by Margaret Mair

Created on: November 22, 2010

About lightning

Lightning is one of the most powerful forces in nature.  A single lightning bolt can carry up to a billion volts of electricity, and NOAA states that roughly 100 of those bolts strike the surface of the earth every second.  Lightning is so hot that it causes the air around it to vibrate and that creates the noise we call thunder.  It can damage buildings and other things, start fires, and injure or kill people.

The safest place to be during a lightning storm is inside your home or another building.    But it is not enough just to be inside.   You also need to understand the best ways to protect yourself, your possessions and your electronic devices.

Protecting your home and possessions

Lightning usually does damage in one of two ways, either striking a building directly or by entering a home by traveling along lines leading into it.  These include cable lines, antenna lines, telephone lines or electrical lines. A direct strike can cause a fire or explosion, or damage electrical systems by subjecting them to too much current.  An indirect strike can damage your wires and any thing you have plugged in. Lightning can also jump to a house from nearby trees, using the house as an easier path to follow to the ground.
 
Although inside your home is the safest place to be in a storm, remember that lightning can travel through electrical wires, plumbing and/or the water in it and metal frames on doors and windows.   These act as conductors, allowing lightning to follow a path of least resistance to the ground.  If lightning strikes your home or very close to it, the force with which it strikes can blow out glass windows and doors, and cause bricks and wood to explode.

For your own safety during a lightning storm, it’s important to follow a few elementary rules:  
 - Stay away from doors and windows
- Do not use electrical or electronic equipment
- Stay away from anything containing water - like toilets, baths and sinks.
- Do not use a corded telephone.

To protect your possessions from an approaching storm you can take precautions such as unplugging electrical equipment and appliances, computers and other electronic equipment.  This breaks the path lightning could follow, before it can strike your possessions.  Since lighting can leap (side-flash) from one thing to another, the further away the plug is from the wall socket, the safer your things will be.  BUT - if the storm is already around you, it’s safer to leave things plugged in than to risk being struck while unplugging them.

For the best lighting protection you can invest in a system that will protect your home as a whole.  These systems protect your home by providing a safe path for the lightning to travel that guides it to the ground while keeping it away from all the other possible paths in your home.  If you live in a lightning prone area you may even be entitled to a homeowners insurance discount if your system is professionally installed.

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