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Old 05-13-2015, 08:55 PM   #16
KSagal
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Pelham, NH, USA.
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As snarky as other posters may get, there has not been any definitive data offered in this thread. There are best guesses, that are posted as facts, but the answers offered as facts are specious, because the question is unanswerable. (unless you take your own opinion so seriously that you confuse it with fact.)

I did do the foolish thing of asking a search engine about the lightening questions posted here on this thread... The responses all offered data as fact, and each contradicted the next. There were no definitive answers that were agreed to by any consensus.

An exerpt from the first 3 sites I read significant data about surviving a lightening strike, or minimizing you likelihood of being struck is enclosed.

"In the United States, lightning strikes kill about 100 people each year and injure about 1,000, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
FEMA estimates that your chances of being struck by lightning are now about 1 in 600,000. Over the past 100 years, the rate at which people are struck has dropped substantially, as fewer people now work outdoors on farms or ranches.
"


"By Dr. Mercola
From 2003 to 2012, nearly 350 people died from being struck by lightning in the US.1 Many more are struck by lightning and survive, as only about 10 percent of lighting-strike victims are killed (though many do suffer from serious long-term effects).
Contrary to popular belief, what you do during a lightning strike can make all the difference in the outcome, helping you to survive and potentially suffer only minor injuries.
You might think this will never happen to you, but when you consider that the Earth is struck by more than 100 lightning bolts every second,2 it doesn't sound so far-fetched, does it? If you live in the US, you have a 1 in 3,000 chance of being struck by lightning in your lifetime. Knowing what to do if it happens can save your life."


"Q: Does carrying an open umbrella during a thunderstorm increase your odds of being hit by lightning?
A: As a flash travels toward the ground from a nearby cloud, it looks for the tallest object. But it is very blind as it travels, and only searches within about a 50-yard radius at the lower end of the channel, both outward and downward. It has no preconceived idea of what it will strike when it starts out in the cloud. So lightning does not look several miles away to the side during its downward travel to find a hill, a tower, building, or umbrella that is just a little taller than what is at its lower end within 50 yards.
The flash that is already going to hit nearby is the one to worry about. Within that range, you don't want to be the tallest object or attached to it. If you're holding an umbrella in an area surrounded by taller buildings, it's not so bad. But if you are already the only tall object within 50 yards, then it doesn't matter much what you are holding.
(Answered by: Ron Holle, research meteorologist, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Okla., Aug. 24, 1999)
"


You can see they contradict each other, because they are compiled by those who think too much, and do too little. There are some questions that have no real answer, because there are too many variables to give a realistic complete answer. It is like asking if it will rain on June 5th. Some people may answer it, and try to prove their point with the history of rain on June 5th, or the farmer's almanac, or simply choose to contradict anything thing I might say about June 5th. The truth is they would all be guesses, and you will have to wait till June 6th to have an absolute answer, and even then, some will argue with you.

As far as giving nice older ladies the advice to squat in a ditch to avoid being struck by lightening, I think I will take a pass. I have bad knees, and I know that I am more likely to hurt myself squatting in that ditch than gliding home to shelter from the rain. Let's not even go to the point that the first advice anyone should give is to simply come in from the rain. Most of us know that, except possibly domestic turkeys being fattened up for Thanksgiving.

So, snark away. I maintain that I have read nothing on this thread, or the research I have done regarding this topic, that will impact any person reading this thread in any way regarding being struck by lightening.

I did learn some interesting things on the websites I visited in researching this response, but I have no way to know the validity of that which I read.

I believe sometimes some of us take ourselves too seriously. Sometimes we can lighten up. Of course, this kind of lighten up is different from the lightening up you would do if struck by lightening.
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Karl Ian Sagal

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