This week is Severe Weather Awareness Week and, as today’s topic is lightning and severe thunderstorms.
Winds in thunderstorms can exceed 120 miles per hour, which is stronger than most tornadoes. What people refer to as “heat lightning” is actually lightning from a thunderstorm too far away for thunder to be heard. Hail within thunderstorms can exceed the size of a softball (five inches in diameter) and can do even more damage when driven by wind.
More than two thirds of lightning fatalities for outdoor sports happen in soccer (40 percent) and golf (27 percent).
The National Weather Service has produced a short lightning safety video that can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMOFxrAWquk