What's the second half of the title on this story?  It's "When thunder roars....GO INDOORS!"

If you knew that then you probably also know that this is Lightning Safety Week, from June 12th - 18th.  Dan Kulak, a Meteorologist with Environment Canada says not knowing much about lightning safety could be a fatal mistake.  "Lightning, in the summertime, actually injures and kills more people across Canada on average than do tornados and hail storms and wind storms and flooding combined.  Lightning is a very significant threat in the summertime, about ten people per year die across Canada and one fatality is too many."

There are many myths surrounding lightning and Kulak wants to debunk them.  "Rubber tires, rubber boots, those things do not offer any lightning protection whatsoever.  With automobiles, the metal cage, the body of the vehicle that you're sitting inside of, offers protection.  A good shelter is a vehicle that has that metal cage around you or a very sturdily constructed building with wiring and plumbing, so not a pole shed or an open type of a building but a building that's there for twelve month occupancy."

Another myth says you don't need to fear lightning if it's not raining outside.  Not so, according to Kulak.  "Lightning can strike as much as 40 kilometres away from thunderstorms.  Most lightning does occur within ten kilometres of a thunderstorm, but rain is certainly not necessary to have lightning."

Kulak says in the summertime the best thing to do is know where your best lightning shelters are.  "Sturdy buildings, vehicles.  Trees are not a good form of shelter, they might protect you from the rain for a little while but I think we've been saying for years, try to avoid being the tallest object in an area or being near the tallest object and trees certainly qualify as a tall object."

As far as that catch phrase is concerned, Kulak says take it to heart.  "If you can hear the thunder you're close enough to the storm that the next lightning strike could actually strike in your area.  The thunderstorm name comes from the thunder that comes from the cloud, but what's causing the thunder, it's lightning inside that cloud.  The lightning that you may or may not see is the main threat."

Remember, "If thunder roars, GO INDOORS." 

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