Video evidence that lightning safety tips work!

As we near secondary severe weather season in the south (November-early January), I ran across the following videos that prove lightning safety tips DO work and should be heeded as thunderstorms (not necessarily even severe storms) approach.

The first proves that the Faraday Cage that is a vehicle is a safe place to shelter during storms (caveat: cars are not the safest places to be during high wind or possible tornadoes).  Check out the SUV struck by lightning and the results!



On the flip side, if you don't seek appropriate shelter as thunderstorms near, this could be the tragic result:



The NWS mantra regarding lightning safety is "when thunder roars, go indoors!"  It was proven again earlier this summer at a NASCAR event in Pocono, PA when a fan was killed after being struck by lightning, while he was standing next to his car!  His safe place was literally right next to him.  This is simply inexcusable!

Know and practice these tips:

• If you can hear the thunder, you're close enough to get struck by lightning, which can reach out 10 miles from a thunderstorm
• If lightning is a threat, get in a vehicle or fully-enclosed building with wiring or plumbing
• Avoid water sources and electronic equipment that is plugged into an outlet while in shelter

Sound travels about 1 mile in 5 seconds, so to determine your distance from a lightning strike, count the seconds between the lightning and thunder and divide by 5. (2 miles = 10 seconds)

Learn more about lightning safety on this NWS website (or http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/overview.htm).  You can also read a series of myths/truths related to lightning here (http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/myths.htm).

Thanks to the folks at Watts Up With That for posting the "Lightning vs. SUV" video on their site.

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Another round of summer - how long will it last?

A brief shot of summer has returned to the Memphis metro thanks to an area of high pressure located to our east. The southerly winds to the west of this area of high pressure pushed a warm front through the metro earlier this week bringing warm and humid conditions from the Gulf Coast up into our area.  Highs in the warm sector south of the front are in the 80s to near 90 with dewpoints in the 60s.

With the warm front stalled out to the north of our area as a stationary front, upper-level disturbances sliding along this boundary are producing areas of showers and thunderstorms to our north moving from west to east near the front.  Some of these storms in the warm sector are strong to marginally severe with wind and hail.  Most of these should stay just to our north for the next 24-36 hours.

Stationary front is well to our north, leaving the Mid-South in the warm sector. Disturbances have triggered storms that will move by to our north. Radar/frontal positions as of Weds afternoon. Blue boxes are a t'storm watch.

As the front slowly sinks south over the next couple of days, it will move close enough to the metro by Friday morning that rain chances will return as disturbances continue to move along the front. As these disturbances pass through the area, scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop and affect the metro. The front will remain draped across the area into Saturday, meaning rain chances continue for the first half of the weekend before the front finally pushes farther south, taking the rain chances with it.

High temperatures will return to the upper 70s and lower 80s with less humid and dry conditions behind the front for the end of the weekend and into the beginning of next week - another return of more autumn-like weather!

--Patrick Luckett, MWN Intern

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