Mountain enjoys watching nature's fireworks when a thunderstorm rumbles across the area. When I lived in Florida, we would go to the ocean to watch lightning dance on the water. It makes me feel alive.
Lightning also can kill.
The Upstate will get about 5,000 potentially deadly lightning strikes this year, prompting weather forecasters to issue safety warnings during this season of thunderstorms. Lightning killed more people than floods did last year, primarily because drought conditions limited rainfall, according to Vince DiCarlo, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Nationwide, there were 80 fatalities and 300 injuries attributed to lightning last year, he said. Most of the victims were men who were on a boat or a golf course, he said. The number of fatalities is going down as awareness increases and the technology in forecasting improves.