Florida weather- Lightning season.

Although Florida weather is mostly known for its hurricane season another form of extremity in weather also happens and this is lightning. I personally realised this when visiting the state for the first time back in 2004 at the beginning of June and it was amazing to watch yet frightening realising the scale at which it does occur and seeing first hand the damage caused. This seasonal event happens across a vast area of the United States not just concentrated to Florida like the impact of the hurricane season.

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A whopping 25.3 strikes per square mile and 1.45 million lightning strikes each year, on average. The state is also the deadliest for lightning, with 62 deaths over the past 10 years. Florida's lightning shows are due to its location between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. These bodies of water provide the moisture needed for the state's notorious thunderstorms.

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* WHAT IS LIGHTNING? Lightning is the atmospheric discharge of electricity. It can occur within clouds, between clouds, and even from clouds to clear air. However, the most dangerous is cloud-to-ground lightning, which can strike people, animals, trees, towers and buildings. Lightning occurs when electricity occurs between areas of opposite electrical charge. When the attraction between positive and negative charges becomes strong enough to overcome the air's resistance, lightning flashes.

* WHY IS LIGHTNING DANGEROUS? Simply put, a person can be killed or seriously injured if lightning strikes them or an object in close contact to them. Even people indoors have been killed by lightning travelling through wires and pipes. An average of 10 people in Florida are killed by lightning strikes annually and 40 are seriously injured. Many of the survivors suffer severe lifelong disabilities.

* WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF LIGHTNING STRIKES?

• Direct Strike: A bolt of lightning strikes you directly, carrying 30,000 amps, 100-million volts, and temperature potential of 50,000 degrees Fehrenheit. Needless to say, very few people survive a direct strike.
• Contact Voltage: You are touching an object which is struck by lightning. Examples include direct contact with building surfaces, towers, poles, vehicle surfaces, wiring, and plumbing.
• Side Flash: You are struck by a bolt of lightning that arcs to you from an object that was struck, creating a path of least resistance.
• Step Voltage / Ground Streamers: Lightning strikes within 100 feet of you and the voltage jumps across the ground, wet pavement, pools of water, or other electrical pathways to touch you as well.

The vast majority of lightning casualties are from the indirect effects of contact voltage, side flash, and step voltage or ground streamers; NOT direct strikes.

* WHO GETS STRUCK THE MOST? Of those killed by lightning in Florida:

98% were outdoors.
89% were male.
30% were age 10-19.
20% were age 20-29.
25% were standing under a tree.
25% occurred on or near water.

* HOW BAD IS LIGHTNING IN FLORIDA? Of the 50 United States, Florida is the lightning capital. While the most frequent lightning strikes occur in the Tampa Bay area, the chance of being struck by lightning in Florida is 1 in 3,000 over the course of a lifetime. Statistically, that means 20 Seminoles walking on campus today will be struck by lightning at some point in their life, if they stay in Florida. Florida accounts for 16% of the average annual fatalities in the United States.

 WHEN IS LIGHTNING SEASON? Lightning can occur year-round in Florida, but is more typical during the spring, summer, and fall. Spring and fall thunderstorms are generally associated with the passing of weather fronts. These are easily forecasted and ample warning is provided. However, summertime thunderstorms are often referred to as "popcorn" storms as they can form right on top of you with little to no warning. The first bolt of lightning from a pop-up thunderstorm could be the killer.