It is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa, and emergency management coordinators, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and the National Weather Service, are focusing on a specific topic each day to highlight dangers Iowans might face this spring and summer. Today’s (Monday) emphasis is on lightning safety. Carroll County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Coordinator Jeff Cullen says lightning is so common that many people underestimate how powerful a strike can be.
According to the National Weather Service, a typical lightning strike carries around 300 million volts and close to 30,000 amps. While lightning strikes are relatively rare, Cullen says the damage and potential for severe injury or death is significant.
Between 1959 and 2016, Iowa recorded 74 deaths due to lightning, the 11th-highest per capita number in the country for that time period. Carroll County Communications Center Director Jason Hoffman emphasizes that lightning strikes are easily avoidable with forethought.
For more resources on lightning safety, check out the links included with this story on our website. Tomorrow’s (Tuesday) focus is on tornado safety. Carroll Broadcasting will bring you more on each day’s topic throughout Severe Weather Awareness Week, which runs from March 24 through March 28.
