Summertime, Summertime Brings Thunder and LIGHTNING
The authors are volunteers and members of the Study Group on Lightning. Len Hathaway is a retired fire protection consultant and Bob Freeman is a retired electrical engineer. They are not affiliated with any firm or organization that designs installs or markets any product or service for the lightning industry.
The 1958 hit song sung by The Jamies, Summertime, is an upbeat song about the good times to be had in the summer months. The song writer, Sherm Feller, was best known as the public address announcer for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Here in Central Florida, it is also a reminder that our wonderful weather can sometimes change quickly for the worse with the typical afternoon or evening thunderstorm. We experience about 80 thunderstorm days each year. Thunderstorms bring on dazzling displays of spectacular lightning – but it can also be deadly and destructive. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has declared the week of June 21-27, as the eighth annual Lightning Safety Awareness Week to focus attention on the need to play it safe when it comes to lightning.
So this is a good time to review your personal and residential lightning safety.
The Villages Library on Belvedere Blvd. has the latest book written on lightning and many of the subjects discussed in this article. The book is authored by University of Florida, Distinguished Professor, Martin A. Uman, The Art and Science of Lightning Protection, published in 2008. It is recommended reading.
Personal Lightning Safety
Nationally, there are about 85 lightning-related fatalities each year that ranks second to flood deaths (135) and surprising ahead of the number three cause of weather-related deaths – tornadoes (73). However, here in Florida lightning ranks number one when it comes to weather-related fatalities.
When a flash of lightning is seen off in the distance and a rumble of thunder is heard at the pool, golf course, tennis courts, pickle ball courts, softball fields, or wherever you are enjoying The Villages lifestyle – lightning safety becomes paramount. Remember the “30-30 Rule” by counting the seconds between seeing lightning and hearing thunder and if it is less than 30 seconds it is time to seek shelter. Obviously, trees and golf carts are not a good refuge from a thunderstorm. Once you are under shelter you may still be in harms way if you do not avoid corded telephones, electrical appliances, windows, and plumbing fixtures like showers, bathtubs, faucets, and sinks. After hearing the last thunder wait 30 minutes before resuming outdoor activities.
Lightning Safety for your Home
There are three ways your home and furnishings are vulnerable to damage by lightning. Therefore, you need to assess your risk for all three. Only you the homeowner can make a determination of what is the best level of protection for your home and family.
- A direct lightning strike with ensuing fire is the worst case scenario as it has the potential of destroying your home and all of your possessions. Fortunately, the likelihood of this happening is low but it has happened five times in the last five lightning seasons here in The Villages. Homeowner insurance is an obvious line of defense to transfer the financial burden of such an event.
If you have a low threshold for risk then you should consider the benefits of a time-tested fire prevention tool - a lightning protection system (LPS). A LPS (i.e. lightning rods) have been successfully used for 257 years. LPS serve two related functions; first, to intercept a lightning discharge before it can strike your home and second, discharge the lightning current harmlessly to earth.
The University of Florida operates a 100 acre lightning test facility at Camp Blanding. Tests are conducted by sending small rockets into thunderclouds with a trailing thin copper wire to induce a lightning strike connected to the equipment on the ground under test. In one series of tests a house equipped with lightning rods was struck on multiple occasions with no damage to the house.
Three Village homeowners with lightning rods have reported that their homes have been stuck by lightning. In all three cases the LPS functioned as designed and there was no damage.
If you do decide to protect your home with a LPS you need to select an installer who will adhere to the national standard on lightning known as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) -780, Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems. You should select an installer that is “listed” on the Underwriters Laboratories web site and/or the Lightning Protection Institutes’ web site.
- A more frequent but less severe way that lightning could impact your home is a surge through your electric, telephone, or cable utilities. To avoid an electrical surge impacting your air conditioning system, furnace, dishwasher, electric dryer, and garbage disposal consider the benefits of surge protection offered by your electric utility or a device installed on your electrical panel by a licensed electrician.
- The above is sometimes referred to as “wholehouse surge protection”. This is a misnomer as even the most reliable surge protection equipment will let lower-level surges to reach your sensitive electronic equipment like computers, TVs, entertainment systems, telephones, microwave ovens, garage door operators, irrigation system controllers. The Insurance Information Institute’s most recent statistical data shows that claims for lightning damage to electronic equipment has risen by 101% in the last four years..
To protect against these lower-level surges you need secondary surge protection for the electronic equipment discussed above in the form of plug in devices. The cable/satellite connections for TVs should also be connected through a special plug in device with an in and out coax port. Computers need similar special protection. Better yet, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) gives the dual benefit of surge protection and the ability to safely shut down if there is an interruption to the electric service.
If you do not have the protection as described above, it is good practice to disconnect the computer power and telephone/cable connections, (and any other valuable piece of electronic equipment) during a thunderstorm or when leaving the home for expended periods of time.
These lightning safety tips will contribute to a safe Summertime.
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