a family from Iowa as they hiked on the American Lake Trail south of Aspen. Three teenagers were injured in that strike.
Lightning also started a small half-acre fire in the Hell Canyon area southeast of Estes Park.
According to the Lightning Data Center of St. Anthony Hospital that researches and tracks lightning, Colorado is one of the top states in the country for lightning strikes. It's right up there with Florida, which is number one for lightning strikes.
It's also second or third when it comes to injuries.
Michael Foley, chairman of the LDC, says most mountain thunderstorms occur in June and July.
"If you see lightning within 30 seconds if you hear that sound, then it's time for you to take action and not think about taking action but actually take action," he said.
Foley also suggests:
- Check the forecast before you leave.
- If you see lightning when golfing, hide in a building, not a gazebo or a shed.
- If you're in a group, spread out.
- If you're near trees, hide in a bunch of them, not under just one.
- If you're in a prairie, present a low profile. Crouch, but don't lie down.
According to the LDC, lightning strikes earth about a hundred times every second. Each one can heat the air around it to five thousand times hotter than the surface of the sun.
The average American has about a 1 in 5,000 chance of being struck during a lifetime. Additionally, nine out of every 10 people survive lightning strikes, according to data from the LDC.
Two people were killed by lightning in Colorado last year.
The most common day for a lightning casualty is Saturday and the most likely time of day is between noon and 5 p.m., peaking at 2 p.m.
For more information, visit http://www.stanthonyhosp.org/index.php?s=clinical_specialties_7.
(Copyright KUSA*TV. All rights reserved.)
Posted on Sun, Jul. 06, 2008
Macon teen killed by lightning in Colorado
By Ashley Tusan Joyner
http://www.macon.com/532/story/397352.html
A 16-year-old Macon boy was struck and killed by lightning Thursday at a youth camp in the mountains of southern Colorado.
Landon Tate Dillard was riding bicycles with the camp director and other campers near Westcliffe when a storm hit the region and he was struck by lightning, authorities in Custer County said.
There were no other injuries.
The cyclists had been out for less than 10 minutes, members of Dillard's family said.
A memorial service will take place today at 6 p.m. at the First Evangelical Church in Macon, 3601 Fulton Mill Road.
Dillard's aunt, Anne Lyles, said her nephew had been at the Christian camp, Operation Uplift, for a month, serving as one of a few youth staff members at the seven-week camp.
The bike ride was part of training for a later, tougher ride to an area in the camp called "High Country," she said.
"Pushing yourself, that's the point of Uplift Mountain. It's all outdoors and you have to make it. You can't make it unless you help each other," Lyles said.
Dillard was an avid musician who played the guitar and sang with two Christian bands, Offering and the New City Church Band.
He was home-schooled and also attended the Veritas Classical School.
"Music was Landon's passion, but it was also his way of ministering to people. He touched the lives of so many people across the city. He was bright and clever and just full of love," Lyles said.
Saturday evening, Lyles said several of those people, including campers who had returned from Colorado, visited at Dillard's home with his parents, Marvin and Sharon Dillard; and his three brothers, Blake, 19, Hampton, 10, and Hayden, 7.
Lyles said earlier Saturday, the family found a copy of a song Dillard had started to write.
"It was beside his bed and it was folded up. In it, he was speaking about the grace of God," she said. "That's how we feel. We're hoping that what happened to him is not looked at as a tragedy, but that it will stir the hearts of others."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To contact writer Ashley Tusan Joyner, call 744-4347.
KCCI.com
3 Iowa Teens Struck By Lightning In Colorado
http://www.kcci.com/news/16829296/detail.html
POSTED: 8:09 am CDT July 9, 2008
UPDATED: 12:09 pm CDT July 9, 2008
ASPEN, Colo. -- Two Iowa teens injured by a lightning strike near Aspen, Colo., while they were hiking with their family are out of the hospital.
Pitkin County Sheriff's officials said the family is from Jefferson, Iowa.
They said Elizabeth Jacobs, 15, lost consciousness after she was struck by lightning while walking through the Castle Creek Valley early Sunday afternoon on the American Lake trail, which is south of Aspen. Her parents, Allen and Peggy, performed CPR and she was able to walk with help to the trailhead.
Sheriff's officials said Nathaniel Jacobs, 17, suffered burns to the bottom of his feet, and Paul Jacobs, 17, was knocked out.
Elizabeth and Nathaniel were flown by helicopters to Denver hospitals.
Children's Hospital officials said Elizabeth and Nathaniel are out of the hospital. Authorities said Paul did not have to go to the hospital.
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KCCI.com
Exploding Concrete From Lightning Strike Hits Man
Jordanne Blair, KCCI.com
http://www.kcci.com/weather/16769393/detail.html
POSTED: 10:30 am CDT July 2, 2008
UPDATED: 12:38 pm CDT July 3, 2008
CARROLL, Iowa -- A Carroll man nearly hit by lightning is warning others about the dangers it poses.
Chuck Hovey, 50, experienced the close call when lightning stuck the ground right between his feet on May 29.
Hovey said he went outside because he was concerned about a friend who was stopping. The rest of Hovey's family was already in the basement.
"I have never been concerned about lightning; it was the tornado that I was worried about," Hovey said.
Hovey said he was outside not more than 10 seconds when lightning struck the driveway where he was standing. The lightning bolted in between two trees and hit the ground at an angle, he said.
At the hospital, doctors found Hovey's blood pressure was high and his heart rate irregular after being so close to the strike.
The real pain for Hovey was from the wounds that he had on his backside after he was hit by chunks of exploding concrete broken free when the lightning hit the ground.
Hovey has a different perspective on life now and is telling everyone he can about the dangers of lightning.
"I cringe a little every time I see lightning and I have started to pay a little more attention to what is going on," said Hovey.
Thunderstorms are extremely common in Iowa and there's lightning in each one.
Weather experts said many people are unaware of just how dangerous lightning can be, killing an average of 73 U.S. citizens each year, which is more than tornadoes and hurricanes combined, according to the National Weather Service Web site.
"So many people think that is won’t happen to them, but people need to realize that lightning really is a killer,” said Hovey.
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