Here are a few lightning safety tips.

• Stay indoors and away from windows during a storm. Unplug televisions, computers and other electronic equipment. Do not use hand held appliances, and, Only use the telephone in an emergency situation!! Cell phones and cordless phones are ok to use. If you are in the shower, get out. An electric current can travel through your electrical, phone lines, and pipes, if your home or adjacent power lines or poles are hit.
• If you are in a situation where you could be struck by lightning, look for these warning signs, and act quickly. Your hair standing on end, or a tingling sensation over your entire body may mean you are about to have a bad day. A crackling sound in the air means static charge is building, and a strike is possible anywhere. Try hard not to be standing in an open field while lightning is occurring. This is why 32% of strike victims are golfers, not to mention...
• Never, ever, stand under a tree. Period. No matter how hard it is raining, a tree is a stupid idea. Lightning will seek to connect with the highest object in the area, sometimes two. The charge can also travel through the ground, or straight from the branches to you.
• Do not stand beside metal objects, such as fences, power lines and poles, and farm equipment. Electricity can travel great distances down fences and power lines, or maybe even railroad tracks.
• If you are unable to get inside a structure, seek shelter in a vehicle, and do not touch metal in the car. The lightning will travel around the metal frame of the vehicle, and harmlessly into the ground.
• If your hair stands straight up, and a vehicle or building is not available, put your feet together, crouch down, and put your hands over your ears. QUICKLY!
• If you are in the water or in a boat on the water, pay attention to the weather. Dark clouds in the distance or a distant rumble of thunder, should be enough warning to get your self on dry land. Don't take chances in the water. If in a swimming pool, get out and inside quickly.
• If you are ever in a situation with a lightning strike victim, administer CPR within 1 minute or less. The electricity can stop a human heart, so immediate action is important.

A few lightning facts and figures.

• After twelve years, I have been lucky enough to not get struck directly by lightning. I have had a few close calls however. I've been hit while in my car. Once while driving, and once while seeking shelter in the car when the lightning got real close. On Sep 20 2000, I had a close call that left me dazed and confused for a bit, and I wasn't hit directly by any means.
• I was uninjured, but unfortunately, almost 200 people are killed in the U.S. each year by lightning. More than tornadoes and floods combined. most victims are struck while playing golf or field sports (soccer, baseball, etc), and while in or near water.
• Even if a storm is several miles away, you can still be struck. A golfer in Arizona was killed by a bolt of lightning even though he was 15 miles from a small thunderstorm, and the sun was shining where he was.
• A bolt of lightning has a temperature of 50,000° F.
• Lightning can and does strike the same place twice, sometimes more often.
• At any moment there are 2,000 thunderstorms occurring around the world, and as many as 100 bolts of lightning every second. That works out to 8,640,000 per day, and over 3 billion per year. This sounds like a lot, but your chances of being struck by lightning are over 2 million to one.
• Even with the high number of deaths every year, almost 75% of people struck, SURVIVE !! However most, if not all, suffer from up to 92 different health problems caused by the bolt of lightning. One reason is that a strike victim can easily be mis-diagnosed as just having cardiac problems, since the bolt can and usually does stop your heart.
• Florida ranks first in the US for lightning, with an average of 100 thunderstorm days per year. The lightning capitol of the world is the West coast of Africa, with as many as 295 thunderstorm days per year. Sounds like a place I would like!