Milford chronicle., 1923-08-24
SAFEST INDOORS DURING
SHOWERS

Get under cover if possible when a
thunder storm threatens. If this is not
practicable, lie down. That is the ad-
vice which Alexander G. McAdie, di-
rector of the Blue Hill Observatory in
Milton, Mass, and professor of mete-
OrOlOgy at Harvard University, gives
in an explanation of the action of
lightning prepared for the Associated
Press. He gives what he describes as
'ten good rules to help people take
care of themselves"
I'm a BATTLE" says Professor Nc
Adie, "a hundred bullets are fired for
each soldier killed. 1t is something
like this with lightning flashes. There
are a hundred discharges for every
bolt of lightning that hits a person.
Fortunately, too, of every hundred
streaks of lightning about ninety are
from cloud to cloud or spill-over dis
charges of moderate electrical energy
and are mostly horizontal, doing no
damage whatever.
10 Flashes in 100 Vertical
"About ten flashes in a hundred
come vertically, that is, down to earth
in straight line. Some flashes come
sideways and seem to be crooked, al
though there are really no flashes
zigzagging like the teeth of a saw as
artists generally depict lightning.
''The intense straight flashes are
the ones to be feared, and it is silly |
person who stands out in the open |
when such flashes are seen. He invites
but the invitation is not al
ways accepted.
'At this time of the year thunder
storms are frequent and there is a
comparatively large number of fatal
accidents. One reads in the press des-
patches that four men are walking
along a New Jersey beach during a
There is a flash of
lightning, one man is killed outright,
one severely burned, and the other
stunned.
"Now there is no protection for a
case like this unless one could carry
around with him metallic cover well
grounded. The first rule is then: Do
lot stay out on a beach or in a field
when dark, heavy clouds are overhead
II coming slowly from the west or
outh. Get under cover if possible. If
his is not practicable, lie down. Don't
emain standing.
Should Avoid Trees
Second: Do not stand under a tree
With thick foliage. You are forming a
art of the line of discharge, since The
ody, more particularly the skin if
loist is better conductor than the :
runk Of the tree. More people are !
illed by lightning in this way than
robably any other {
Third: Don't stand in the doorway
a barn or at a window in proximity :
} chimney. There are currents of !
ir or winds, and the lightning follows q
} some extent any draft or column
rising air, especially warm air. I
Fourth: Don't Taught at any ones ,
during a severe thunder y
Orm. There is a good reason to be
ervous. Even if one is in a building 5
lat is struck the damage is, in nine
-eight cases out of a hundred, con- I
led to ripping out plaster or knock u 4
g off states and tearing off any pro- = =
citing timbers. But these are times .
hen the storm clouds descend to =
nth and amid darkness the flashes
e heavy and numerous. At such
mes there is danger. 1t is dangerous q
be near chimney or a tree or a
gpole or metal clothes-line.
Fifth: Stock should not be tied
ar wire fence.
No Sense in Going to Bed \
Sixth: There is no particular sense q
going to bed. Standing on glass or
bber or any good insulator, a wool
blanket for example, will give one
title more security and a great deal
IRE confidence. The probability of
rson in an ordinary residence build "
: being struck is very slight. n
Seventh: If you are near a person ii
10 has been struck make every ef- ii
t to resuscitate him. Only rarely IL
IS lightning kill outright. Mostly rs
)ple are stunned, and all that is lN
,ded is a little artificial respiration iii
restore them to consciousness. Of
lrse get a doctor quick. Hi
Eighth: If you are in a trolley car Hi
flash comes in and burns the
es with a roar and a binding
h, sit still. The danger is over, and
lie you may be frightened you are ha
likely to be hurt. til
Ninth: If you have a radio, better an
it out during a thunder storm. The / t
9nnae should be grounded direct sh
all wires, as far as possible, kept an
side. ha
Tenth: If your house is provided we
! good lightning rods you need not 1aii
e much fear. Moreover, dwelling
ses in city blocks are practically me
nes