JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There have been lots of reports about lightning strikes in the news lately, locally and nationally. So a question many people have is, is lighting and more specifically lightning strikes becoming more frequent?
To answer the first part of that question, the answer is a likely yes I talked to Doctor Harold Brooks form to explain this. He stated in a zoom interview " we expect lightning to increase as the planet warms. The number is 10% more lightning strikes for ever degree Celsius of warming"
This is because when the atmosphere warms it can hold more moisture, more moisture means a higher capability for strong thunderstorms which in return creates more lightning. Now he did mention this trend does not have enough data to show it is confirmed over the long term but initial data suggest the trend is taking place.
The graphic below shows how temperatures in the United States have been warming since the 1970's.
But what is interesting is even with that likely hood of increased lightning globally we are not seeing as many lightning fatalities.
"Lightning fatalities are way down, that is one of the big success stories in weather hazards" Dr. Brooks stated. "because if you look back in to the 1940s lightning deaths are in to the 100's" Now that number is down to about 20-40 deaths per year. A few reasons are for this, one being not as many people work outside as years ago, but also and most importantly education and organizations taking lightning seriously.
Now there is another thing we might not think about, but those who are hit by lightning have a higher chance of living in recent years. Dr. Brooks noted " emergency room medicine began to understand how to handle lightning strikes. They used to treat them like high voltage injuries when in fact they are much different."
Key thing is to continue to be weather smart. If you hear thunder head indoors.
