Re: [Paddlewise] Thunderstorm

> From: Dave Kruger <dkruger_at_pacifier.com>

>	Moral:  go paddle and don't worry about it!

Unless a storm is brewing nearby. :-) 

More likely to be struck by lightning?  Check out this amusing article
about how statistics are often used by media or special interests and
calculating your odds of being a human lightning rod:

   http://www.stats.org/spotlight/2200.html

I do think the area of the country in which one resides tends to color 
one's perception about the hazards of lightning.  Location certainly 
plays a big part in what type of storm you can expect.  Coming from 
Texas and paddling the Gulf coast and due to many first-hand experiences 
with lightning strikes, my anxiety level on approaching storms in the
Gulf coast region would rate in the higher range for concern about 
lightning strikes.  

Check out this map which shows the 1980-1994 climatological probability 
of severe weather events (US) occurring within 25 miles of any point for 
that day (the entire Gulf and Atlantic coasts are a hotbed of activity).  
Takes a little bit of time to load but is interesting to see the images.  

   http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/hazard/tanim8094/anysevanim8094.html

For an explanation of this map and more detailed data, go to:

   http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/hazard/loops.html

Florida, where lightning kills more people than any other meteorological 
phenomena ( http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/ltgcenter/ltgsafety.html ), has 
the highest number of lightning-strike injuries and fatalaties in the US.
At that same NOAA URL: 

  "A recent study which analyzed lightning strike victims in Florida found 
   most were young males.  The most common activities people were involved
   in when struck were related to employment, and then recreaton.  It was
   also found that most of the people were struck either prior to the storm
   (rain) reaching their location, or after the storm (rain) had ended. 
   Most of the people struck were either near water or near/under trees.

The above web page also describes what a "lightning bolt out of the blue" 
event is.

Lightning Safety for Campers and Hikers (National Lightning Safety Institute)
 
   http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/ploutdoor.htm

If anyone has already mentioned any of these URL's, my apologies for 
reposting the same info.

Cheers,

Jackie

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