# Presentation: 763554

## Outdoor Safety

**National Weather Service**
**Missoula, Montana**

## Topics

**Lightning**
**Flooding**
**Hail**
**Wind-related Hazards**
**Fire Danger and Weather**

## Slide 3

## A cloud-to-ground flash has one or more return strokes

*Ronald L. Holle**©**2004*

## Temperature
   50,000 degrees F
Intensity
   200,000,000 volts or more
   20,000 amperes
Size
   One inch in diameter

**   ****50,000 degrees F**
_**Intensity**_
**   ****200,000,000 volts or more**
**   ****20,000 amperes**
_**Size**_
**   ****One inch in diameter**

**Lightning**

## Annual impacts of lightning

**24,000 deaths and 240,000 injuries worldwide**** **
**300,000 insurance claims for homes damaged by lightning in US**** **
**Several billion dollars in damages and avoidance in US**

## Odds of being a

**40 killed, 360 injured a year***** (official)                 ******	******	******	*****1 in 825,000**
** **
**60 killed, 540 injuries a year *****(estimated)*****    ****	**
**  ****	****	****	**** ****1 in 500,000**
**Life span of 80 years****	****	**
**	****	****	****1 in 6,250**

**Odds of being a**
** ****Lightning Victim**

## Fatalities by State 

**Fatalities by State **
**1995-2004**

## Fatality Rate by State1995-2004

**Fatality Rate by State****1995-2004**

## Lightning Safety

**Lightning Safety**

## Medical impacts on lightning victims

**Serious injuries are mainly neurological**
**	****--Damage to brain and spinal column functions**
**	****--Significant difficulty in ordering tasks**
**	****--Seizures**
**	****--Lack of understanding by medical community**
**	****--Major deterioration from prior personality**
**	****--Isolation and depression**
**	****--Impacts often grow worse as the years pass**

**Medical impacts on lightning victims**

## Lightning

**Lightning**

**Lightning kills more people than tornadoes.**
**Avoid being the tallest object in an area.**
**Remain indoors or inside your vehicle if possible.**
**Lightning can be cloud to cloud, in-cloud, cloud to air, cloud to ground in sheet or fork formation.**
**In general 6 miles or less is the danger zone (30 seconds or less after thunder is heard).**

## Metal does not attract lightning
Rubber shoes or tires provide no protection
Blue sky is often present during overhead lightning 
It’s usually not raining hard during lightning
There are no useful precautions outside to be safe from lightning

**Rubber shoes or tires provide **_**no**_** protection**
**Blue sky is often present during overhead lightning **
**It’s usually **_**not**_** raining hard during lightning**
**There are **_**no**_** useful precautions outside to be safe from lightning**

**Lightning facts**

## Flooding

**Flooding is the number two weather killer in the U.S.**
**It takes only 2 feet of water moving at 6 mph to move a car.**
**Abandon your vehicle should it ****	****	**
**	****stall in high water**
**Don’t drive or walk into flooded **
**	****areas, especially if you are **
**	****unfamiliar with the area.**

## Flooding in Western Montana

## Flash Flooding in Western Montana

**Flash Flooding is rare, but can occur especially in severely  burned forested areas.**

## Flash Flood/Debris Flows

**LAIRD CREEK FLOODED HOMES 2001**

## Hail

- Hail was responsible for nearly
- 	$500 million in damage in 2002.
- Can be as large as softballs.
- Strong structures or highway overpasses offer the best protection.
- Vehicles can withstand hail up to
- 	quarter size.

## Wind-Related Hazards

**DOWNBURST**
-     **A strong downdraft released from a cloud (usually a thunderstorm) capable of damaging winds at the ground**
**TORNADO**
-     **A violently rotating column of air descending from a thunderstorm in contact with the ground**
**FUNNEL CLOUD**
-     **A rotating, funnel-shaped cloud extending from the base of a thunderstorm, but not touching the ground**

## Downbursts

**Downbursts**

**A downburst is a sudden rush of air from a thunderstorm. Winds can exceed 100 mph, producing tornado-like damage.**
**Strong structures offer the best protection.**
**Associated with additional hazards such as heavy rain or blowing dust and/or debris**

## Fire Danger

**Fire season 2000 – 6.8 million acres burned**

## Fire Weather

- Severe fire seasons due to drought and frequent winds can result in billions of dollars in damages
- Annual suppression costs for Federal Agencies exceed $1 billion
- Cite:  **National Interagency Fire Center**

## What you can do to help

**Do not light fires under low hanging trees**
**Make sure that all fires are completely extinguished**
**Abide by burn bans during the late summer months**
**Do not leave chains or other objects hanging from automobiles or RV’s**

## “Let’s all be careful out there!”

**“****Let’s all be careful out there!”**

## The End

**The End**

*Ronald L. Holle©2001*