Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Lightning Safety New Mexico Wing Civil Air Patrol Safety Briefing July 2015

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Lightning Safety July-August weather includes numerous thunderstorms characterized by abundant lightning bolts and strikes Lightning kills more Americans each year than tornadoes and hurricanes.

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety 2 Colorado Lightning Deaths JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Friday Rebecca Teilhet, 42, of Yellow Springs, Ohio, was killed and seven more hikers were injured. One day later and a few miles away, lightning killed Gregory Cardwell, 52, of Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Three others were hurt by that strike.

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Videos Lightning Safety

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety Lightning Speed : 136,000 mph Temperature: 30,000°C (54,000°F) Hot enough to fuse soil or sand into glass channels. JULY SAFETY BRIEFING

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety KINDS Streak lightning: ionized channel visible as a single wiggly line. Forked lightning: appears to have branches. Bead lightning: small sections of the channel remain bright longer than others. Sheet lightning: general illumination occurring inside clouds. Heat lightning: sheet lightning seen on the horizon, too far away for its thunder to be heard and it often looks red. Ball lightning: rare floating ball, grapefruit to bus size JULY SAFETY BRIEFING

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Types of Lightning Sheet StreakBall Bead Forked

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Elves 300K ft 150K ft 36K ft Red Sprites Blue Jets 70K ft

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety Lightning JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Intra-Cloud Cloud-Cloud Cloud-Ground

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety Lightning JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Intra-Cloud Cloud-Cloud Cloud-Ground

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Lightning Danger Danger exists within 10 miles of a lightning storm (Thunder can be heard over only 3-4 miles.) Most often involved in outside work or recreational activities Odds of being killed: Earthquake 1:11 million Tornado 1:1 million Lightning 1:600,000

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety Lightning JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Intra-Cloud Cloud-Cloud Cloud-Ground

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety Lightning Speed : 136,000 mph Temperature: 30,000°C (54,000°F) Hot enough to fuse soil or sand into glass channels. JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Barbed wire fence

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety Lightning Speed : 136,000 mph Temperature: 30,000°C (54,000°F) Hot enough to fuse soil or sand into glass channels. JULY SAFETY BRIEFING NM ranks 11-20

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Imminent Lightning Danger Darkening skies and wind If you hear thunder, you are in danger Look for lightning Hair begins to stand on end Buzzing noise in ears Drop to the ground!

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Lightning Storm Outside – what to do?

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Direct -- i.e. Windows or doors, patio, decks Electrical wiring, reception, plumbing Concrete flooring or walls Lightning entering a building

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Move to the center rooms of your home Don’t use connected electrical equipment such as Toaster Computer Corded phone** TV Don't use tub, shower Don't use washer/dryer Lightning Storm Inside – what to do?

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety Lightning Web resources – Thunderstorms, Tornados, and Lightning – U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – National Weather Service –“ When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors! JULY SAFETY BRIEFING

Joseph R. Perea, MD, LtCol, CAP NM Wing Director of Safety JULY SAFETY BRIEFING Questions? Personal experiences? Lightning Safety