NOAA's yearly lightning safety campaign offers lifesaving resources and information

This week, NOAA's National Weather Service is taking its lightning safety message to the "lightning capital of the country" - Tampa, Fla., a city with more lightning strikes than any other in the nation. As the agency launches its yearly lightning safety awareness campaign tomorrow, it reminds people when outdoors for work or play to go inside at the 1st sound of thunder.

The city of Tampa will host this year's campaign kick-off event on Thursday, June 21, from ten a.m. to noon at the Tampa Firefighters Museum at 720 E. Zack Street. Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Fire Chief Thomas Forward will join special guest, Dave Andreychuk, a left winger for the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team, to host public museum tours, discuss lightning strike risk, and promote public safety. Andreychuk also will introduce the campaign's new radio public service announcements.

"The message of this campaign is simple: If you can hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you - go indoors immediately," said Donna Franklin, National Weather Service lightning campaign manager. "It's tragic when people die because they stayed on the water fishing or on the golf course one minute longer than they should have. Being a victim of a lightning strike is a preventable tragedy that the National Weather Service is determined to stop as part of our efforts to build a Weather-Ready Nation."

Working with partners, NOAA's National Weather Service is building a Weather-Ready Nation to support community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather.

Lightning kills 54 people per year in the U.S. on average, but it strikes hundreds more who are often left with life-long debilitating injuries. The U.S. has seen 4 lightning deaths so far this year, all male, with 3 struck while fishing. About 80 percent of lightning victims are male, and about 60 percent of victims are struck when participating in sports or leisure activities.

The National Weather Service has developed 3 unique lightning safety toolkits to help communities and organizations better protect citizens, patrons, and employees during thunderstorms:

• A toolkit for large outdoor event venues targets places like sports stadiums, amusement parks, fairgrounds and golf courses.
• A toolkit for outdoor community prepareness is directed at Co. or city outdoor facilities, such as parks and swimming pools.
• A toolkit for beach patrols and lifeguards - recently adopted by the U.S. Lifesaving Association - focuses on beach locations.

These toolkits encourage venue managers to adopt lightning policies, safety and communications plans, provide patrons with safe shelter and education materials, and post signs reminding people to go indoors when they hear thunder.

NOAA's National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the U.S. and its territories. NOAA's National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. Visit us online at weather.gov and on Facebook.

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook , Twitter and our other social media channels.

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