3 people died on Lake Geneva, WI  when their boat overturned in high winds. Seven were rescued. This occurred even though there were tornado then high wind warnings. From my blog earlier today, note the upper warning specifically mentions Lake Geneva: When outdoors, these warnings should be taken seriously. Here's a vital bit of information: If you see clouds like this, known as a "shelf cloud," high winds -- perhaps extreme winds, are likely. Last month, I took this photo of a shelf cloud. A wind gust of 81 mph was clocked as it went by. Regardless of whether it is a tornado/severe thunderstorm warning or a shelf cloud, stop what you are doing and head for shore immediately! A time-lapse video , from earlier today, shows a shelf cloud moving overhead. At the very end, you can see the visibility drop as sand is blown from the beach.  Lightning Danger And, this tragic news just in.... In addition, three were injured by that lightning bolt. If thunder roars, go indoors!  o...

Above is a type of lightning bolt that meteorologists call an "anvil crawler." They travel horizontally along the upper part of a thunderstorm(s).  Smithsonian  published an article recently about an anvil crawler that moved from Texas to Missouri -- a distance of more than 500 miles in about six seconds! This lightning event occurred in October, 2017.  If you wish to read the entire article it is here .  UPDATE:   The Wall Street Journal  had a (possibly paywalled) story about the lightning bolt today. 

Photo taken in Wichita. In addition to the  cloud-to-ground lightning, the bolt cuts through a descending downburst. Weather tragedies occur during events large and small. Monday, a New Jersey  golfer was struck by lightning and later passed away. It is important to note that even people who survive a lightning strike are often never the same.  The photo above was taken from our Wichita home. It depicts golfer congregating near trees, presumably trying to shelter themselves from an approaching storm. This is going from bad to worse as lighting is often attracted by trees. The only safe course of action is to get off the course when you hear thunder, see lightning or a storm appears to be approaching.  Olympic Athlete Killed By Lightning in Norway Details are here . How To Keep Yourself Safe Head indoors if you hear thunderstorm or see lightning. Most lightning strikes occur outside of heavy rain. Last night, in Kansas, this cloud-to-ground lightning occurred more th...

A 29 year-old man on his Florida honeymoon was killed Friday when struck by lightning. Usually, I wouldn't write about this but there is an important  lesson in lightning safety: you don't have to be rained on for lightning to strike. In fact, the thunderstorm doesn't have to be nearby. The gentleman was killed at the dot shown on the beach. It was 7 miles from the center of the storm and about 5 miles from any rain.  I have seen one unpublished study that says more people are killed just before and after it rains rather than during rain. During rain, people usually go to shelter. When it isn't raining, they often stay out in the open, which is dangerous.  Generally speaking, 15 miles from the storm is considered a safe distance. You can easily use that rule of thumb if you have a radar app. There are techniques that are more precise but they -- unfortunately -- are not widely used by weather science.  The slogan, When thunder roars go indoors , is a good one. If you...

One of dozens of examples of lightning and showering cautions over the past month.  Lightning and Bathroom Showers It is the time of year when we get our annual thunderstorm hazards presentations from weather scientists -- which are usually good reminders. However, we need to separate truth from fiction with regard to a couple of thunderstorm hazards. The first regards lightning and showers during thunderstorms.  An annual source of misinformation is from the Centers for Disease Control (what does lightning have to do with "disease control"?) regarding the risk of taking a shower during a thunderstorm (below): I did a DuckDuckGo search to find how often people die in showers during thunderstorms. Couldn't find a single one. So, I went to the AI program, "Grok," did a "deep search," and this is what I found: In other words, the risk of dying from an electrical shock in the shower during a thunderstorm is minuscule. Meanwhile, one American a day -- o...

The image of a tennis player says it all.

This is National Lightning Safety Week and I learned something new a couple of days ago and it is this: the "lightning crouch" is no longer recommended if you get caught in the open during lightning. The Lightning Safety Council believes that it is more important to get to shelter rather than staying out in the storm crouching.  Literally 99% of lightning fatalities do not  occur in cars or buildings. That is where you want to go when you see lightning or hear thunder. 

I was recently asked whether the product shown below works. TornadoAlert uses lightning patterns to attempt to warn of tornadoes in your local area in time to take shelter. First, I have zero direct knowledge about this product. I do  know that lightning-based tornado detection devices have been around for about 70 years. I saved up and purchased a Sferics  a couple of years after the F-5 Ruskin Heights Tornado (1957) passed south of my neighborhood.  When lightning rates reached a certain point it would display danger (right) and sound a piercing siren.  Today's lightning detectors are more sophisticated and likely to do much better. Here are reviews at Amazon . You will also find a first-hand review at StormTrack .  The science shows that most supercell thunderstorms have a lightning polarity flip (often negative to positive) just before they produce a tornado. For example, this was true of the F-5 tornado that struck Greensburg, Kansas, in 2007. But, it is n...

When thunder roars, go indoors! There will be thunderstorms in various areas this week. 

The folks at Vaisala inform us that the 48 states had the most lightning since 2016. To be specific, 2023 had 242,101,157 cloud-to-ground lightning bolts. 

Here is the story of a woman who was struck by lightning and the gruesome story of her recovery. In fact, she may never recover. The Washington Post  story about her is here .  Very often, the survivors of lightning strikes have an awful time with their recovery. So, I urge you to consider: Do not take shelter under a tree as Amber and the others (who were killed) did.  Get off the water and out of swimming pools when you see storms approach and, unquestionably, when you hear thunder. Get off golf courses when you see storms approach or hear thunder. If you are caught out in the open, squat. Keep your hands off the ground. Your shoes should provide some insulation. If you are in a group, spread out. If a strike occurs, the number of people injured will be less, plus the uninjured will be able to summon help.  Automobiles (provided the top is up and any sunroof is closed) provides good protection. So do buildings other than metal sheds. Get indoors when thunderstorms ...

This is one of the most spectacular lightning time-lapses I have seen in a long time. Please enjoy!

This slightly complicated graphic carries an important message. While lightning is most frequent where it is raining, people aren't as exposed to lightning because they are indoors sheltering from the rain. So, the highest risk of being struck by lightning is as the storm gets near and as it moves away (the red area).  If thunder roars, go indoors!!

On May 25, 2022, I published Part I of a reexamination of the data surrounding the horrific F-5 tornadoes that struck Blackwell, OK and Udall, KS that evening.    One hundred two people died in those two small towns.  Because they occurred in darkness in the pre-warning era, people literally died in their beds after being told by television weathercasts, "all advisories have been lifted."   I recommend reading Part 1 (click there blue link) before reading on.  Now, I would like to present the second part of what I have learned about that historic event:  Truck thrown 1/4-mile out of Udall. Most of the truck was  stripped away from the steel chassis.  I enjoy applied meteorological research and, when possible, advancing our science.  My computer screen while working on a tornado project So, to learn more about that horrific night in May, 1955, I examined the following "new" data.  Radar photography from the evening of 5-25-55 from th...

From Vaisala, here is the map of lightning flashes across the contiguous United States during 2022. 

At 3pm CDT, lightning (small + symbols) and blowing dust (brown) are both occurring in Kansas -- a highly unusual situation.  Click to enlarge  I still believe we will see thunderstorms with damaging winds later. Please see the post below. 

Four people have life-threatening injuries due to being hit by a six-stroke lightning bolt that struck the ground in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.  There is a report the victims took shelter in a grove a trees -- a very unsafe location during lightning.  CBS News had a camera rolling on the north lawn of the White House (which is the side of the White House that faces Lafayette Park). You can see the reflection of the flashes and instant sound of thunder. The lightning occurred at 6:49pm EDT. UPDATE: Fox5DC has video of the actual lightning .  The radar at 6:48pm is below. The Capital Weather Gang is updating the story, here . Update: Two of the victims have passed away. Update 4:39pm Friday: Update: Noon Monday. The fourth person has been identified and is recovering. There is video of the lightning where you can see the six strokes. 

Beyond absurd.... What does it have to do with climate change?   Nothing! You'll see a lot of gross pictures if you Bing " cattle killed by lightning ," so I'm not showing any of those.  Many head can be killed by a single bolt because cattle often take shelter under trees or near metal fences.  And............ The reason meteorologist Matthew Cappucci didn't mention the Texas tornadoes is because they had nothing to do with global warming. They were typical Texas tornadoes occurring at the time of year they typically occur. Also, for the millionth time, violent tornadoes are getting less  frequent as earth temperatures have warmed. This is a chart of official NOAA figures.  There are many good reasons to decarbonize energy via nuclear energy and by hydroelectric sources (and not windmills and solar). The earth has clearly warmed the last 60 years and man is part of the reason. But, repeating these scientific absurdities do no one any good.