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Series of South Florida lightning strikes proves no place is totally safe
By Aiyana Baida
Staff Writer
7:46 PM EDT, July 27, 2009
FORT LAUDERDALE
<br>
In
the past four days in South Florida, separate lightning strikes hit two
cars on different stretches of highway, a home and a gas station. All
four incidents prove a single point: In a lightning storm, no place is
completely safe.
Four people, including a landscaper in Coral Springs, have died from lightning strikes in the past two months.
Friday, a bolt hit Michelle St. Val's 2003 Chevrolet Impala as she
drove on Interstate 595 with her 4-year-old son. On Saturday, lightning
punched a hole in the roof of a Mobil gas station in Miramar. Then, on
Monday, lightning struck twice, minutes apart. First, a bolt hit a car
on Interstate 75 in Miami-Dade County, followed by a house just a few
miles away. The force blew out the home's windows.
"One thing that was surprising is that they occurred within minutes of
each other," said Lt. Eddy Ballester of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. "That's
a rarity."
Florida has an average of 1.4 million lightning flashes a year,
according to the National Weather Service. Most just hit ground, but
others strike homes, cars, planes, boats, trees and even people.
"Lightning always follows the path of least resistance. If the roof is
soaking wet from the storm it is possible it will travel on the roof.
...You never know where that path will be," said Matt Bragaw, a weather
service lightning expert.
The safest place to be during a lightning storm is inside a home or
building, he said. But that isn't foolproof. Lightning can travel
through the electrical wiring, phone lines, plumbing and even the wire
mesh in concrete floors. The weather service urges people to stay off
corded phones and turn off electrical appliances, and to not use water.
Strikes on cars are more common than most might think, Bragaw said. And the rubber tires don't keep you safe.
"The metal frame of the car allows the electricity to flow around it,"
he said. "If you have a convertible car the lightning will burn right
through it."
In most situations, seeking shelter or staying in your car during a
lightning storm is your safest bet. But for boaters stuck out at sea
the options are between bad and worse, Bragaw said. Most lightning
strikes on open boats without lower decks won't have a good outcome.
Their best bet, he said: Keep an eye on the weather and head for shore
when storms form.
"People know how to treat a snakebite and most people know how to avoid
a snakebite," Bragaw said. "That's what people need to do with
lightning."
Aiyana Baida can be reached at anbaida@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4386.