2 killed by lightning over weekend sets ominous start to spring and summer stormy season
The U.S. averages about 22 lightning deaths a year, but having two already in mid-April is about three weeks ahead of average, according to John Jensenius with the National Lightning Safety Council.
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Two people were killed by lightning strikes in separate incidents last weekend, setting an ominous start to the spring and summer stormy season when lightning becomes most prevalent.
On Saturday, a driver died when lightning struck a tree along a road in southeastern Pennsylvania. The bolt severed a large branch that fell on top of his SUV, killing him at the scene, according to Pennsylvania State Police. A front-seat passenger was injured, while a backseat passenger escaped without injury.
On Sunday, a Florida boater was killed, and a second was injured when a lightning bolt struck their vessel while on the Indian River during a severe thunderstorm, according to FOX 35 Orlando.
FILE - Florida, Miami Beach, dramatic lightning storm over Atlantic Ocean at night.
(Jeffrey Greenberg / UCG / Universal Images Group / Getty Images)
LIGHTNING SAFETY: WHEN THUNDER ROARS, EVEN TAKING OUT THE TRASH CAN TURN DEADLY
The U.S. averages about 22 lightning deaths a year, but having two already in mid-April is about three weeks ahead of average, according to John Jensenius with the National Lightning Safety Council. In an average year, the first average lightning death is April 16, but the second death usually doesn't occur until May 8.
Average date of lightning deaths in U.S. (Source: John Jensenius, National Lightning Safety Council)
(FOX Weather)
But fatal lightning strikes on boats and/or in Florida are not unusual. The boater's death was the 52nd lightning-related death in Florida in the past 10 years and the 25th to occur on a boat since 2006.
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‘If you’re outside, you're vulnerable to a possible lightning strike'
While in most instances of lightning deaths, the victims were only briefly outside, many lightning fatalities occur from people being outside for extended periods as storms approach or pass nearby.
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Jensenius says people wait "far too long" to get to a safe place, which leaves them in a dangerous and potentially deadly situation.
"If you are outside, you are vulnerable to a possible lightning strike," Jensenius said.
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He points to their successful safety message: "When thunder roars, go indoors!"
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"That simple message can save many lives," he said. "Chances are that if you are hearing any thunder, even a distant rumble, you're within striking distance of the storm. Many people don’t understand that lightning can strike more than 10 miles from the rain area in a thunderstorm and that even a distant rumble of thunder should serve as an immediate warning to get inside."