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ricki
08-09-2005, 04:29 AM
"Intense summer storms in S. Florida bring spike in lightning activity

By Peter Franceschina
Staff Writer
Posted August 9 2005

It's not your imagination: The lightning show in recent days has been more intense, more brilliant and slower moving than a typical summer thunderstorm.

As usual with the weather, it's a confluence of effects that has shot hundreds more lightning bolts to the ground than the summertime average in South Florida. National Weather Service experts say it mostly has to do with unsettled upper atmospheric conditions and an atypical wind pattern.

The layman's perspective: More powerful thunderstorms are arriving later in the day and hanging around longer. Driving is that much more miserable, and working and playing outside are that much more dangerous. People have been hit, but not killed, and houses have been destroyed.

Considering last week's slow start, the flash-bang cycle built to a climax during the storm-soaked weekend.

On Thursday, Palm Beach County recorded 3,219 lightning strikes, when the average is between 300 and 500 strikes in a summer day, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rusty Pfost. By Saturday, both Broward and Miami-Dade counties recorded more than 1,000 strikes, double their averages.

"When you get over 1,000, that's quite a bit," Pfost said.

Typically, there is an easterly flow of summer air over the peninsula, with thunderstorms developing earlier in the day in South Florida and slamming the west coast late in the afternoon. Recently, there has been a generally westerly flow, setting up the opposite phenomenon, Pfost said.

"I think the folks on the west coast are more used to having this in the afternoon and the evening than we are. You can almost set your watch by it," he said.

The weather pattern might be shifting, easing the intensity of the storms, National Weather Service forecaster Dan Gregoria said. "By late this week, it looks like we will get more of an easterly flow, and most of the storms will be inland," he said.

Florida still leads the nation in the number of yearly lightning deaths, with 126 between 1990 and 2003, but when population numbers are factored in, Wyoming is the deadliest state for lightning. Florida is fourth behind Utah and Colorado.

The Tampa-Orlando area has the most lightning strikes of any area in the country per square mile, earning it the sobriquet of the lightning capital of the United States, said Ron Holle, a former government meteorologist. Florida has about 1.3 million lightning strikes a year, or about 23 strikes per square mile, said Holle, who now works for the consulting group Vaisala, which runs the National Lightning Detection Network.

"That's a whole lot," he said. "That's probably the No. 1 factor to take into account."

The weather pattern setting up the more intense storms is not unheard of, but there is no way of predicting when it will take hold. "Each summer is totally different. It just changes," Gregoria said.

In the past two weeks, three people in Palm Beach County have been injured by lightning strikes. In Broward County, a 12-year old boy was hospitalized as a precaution when lightning struck near him on June 30. The next day, a construction worker was injured when lightning bounced off a truck and struck him. Those numbers are not startling, said Holle.

"Nothing terribly unusual. It's summer," he said. "It happens at this time."

On Saturday, a series of lightning strikes hit Miami International Airport's longest runway, leaving three holes. The largest was a foot deep and about 18 inches across, airport spokesman Marc Henderson said. The runway was closed about 80 minutes while crews used quick-setting asphalt to repair it. There were numerous flight delays and nine flight diversions, Henderson said.

When it comes to lightning, experts say construction workers are more vulnerable because they work outside, often high in the air.

Lamarr Odom, 34, of Hollywood, works outdoors every day spraying weeds, testing water quality, giving wetland tours and planting native trees for the city of Pembroke Pines.

"I definitely get to shelter now when it starts to lightning," he said. "It slows up my work day, but I'm not going to chance it."

Randy Griffin of Pascagoula, Miss., gets a better look at approaching storms than most from his glass perch atop a construction crane in downtown West Palm Beach. Friday's winds were a little hairy with the crane swaying a bit, he said, but it wasn't enough to get him down.

In fact, he has fled his perch only once in 25 years, during a hailstorm. What looks like a giant lightning rod begging to be struck is actually insulated and grounded.

"It's just a thunderstorm," Griffin said. "A little rain."

Staff Writers Shahien Nasiripour and Lori Sykes contributed to this report.

Peter Franceschina can be reached at pfranceschina@ sun-sentinel.com or 561-832-2894."

fROM: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/

ricki
08-09-2005, 04:29 AM
"Intense summer storms in S. Florida bring spike in lightning activity

By Peter Franceschina
Staff Writer
Posted August 9 2005

It's not your imagination: The lightning show in recent days has been more intense, more brilliant and slower moving than a typical summer thunderstorm.

As usual with the weather, it's a confluence of effects that has shot hundreds more lightning bolts to the ground than the summertime average in South Florida. National Weather Service experts say it mostly has to do with unsettled upper atmospheric conditions and an atypical wind pattern.

The layman's perspective: More powerful thunderstorms are arriving later in the day and hanging around longer. Driving is that much more miserable, and working and playing outside are that much more dangerous. People have been hit, but not killed, and houses have been destroyed.

Considering last week's slow start, the flash-bang cycle built to a climax during the storm-soaked weekend.

On Thursday, Palm Beach County recorded 3,219 lightning strikes, when the average is between 300 and 500 strikes in a summer day, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rusty Pfost. By Saturday, both Broward and Miami-Dade counties recorded more than 1,000 strikes, double their averages.

"When you get over 1,000, that's quite a bit," Pfost said.

Typically, there is an easterly flow of summer air over the peninsula, with thunderstorms developing earlier in the day in South Florida and slamming the west coast late in the afternoon. Recently, there has been a generally westerly flow, setting up the opposite phenomenon, Pfost said.

"I think the folks on the west coast are more used to having this in the afternoon and the evening than we are. You can almost set your watch by it," he said.

The weather pattern might be shifting, easing the intensity of the storms, National Weather Service forecaster Dan Gregoria said. "By late this week, it looks like we will get more of an easterly flow, and most of the storms will be inland," he said.

Florida still leads the nation in the number of yearly lightning deaths, with 126 between 1990 and 2003, but when population numbers are factored in, Wyoming is the deadliest state for lightning. Florida is fourth behind Utah and Colorado.

The Tampa-Orlando area has the most lightning strikes of any area in the country per square mile, earning it the sobriquet of the lightning capital of the United States, said Ron Holle, a former government meteorologist. Florida has about 1.3 million lightning strikes a year, or about 23 strikes per square mile, said Holle, who now works for the consulting group Vaisala, which runs the National Lightning Detection Network.

"That's a whole lot," he said. "That's probably the No. 1 factor to take into account."

The weather pattern setting up the more intense storms is not unheard of, but there is no way of predicting when it will take hold. "Each summer is totally different. It just changes," Gregoria said.

In the past two weeks, three people in Palm Beach County have been injured by lightning strikes. In Broward County, a 12-year old boy was hospitalized as a precaution when lightning struck near him on June 30. The next day, a construction worker was injured when lightning bounced off a truck and struck him. Those numbers are not startling, said Holle.

"Nothing terribly unusual. It's summer," he said. "It happens at this time."

On Saturday, a series of lightning strikes hit Miami International Airport's longest runway, leaving three holes. The largest was a foot deep and about 18 inches across, airport spokesman Marc Henderson said. The runway was closed about 80 minutes while crews used quick-setting asphalt to repair it. There were numerous flight delays and nine flight diversions, Henderson said.

When it comes to lightning, experts say construction workers are more vulnerable because they work outside, often high in the air.

Lamarr Odom, 34, of Hollywood, works outdoors every day spraying weeds, testing water quality, giving wetland tours and planting native trees for the city of Pembroke Pines.

"I definitely get to shelter now when it starts to lightning," he said. "It slows up my work day, but I'm not going to chance it."

Randy Griffin of Pascagoula, Miss., gets a better look at approaching storms than most from his glass perch atop a construction crane in downtown West Palm Beach. Friday's winds were a little hairy with the crane swaying a bit, he said, but it wasn't enough to get him down.

In fact, he has fled his perch only once in 25 years, during a hailstorm. What looks like a giant lightning rod begging to be struck is actually insulated and grounded.

"It's just a thunderstorm," Griffin said. "A little rain."

Staff Writers Shahien Nasiripour and Lori Sykes contributed to this report.

Peter Franceschina can be reached at pfranceschina@ sun-sentinel.com or 561-832-2894."

fROM: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/

ricki
08-09-2005, 04:30 AM
Some general precautions follow:

"
LIGHTNING SAFETY TIPS

When thunderstorms are in the area, postpone outdoor activities and don't wait for rain. If you can hear thunder, you are within range of lightning.
# Go inside a completely enclosed building, not a carport, open garage or covered patio. If no sturdy building is available, get inside a hardtop vehicle but don't touch metal.

# Seek low ground; lightning hits the tallest object.

# If you can't get to shelter, stay away from trees.

# Avoid leaning against vehicles and avoid metal. Stay away from fences and sheds.

# Don't hold golf clubs, fishing rods or tennis rackets.

# Get out of the water. Stay away from indoor plumbing and running water.

# Don't talk on a phone connected to a cord.

# Stay away from groups of people; don't huddle in a group.


If someone is struck by lightning, call 911, give first aid by beginning rescue breathing and checking for burns. People struck by lightning carry no electrical charge that can shock others.

Source: The National Weather Service"

ricki
08-09-2005, 04:30 AM
Some general precautions follow:

"
LIGHTNING SAFETY TIPS

When thunderstorms are in the area, postpone outdoor activities and don't wait for rain. If you can hear thunder, you are within range of lightning.
# Go inside a completely enclosed building, not a carport, open garage or covered patio. If no sturdy building is available, get inside a hardtop vehicle but don't touch metal.

# Seek low ground; lightning hits the tallest object.

# If you can't get to shelter, stay away from trees.

# Avoid leaning against vehicles and avoid metal. Stay away from fences and sheds.

# Don't hold golf clubs, fishing rods or tennis rackets.

# Get out of the water. Stay away from indoor plumbing and running water.

# Don't talk on a phone connected to a cord.

# Stay away from groups of people; don't huddle in a group.


If someone is struck by lightning, call 911, give first aid by beginning rescue breathing and checking for burns. People struck by lightning carry no electrical charge that can shock others.

Source: The National Weather Service"