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Lightning strike injures two Women from Halifax and Geary, N.B. sent to hospital CBC News Posted: Jul 8, 2012 2:21 PM AT Last Updated: Jul 8, 2012 3:41 PM AT Facebook 0 Twitter 6 Share 6 Email Two women out for a walk in Oromocto were injured Saturday when a lightning bolt struck a nearby tree. The women were near the Oromocto Boat Club when a storm came up suddenly around 1:20 p.m. People called the police, thinking the women had been struck. "As it turned out, lightning had struck close to the two individuals walking down in Hazen Park by the Oromocto River," said RCMP Cpl. Jean-Marc Pare. "The force of the lightning threw the two ladies to the ground." The women were then taken to the Oromocto Hospital. One had to be transferred to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton. Their injuries are not considered life threatening. One of the women is from Halifax; the other from Geary, N.B.
Sat, 07/07/2012 12:00 PM Injured	1 of 5 campers	0.0	U	St. Francois county MO  USA		camping at St. Joe State Park		Camping,Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside
Lightning strike sends 5 to the hospital Posted: Jul 08, 2012 5:15 PM EDT Updated: Jul 08, 2012 5:57 PM EDT HEARTLAND NEWSMORE>> Extreme drought evaporating moisture in the soil Storm damage affects business at Ironton, Mo. restaurant Fire destroys garbage truck, damages two others in Cape Girardeau Lightning strike sends 5 to the hospital Man dies after rollover crash near Fredericktown, Mo. ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, MO (KFVS) - Five people were shaken up after a nearby lightning strike in St. Francois County. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, two adults and three children were camping at St. Joe State Park near Park Hills on Saturday when lightning hit somewhere nearby. They all complained of minor aches and pains and took a private vehicle to a Farmington hospital. They are believed to have recovered with little to no harm. And, to the south, lightning strikes kept crews in Madison County busy on Sunday. Firefighters worked to put out a brush fire on County Road 236 in the Marquand area. Mother Nature helped out a bit as rainfall slowed the fire from spreading. As crews fought this fire they took another call of lightning starting another fire in a different part of the county.
Sat, 07/07/2012 12:00 PM Injured	4 of 5 campers	0.0	U	St. Francois county MO  USA		camping at St. Joe State Park	N/A	Camping,Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Park
Sat, 07/07/2012 12:00 PM Killed	girl	0.0	M	Dresden  Germany		running to shelter in pool complex		Outside,Pool,Taking Shelter
Storms kill three in Germany From: AAP July 07, 2012 11:34PM Increase Text Size Decrease Text Size Print Storms in Germany have killed three, including a nine-year-old girl, and injured at least 20. OFFICIALS said on Saturday the girl was struck by lightning late on Friday near the eastern city of Dresden. She was running through a swimming pool complex - apparently after several children were told to seek shelter - when lightning struck. A falling tree hit a car in the state of Saxony, killing its 23-year-old driver, while in the northern town of Lueneburg near Hamburg a rotten tree fell on a cyclist, possibly due to the storm. She died in hospital of her injuries.
Sat, 07/07/2012 12:00 PM Injured	5 of 5 campers	0.0	U	St. Francois county MO  USA		camping at St. Joe State Park		Camping,Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Park
Sat, 07/07/2012 08:15 PM Killed	Ronald Nicholas	68.0	M	Waverly KS  USA		in front yard		Outside,Yard
Sunday, July 8, 2012 A Kansas man has died after being struck by a bolt of lightning. It happened just after 8:15 p.m. Saturday in Coffey County near Waverly. Coffey County officials say Ronald Nicholas, 68, was outside in his front yard when he was hit. He was hosting a family gathering to celebrate the Fourth of July when the accident happened. Officials say the storm was not directly over Nicholas' home. He was killed by a stray bolt of lightning from a nearby storm. Experts say if you can hear thunder, you are likely within striking distance of a storm. For more information about how to stay safe from lightning, please click the link below.
Fri, 07/06/2012 12:00 PM Killed	14 killed	0.0	U	Bhopal  India
14 killed as lightning strikes MP Source: DNA | Last Updated 02:59(06/07/12) Share | Advertisement Bhopal: Fourteen persons, including eight children, were killed in different parts of Madhya Pradesh since last 24 hours due to lightning and electrocution, officials said. A girl identified as Rampyari (12) died when she was standing under a tree to protect herself from rainfall and suddenly lightning hit her at Tevri village in Sagar district, they said. In an another incident, two kids-- Akash (8) and Ajay (10) --were also hit by lightning at village Khimlasa in Sagar district. Similarly, at Pathakhurd village in the same district, Khilan Adivasi (55) took shelter at a hut in an agriculture field where he got electrocuted due to lightning. In Katni district's Rohania village, three children, Laxmi (6), Akhila Choudhry (7) and Dharmendra Choudhry (13) were struck by lightning resulting in their death. At Asadi village in Katni district, Rammilan Patel (45) and his wife Pushpa Patel (40) died as lightning struck them when they were working in an agriculture field, according to officials. In Seoni district's Dhooma village, Sumitra Bai (48) lost her life, while at village Sirmagni also two persons identified as Gumma Bai and Ramkumar (30) got electrocuted as lightning struck them. In Rewa district's Shibla village, two kids Kamlesh and Omprakash died after lighting struck them, officials added. Ads by Google
Fri, 07/06/2012 12:00 PM Injured	Sharon Witham	0.0	F	Benton AR  USA		holding lawn umbrella		Ground Strike,Indirect,Lawn Furniture,Outside,Umbrella,Yard
Benton woman survives lightning strike July 22, 2012 BY MATT BURKS mburks@bentoncourier.com Sharon Witham of Benton shows her 6-year-old Jayden Tarrants a cast on her harm to heal a fractured wrist, which she suffered during a lightning strike at her home. (Courier photo by Matt Burks) During a thunderstorm on July 6, Benton resident Sharon Witham noticed that a canopy in her backyard was being whipped around. She feared it would blow over toward a neighbor's home, so she dashed out the door, grabbed one of the canopy's metal poles and began to "mash it down." Witham said it then occurred to her that having metal in her hand probably wasn't a good idea. "I had that pole in my hand and I thought, 'I better let that go,'" she said. "All of a sudden I saw light out of the corner of my eyes, I was knocked backward and I heard a bang. It sounded like dynamite exploding." As she began picking herself off the ground, she looked for her husband, Rusty, who had been looking for a tool in the adjacent shop. "He had his hands on his head covering his ears and he was down on the ground on his knees," Witham said. "He later told me that it felt like he was back in Vietnam. That's how loud it sounded to him." The peculiar thing about this lightning strike is that it actually struck a tree in the family's front yard, about 100 feet away from where the couple were standing. Somehow, Witham said, the lightning bolt traveled down the tree, underground, damaged the air-conditioning unit, traveled under the fence and blew out an electric outlet next to her house, traveled to a second electrical outlet by a picnic table, then traveled toward a tree near where Sharon Witham was standing. When she later surveyed the damage, it was discovered that a brick had popped out of a walkway, a large plastic trash can had been flung into the air, and even the end of a cord to a fan lying near the trash can was fried. The fan was not plugged into any electrical outlet. Her nephew, Tim Hogue of Benton, later found even more damage. "A light bulb was literally blown out," he said. "All that was left was the shank. There is no evidence of the glass part of the bulb to be found. There was also monkey grass that was shot out of the ground and it landed several feet away; wire burned up inside a busted PVC pipe; pieces of wood flew off a lattice; the bottom of that plastic trash can that was shot probably 15 to 20 feet in the air looked like it was punt-kicked; that end of a fan plug that exploded wasn't even plugged in, it was just simply lying on the ground along the hot path; and that brick that popped out was to the left of my aunt and the trash can was on the right of her." He added, "Keep in mind, that tree wasn't even directly hit. It was just somehow in the middle of the crazy pathway that the lightning charge took." Sharon Witham realizes now that at that same moment that lightning struck, she was standing with one foot on the brick/concrete walkway and one foot on the bare ground. Somehow and she doesn't know how to explain it she managed to escape serious, possibly fatal, injury. "When I got up, my husband asked me if anything was wrong and I said, 'Well, my leg and foot are kind of numb,'" Witham said. "Then my arm just started hurting, but it didn't look like anything was wrong. We went inside and about 10 minutes later all my blood veins started bulging out and I thought, 'that's weird.'" She also said that because they smelled smoke, they decided to call the Benton Fire Department and Saline Memorial Hospital Ambulance Service. Witham said firefighters thoroughly checked the home for any signs of fire, but "didn't find anything." "An ambulance worker came in, checked me out and asked me a lot of questions and finally told me that I needed to go on into the hospital to see if anything was broken," she said. "So I went and got X-rays. I was told I have a fracture on the top of my wrist and I have to wear a cast for at least four weeks. We also had slight hearing damage, and we are just now getting over that." According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a U.S. government agency, "Over the last 30 years (1981-2010) the U.S. has averaged 54 reported lightning fatalities per year. Only about 10 percent of people who are struck by lightning are killed, leaving 90 percent with various degrees of disability." Luckily, Sharon and Rusty Witham received only a big scare and non-life-threatening injuries. However, it's an incident the couple, their neighbors and their family believe they will remember for many years. And Sharon Witham believes this incident also is one that can help others. Witham, with characteristic lightheartedness, joked about the lightning strike, while simultaneously expressing gratitude. She's just happy that everyone is safe, including her dogs. "The dogs were all in the house. They were the smart ones, I guess. They knew better," Witham said with a laugh. "Next time (if something is down), I'm just going to let it blow away, tear up or whatever. It's not worth getting out and getting hurt or killed. It was scary, scary." She not only thanked the firefighters and ambulance crew, she also is thankful that her grandchildren were not at the home. Witham said they probably would have been near her at the time, as "they just always kind of follow me around." "Everything just happened so fast," she said. "There was no way I could have turned around and escaped it because it was right there. When I saw that flash of light, I immediately thought 'that's it, I'm dead.' I am very lucky to be alive. I know that I am. And I definitely respect that lightning." Hogue remains curious as to how lightning that struck a tree about 100 yards away could have caused so much damage. However, he also believes his aunt's unfortunate situation can be used positively for other people. "Perhaps the large root system was an excellent conductor; which might explain the freak phenomena of what happened with the trash can, bricks, and monkey grass," Hogue said. "I hope this article can serve as a teaching tool to convince folks of the dangers of lightning." Witham, who was actually celebrating a birthday the next day (and she politely declined to say which one), used humor in her warning to others. "I'll tell anyone that if there is lightning anywhere around you, just get away from it because it can do some weird things like it did here. It followed the wires underground and all the way around back here," Witham said. "The next day, all my family kept telling me, 'We're so glad you're still here,' and the neighbors were all concerned. I just told everyone, 'I guess I was your delayed firecracker.'"
Thu, 07/05/2012 03:22 PM Injured	man	0.0	M	Morgantown NC  USA		at Steele Creek Park Campground		Camping,Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside
BURKE COUNTY, N.C. -- The man who was struck by lightning Thursday afternoon in Burke County is out of the hospital. Police responded to the Steele Creek Park Campground off NC 181 North, which is just north of Morganton around 3:22 p.m. The man was putting up a tent when he was struck. He drove himself to the hospital to get checked out and has since returned to the campground. The name of the victim has not been released.
Thu, 07/05/2012 12:00 PM Injured	Peter Henderson	0.0	M	Berchtesgadener Alpen Bavaria  Germany		mountain climbing		Ground Strike,Indirect,Mtn. Climbing,Wet
Hello Michael, your website is the only place i have found so far that might be interested in documenting my being recently hit by lightning. So i thought i'd send you some brief details, in the hope that it might help others, even if only in the long run through statistics. Last week on 5th of July 2012 my wife and i were caught in a brief electrical storm on the last pitch of a mutli-pitch rock climb above the Blaueishuette (www.blaueishuette.de) in the Berchtesgadener Alpen, Bavaria, Deutschland, EU. While climbing up a corner/crack, which had become a torrent of water due to the intense rain, i saw above me what looked like a very bright car head light, and simultaneously heard the deafening clap of thunder and felt the jolt through at least one of my hands. Panic stricken, but still conscious, i finished the climb and managed to pull myself together (probably very high on adrenalin) to get down to safety as the rain eased off. My partner was unaffected. My research since suggests that i only experienced a ground current through the surface water flowing down the rock, the strike having hit a projection on the main ridge of the mountain, Shärtenspitze, above us. One thing that disturbed me afterwards, possibly because i looked quite normal, albeit somewhat excited, was the lack of concern shown by the people we told at the hut. Even my partner thought i must be exaggerating! It is impossible for me to know how many amps i received, and i'm still monitoring myself for long-term symptoms. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. Regards, Dr Peter Henderson
Thu, 07/05/2012 05:30 AM Killed	Jean-Philippe Dion	21.0	F	Saint-Ramond de Portneuf  Canada		rock climbing		Mtn. Climbing,Outside
A Quebec rock climber is dead after being struck by lightning in a remote area north of Saint-Raymond de Portneuf, near Quebec City. Jean-Philippe Dion, 21, was climbing a mountainside with his friend when they were struck by lightning. "His friend tried to revive him without any success so he just hurried to try and get help," said Sgt. Ann Mathieu, spokeswoman for the Sûreté du Québec. The man's friend was able to contact authorities with his cellphone. He sustained minor injuries and reportedly suffered from shock. Police have located the victim's body and retrieved it at around 7 a.m. ET on Thursday with the help of a helicopter. François-Guy Thivierge, owner of a rock-climbing gym in Quebec City, said the rock-climbing community is reflecting on the incident. "It's very sad news, spectacular news because it's very rare." Police are investigating the incident.
Thu, 07/05/2012 12:00 AM Killed	3 persons	0.0	U	Giridih district  India
Three killed in lightning strike Press Trust of India / Giridih (Jharkhand) July 05, 2012, 16:05 Ads by Google What Matters to You? : The Things That Matter To You Matter To Us. See How HP® Can Help. www.HP.com/MakeitMatter Three persons, including a college student, were today killed and three others suffered serious injuries when lightning struck at separate places in Giridih district. In the first incident, the thunder bolt struck the campus of Rajdhanwar Adarsh College at Rajdhanwar, killing one student and injuring three others, according to college principal Sushil Kumar. In the other incident at Pulgo village of the district, a man and his wife were killed when lightning struck them while they were working near their home, according to police sources.
Thu, 07/05/2012 07:00 PM Injured	Laura Gingerich	0.0	F	Whispering Pines NC  USA		walking to vehicle		Indirect,Outside,Walking to Vehicle
hi, I went outside in a terrible storm here in NC tonight to get something from my car. I remember the bright light and the boom but I don't remember how I got into my car. I was stunned, completely stunned I suppose. My left ear hurts and my left arm feels weak. Seemed like the lightning hit right next to me&I feel strange. Is this normal? Thanks, Laura
Wed, 07/04/2012 06:00 PM Injured	Peter Arsenault 3 of 3	29.0	M	Laconia NH  USA		at a barbecue	N/A	Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Picnic,Yard
Lightning strikes 2 in South Boston, 3 in Laconia, NH Jul 5, 2012 7:20am Recommend Comments(0) Email Print Facebook RSS (NECN) There are no injuries to report on the Esplanade, but two people were struck by lightning on Telegraph Hill in Thomas Park in Southie while watching the fireworks display. Firefighters responded to the park at around 10:45. The Globe is reporting a man and a woman were taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital. There s no word on their condition. And three people in Laconia, N.H. were treated and released for minor injuries after being struck by lightning Wednesday night. Firefighters say the victims, all in their 20's, were standing near a grill when lightning hit the ground nearby. July 05. 2012 8:31PM 3 escape power of lightning ShareThis By PAULA TRACY New Hamphsire Union Leader After being hit by lightning at the same spot in Weirs Beach on the Fourth of July, three Boston area residents, Peter Arsenault, Courtney Mulcahey and Scott Chamberlain sport their hospital bracelets. The three were kept overnight at Lakes Region General Hospital for observation with Chamberlain suffering the worst, most painful of the injuries, while tending a gas grill outside their rented cottage on Hillcroft Road. They all suffered temporary memory loss but were back enjoying their vacation, Thursday. (Paula Tracy/Union Leader) LACONIA A class reunion group from the Burlington (Mass.) High School class of 2003 experienced a lightning strike Wednesday that injured three people during a barbecue on Weirs Beach. Peter Arsenault, Scott Chamberlain and Courtney Mulcahey, all from the Boston area, were taken by ambulance from their cottage at 53 Hillcroft Road about 6 p.m. Wednesday to Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia after lightning struck the area. It came at a time when there were many lightning strikes of buildings in the area and significant wind damage in the Tilton area. On Thursday after spending the night at the hospital, the three were back among their friends sporting their hospital bracelets, and while laughing, were still visibly shaken by the experience and declined to discuss it. But their friends recalled the fright. It came on very quickly, said Yianni Skourtis of Boston, We could see the storm coming, then there was bang and they ran into the house, he said. Chamberlain felt intense pain all over, the three had temporary memory loss, and Mulcahey had pain in her hands. Skourtis said the three were outside the door next to the gas grill and were removing steak tips, hot dogs and chicken. He said one of the three was handing a hot dog to the other and the other had a hand on the shoulder of the other when the bolt likely struck the tin roof of the camp, which was connected by a gas line to the grill, he said. Residents and vacationers along the road, which borders Pickerel Cove and Paugus Bay, reported that the thunder was the loudest they had ever encountered. Jim Peabody of 92 Hillcroft Road said he had just come in from cleaning his boat in his yard a little after 5:30 and was taking a shower when he heard a heavy bang, pointing up towards the hillside near his house, not far from the house where the three were struck. I was petrified, said Lou Peabody, noting she was cleaning out her closet so she could go hide in it when the bolt struck. Patti Taylor at 106 Hillcroft Road said she heard a loud boom and it was nothing like I ever heard before, she said. Michelle Levell of Windham, renting a house on the end of the road for the week, said her family had just come in and was cooking dinner when the bolt struck, and it knocked out a kitchen light over the sink at 192 Hillcroft Road. It was intense, she said. There was, however, little structural damage and no fire associated with the bolt. Skourtis said the three who were outside were able to scramble into the house but it was obvious all three needed medical attention. Laconia Fire Department responded within minutes of the 911 call and took the three to the hospital. Jannelle Iaquinto of Boston said she believes that the bolt did not strike the three directly but likely hit either the roof or the ground near the house. The 'pop' was so loud people leaped in the air, she said. The group, which is made up primarily of the 2003 Burlington (Mass.) High School class, gets together annually for a week each summer but Skourtis said this one will be memorable for years go come. ptracy@unionleader.com
Wed, 07/04/2012 06:00 PM Injured	Scott Chamberlain 2 of 3	29.0	M	Laconia NH  USA		at a barbecue	N/A	Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Picnic,Yard
LACONIA, N.H. (WHDH) -- Three people were injured after a lightning strike in Laconia, N.H. Wednesday evening. The three were transported to Lakes Region General Hospital, according to the Laconia Fire Department. One victim was unconscious upon the fire department s arrival, but regained consciousness shortly thereafter, according to officials. Strong storms were passing through the area at the time of the strike. Read more: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/north/12007914351276/3-struck-by-lightning-in-laconia-nh/#ixzz1zkdmDPJH
Wed, 07/04/2012 11:00 PM Injured	Jerome Hranka, husband 1 of 2	29.0	M	Boston MA  USA		at Thomas park	N/A	Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Park
They had climbed atop Dorchester Heights, like hundreds of other July Fourth revelers, to see the fireworks displays illuminating the skies over Boston. Instead, Jerome Hranka and Megan Gale Hranka got a little more than they had bargained for. Lightning struck the married couple as they took in the pyrotechnic panorama, knocking them unconscious. Add CBS Local to read, share and discuss today's news. What's this? Filed Under Local, News, Syndicated Local Related Tags Laconia, Lightning, New Hampshire, South Boston, Thomas Park, Weirs Beach BOSTON (CBS) Severe storms brought dangerous lightning to the region Wednesday. In South Boston, a man and woman were taken to the hospital after being struck by lightning at Thomas Park around 11p.m. Their conditions are unknown. Earlier in the day, three people were struck by lightning at Weirs Beach in Laconia, New Hampshire. They were taken to Lakes Region General Hospital. One person was unconscious when they were transported. The extent of the injuries are unknown. Massachusetts State Police ordered an evacuation of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular due to the storm threat. The show resumed 25 minutes later.
Wed, 07/04/2012 09:30 AM Injured	worker	0.0	M	Simcoe  Canada		unlocking a gate		Outside
SIMCOE - A student worker with the county was badly shaken up but unhurt following a close call with a lightning strike at a public works yard west of Simcoe Wednesday morning. The summer employee, who is with the drainage department, was taken to Norfolk General Hospital by ambulance for observation and later released. The young man, whose name was not released by the county or police, just happened to be unlocking the gate at a sub-yard with a sand dome on Charlotteville Road 7 when a bolt of lightning struck nearby, said Peter Bryan-Pulham, a senior drainage superintendent for Norfolk County. He told me he was seeing a big white light and feeling tingly all over with his hair standing on end, said Bryan-Pulham. The student worker, he said, then ran back to a truck being driven by a co-worker, who called 9-1-1. He was pretty shaken up obviously, Bryan-Pulham said. It was close. The co-worker, George Coggins, said they were both caught off-guard by what happened. It was just a lightning bolt out of the blue. It was scary, Coggins said while still sitting in the driver s seat of a dump truck parked at the side of the road. Norfolk OPP Const. Tim Wood said the charge from the lightning strike radiated outwards to the gate. The Ontario Ministry of Labour was contacted, Wood added. Next to the yard is a tall communications antenna. Bryan-Pulham said he did not know exactly where the lightning struck. The student, however, was not directly hit, he noted, and is expected to return to work Thursday. The incident happened shortly before 9:30 a.m.
Wed, 07/04/2012 11:00 PM Injured	Megan Gale Hranka, wife 2 of 2	29.0	F	Boston MA  USA		at Thomas park	N/A	Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Park
Witnesses describe lightning that hit pair By O Ryan Johnson Friday, July 6, 2012 - Updated 1 day ago E-mail Print (4) Comments Text size Share Two witnesses to the lightning strike that injured a young couple watching Boston s Fireworks Spectacular described a boom and bright, multi-colored flash that came down, then shot out horizontally from the spot where it hit. Stephen Pannucci, 30, who lives in South Boston, arrived moments before the strike at Thomas Park, a popular spot with locals to watch the show but avoid the crowds. As best I can recall, 10 to 15 minutes into the fireworks it started to drizzle a little bit, Pannucci said. Not hard enough where people were leaving. Within a minute or two after it started raining, the tree was hit. I was 20 or 25 feet to the left. And out of the corner of my eye, I think what I saw was a horizontal bolt come out of the tree and hit the woman. It was like a reddish blue sort of bolt. John Binda of Milton said he was standing with his daughter watching the fireworks when he saw the bolt out of the corner of his eye. It was a light magenta or purple, he said. Binda also said the bolt appeared to be traveling parallel to the ground, shooting toward a nearby light post. Binda said park rangers had followed the same procedure at Thomas Park as the state police had at the Esplanade, evacuating the park briefly for a passing storm, then letting people back in. Binda said shortly after everyone was back, the lighting struck. After the lightning strike, Binda said the rangers ordered everyone out of the park. Officials said the man and the woman were conscious and alert when transported to Brigham and Women s Hospital. Their names were not released by authorities.
Wed, 07/04/2012 06:00 PM Injured	Courtney Mulcahey 1 of 3	29.0	F	Laconia NH  USA		at a barbecue	N/A	Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Picnic,Yard
HOME / NEWS / LOCAL / N.H. 3 injured in lightning strike in Laconia, NH July 4, 2012 E-mail|Print|Comments (0) Text size + 0 0 ShareThis85 LACONIA, N.H. Fire officials say three people are being treated for minor injuries after being struck by lightning at a Laconia barbecue. Capt. Kirk Beattie says three people in their early 20s were standing near a grill at a residential barbecue Wednesday evening when lightning struck the ground nearby. They were taken to a hospital. Beattie says several buildings in Laconia were struck by lightning and a tree fell onto a house on Wednesday evening, but no injuries were reported in those strikes. Margaret Curtis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says a line of severe thunderstorms moved in from Canada shortly after 5 p.m. She says it cut through a 70-mile-long swath of New Hampshire, knocking down trees and power lines.
Tue, 07/03/2012 08:00 PM Killed	Dick Sorg	60.0	M	Zanesville OH  USA		fixing antenna		On a Roof,Outside,Yard
ZANESVILLE -- Dick Sorg, who worked for almost 40 years with the Muskingum Soil and Water Conservation District, died Tuesday night. Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said Sorg might have been struck and killed by lightning. Sorg's son Jonathan, said his father was fixing an antenna next to his house when he came down to give a chainsaw to a neighbor. Dick Sorg came down from the roof, and when the neighbor came to return the chainsaw, he found Sorg dead. Authorities do not know whether the lighting arced from a nearby tree or traveled through the ground. A temporary coroner with Muskingum County examined the body. Lutz said he's not sure whether an autopsy was ordered. No other details were available Wednesday evening. This is the second fatality because of storms that hit the area hard this week. Marsha Reutter, 70, was killed Friday when she and her husband went out to their barn on North Leedom Road near Chandlersville. The barn collapsed when the couple was checking on the animals. Her husband also was injured.
Mon, 07/02/2012 12:00 PM unknown	Lightning gone wild during Washington D.C.â¬"s der	0.0	U	USA	http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weathe capital Weather gang	Lightning Mapping Array		Science
Follow us on Twitter (@capitalweather) and become a fan on Facebook At a Glance Sun --- -- | 82 Mon 40% 73 | 93 Tue 30% 77 | 92 Wed --- 76 | 89 Thu 30% 72 | 92 Fri 30% 76 | 91 Forecast by National Weather Service RIGHT NOW DCA | IAD | BWI National Airport Weather: Overcast Temp: 76.0 F (24.4 C) Wind: North at 0.0 MPH Dew Point: 66.9 F Pressure: 1022.4 mb Jul 22 2012, 11:52 am EDT Dulles Airport Weather: Overcast Temp: 74.0 F (23.3 C) Wind: North at 0.0 MPH Dew Point: 66.9 F Pressure: 1022.2 mb Jul 22 2012, 11:52 am EDT BWI Airport Weather: Overcast Temp: 74.0 F (23.3 C) Wind: North at 0.0 MPH Dew Point: 66.0 F Pressure: 1022.0 mb Jul 22 2012, 11:54 am EDT Radar: Enlarge & Animate Wx Underground Radar Your Weather Photos DC Webcam 90-degree days in 2012 28 Record: 67 (2010, 1980) Average: 36 100-degree days in 2012 7 Record: 11 (1930) INTERACT Follow us on Twitter @capitalweather Weather news, information, and witty banter @dcweatheralerts Just the most important weather info Find us on Facebook Get updates on our page ALMANAC DCA | IAD | BWI National Airport July 22, 2012 Average Hi: 89 Average Lo: 71 Record Hi: 103 (1926) Record Lo: 53 (1890) Yesterday at DCA Hi: 70 Lo: 67 Precip: 0.21 in Past Data Dulles Airport July 22, 2012 Average Hi: 88 Average Lo: 65 Record Hi: 98 (1998) Record Lo: 50 (1974) Yesterday at IAD Hi: 69 Lo: 65 Precip: 0.16 in Past Data BWI Airport July 22, 2012 Average Hi: 88 Average Lo: 66 Record Hi: 101 (1957) Record Lo: 53 (1966) Yesterday at BWI Hi: 69 Lo: 64 Precip: 1.24 in Past Data Search This Blog Subscribe Select ... BLOGROLL StormWatch 7 The SI Weather MarylandWeather.com Baltimore Weather Examiner Phillyweather.net Metropolis Weather (NYC) Open Snow - Mid Atlantic Skiing Chicago Weather Center Jeff Masters The Weather Channel The WeatherMatrix Meteorological Madness Dot.Earth More Blogs LINKS Current Conditions Radar/Satellite Forecasts Models & Discussions Local & National Resources Local NWS Discussion Local Air Quality Local UV Index Local Pollen Recent Posts D.C. area forecast: Summer pause doesnâ¬"t last for long Nationals vs. Braves weather forecast: Still cool enough for a comfortable game Coolest July 21 high temperatures on record in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore D.C. area forecast: Cool with a few showers today; Heading back toward summer after Nationals vs. Braves weather forecast: A good day for a baseball marathon Entries By Category Capital Weather Gang Cherry Blossoms Climate Change Droughts Education Environment Extreme Heat Forecasts Freedman Gardening Government International Weather Latest Local Climate NatCast Nature Photography Posegate Thunderstorms U.S. Weather UnitedCast Winter Storms Wx and the City Stories By Date Full Monthly Archive Posted at 03:58 PM ET, 07/02/2012 Lightning gone wild during Washington D.C.â¬"s derecho By Jason Samenow A still shot of lightning flashes captured by the Washington, D.C. Lightning Mapping Array shown atop a radar (rain reflectivity) image. (Scott Rudlosky) The wind stole the show, but the second most striking feature of Friday night s derecho was the vivid, almost continuous display of lightning. The amount of atmospheric energy for this event was through the roof, priming the sky for the lightning spectacle. It turns out the coverage and intensity of lightning was measured and mapped via a local network of 10 sensors known as the Washington, D.C. Lightning Mapping Array (DCLMA). Watch the lightning flare up as the derecho blasts through the metro region in the animation below - visualizing DCLMA data. Scott Rudlosky, a physical scientist with NOAA who works with the lightning data, said it can reveal certain storm characteristics not apparent in conventional radar. [Something] the lightning data shows well, which tends to mix out on radar, is the location of the strongest convection within the main line, he said. In the the above animation, the lightning flash markers unveil the explosive development of convection after the storms cross the Appalachians and encounter the hot, unstable environment around D.C. As impressive as the animation is, it only captures about 25 percent of the lightning from the storm Rudlosky said (the actual network captures a lot more). He called the derecho s lightning show one of the largest I have seen in D.C. Just a week before the derecho, he blogged about the lightning associated with the microburst storm that rocked parts of Montgomery county, the District, and northern Prince Geoge s county. Comparison of lightning radiation detected by the Washington, D.C. Lightning Mapping Array, between the June 22 microburst and June 29 derecho in Washington, D.C. from a network of 10 local lightning sensors. ( Washington, D.C. Lightning Mapping Array ) The image above shows a comparison of the two events. You can see how lightning reached extreme intensity during both events, but was more widespread in the derecho. The units shown are a measure of the density of very high frequency (VHF) radiation sources detected by the network. In both images, levels reach the top of the scale. Established in 2006, Washington, D.C. Lightning Mapping Array (DCLMA) is a joint demonstration project involving NASA, NOAA, New Mexico Tech (the inventors of the lightning detector stations used), and a number of local sponsors. What did you make of the lightning during the derecho? Do you notice any interesting or unusual qualities? By Jason Samenow | 03:58 PM ET, 07/02/2012
Mon, 07/02/2012 12:00 PM Injured	Tom Lenkiewicz	0.0	M	Hebron CT  USA		brushing teeth hand under water	N/A	Bathroom,Brushing teeth,Indirect,Indoors,Water
A person was struck by lightning on East Street in Hebron as storms move through the state on Monday afternoon. Fire and police crews have responded and no information is yet available on the person's condition. A tree has also landed on a house on Old Andover Road. The system that brought storms through eastern Connecticut is less severe than the system that moved through Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, bringing high winds, dangerous lightning and golf ball-sized hail. HEBRON, Conn. (NBC) -- A Connecticut man was struck by lightning on Monday night, and lived to tell about the frightening experience. A powerful storm ripped through the town and caused a lot of damage, snapping trees and tearing down power lines leaving resident with a big mess to clean up. "All of the sudden there was a big boom and I felt a huge jolt go up my arm," said Tom Lenkiewicz. He was brushing his teeth when lightning struck. He said his hand was under the running water when he felt the electric current go through his body. "Basically, yeah, and I'm glad I'm here to talk about it," Lenkiewicz explained. Seconds later he heard what sounded like an explosion. Then he realized that sound was his 50 foot maple tree that had just come crashing down. "I thought something in the house blew up that's why I went running upstairs to see what happened," Lenkiewicz said. "It ripped the siding over there it ripped the power lines out," Eric Porter said of the damage at his home. Power lines were ripped down when a tree snapped, and it got dangerous quickly. "It was sparking and everything. There was electricity sparking on the ground," Porter said. He explained the storm was one of the worst he had ever seen in Hebron. "For about five minutes it felt like a hurricane," Porter added. Even though Porter didn't have power Monday night, he realized the situation could have been much worse, something Tom Lenkiewicz encountered first hand. "They say one and a million so I guess I'm done for the rest of my life," Lenkiewicz said. NBC
Mon, 07/02/2012 01:30 PM Injured	camper, 2 of 2	12.0	F	Sandyston NJ  USA		inside cabin		Camping,Indirect,Indoors,Ungrounded Shelter
Sun, 07/01/2012 04:00 PM Injured	3 of 3	5.0	M	Glocester RI  USA		taking shelter under a canopy		Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Picnic,Taking Shelter,Yard
Sun, 07/01/2012 Injured	Brent Ferguson	0.0	M	USA		in basement on computer on concrete floor		Basement,Computer / Video Game,Indirect,Indoors
I have an odd one for you. I used to get a lot of taps on my chimney, so I grounded it with a utilities style grounding triangle tied to the main on the house seemed to solve the problem. Sunday before july 4th I was in the basement with my bare foot on the concrete floor, on my computer. We got tapped again, I yelled YEOOOOWCH! and then couldn t breath in for a while, I was locked up. It felt like my mouse exploded in my hand. Then I was able to breathe again, with no apparent permanent effects save feeling like I d been pulling a semi truck all day. Went upstairs and the wife heard the boom, but it was so close she didn t hear me yell at all. Several battery backUPS were toasted. Both washing machines oddly enough both wanted to fill and drain at the same time although one wanted to spin too, and would not shut off until smoke came out of it. Half the halogen lights in the kitchen wouldn t come on, the other half would not shut off? And my well went dry. That s the one the insurance company won t cover but I had 65# of pressure before the tap and now have none. The pump draws the water has literally run out of the well and it s over 300 feet deep! Anyway, I m looking for information on others who may have had well problems after being tapped. Even if they won t cover it I d damned sure like to prove to them that it does happen. What other explanation would cause a 30 gal/min well to go dry overnight? Got time to help with this?
Sun, 07/01/2012 04:00 PM Injured	2 of 3	13.0	M	Glocester RI  USA		taking shelter under a canopy		Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside,Picnic,Taking Shelter,Yard
Three shocked by lightning in Glocester Posted: Jul 01, 2012 6:45 PM EDT Updated: Jul 01, 2012 7:06 PM EDT Andrea Medeiros amedeiros@abc6.com Updated: Two teens and a young boy are being held in the hospital overnight, Sunday, after getting shocked by lightning. About ten people at the family Fourth of July party in Glocester said they felt the jolt. Dozens of family and friends had been cooking out and playing in the water in the backyard on Steere Road all day, so when the storms rolled in around four Sunday afternoon they all rushed to take shelter. Some went in the house and others went under a canopy in the backyard. Those who were under the canopy, about ten of them, saw the lightning bolt hit the ground nearby and then felt a jolt and some pain. One of the 13 year old boys collapsed onto the ground. Family members tell Abc6 he, a fourteen year old girl and a four or five year old boy were rushed to the hospital. They said all of them seemed to be okay before they left. The 13 year old boy was complaining of pain in his stomach. The other party-goers who felt the jolt said their pain only last a few seconds. The kids are expected to be just fine. The were sent to the hospital as a precaution.
Sun, 07/01/2012 06:00 PM Injured	Nicole Burke	18.0	F	Heckscher State Park NY  USA			N/A	CPR,Direct hit,Outside,Park
An 18-year-old Long Island woman suffered second-degree burns and possible hearing loss after being struck by lightning over the weekend. Nicole Burke, of East Patchogue, is expected to be released sometime tonight from Stony Brook University Hospital, hospital officials said. Burke was struck at Heckscher State Park in East Islip around 6 p.m. Sunday, according to Newsday. She lost consciousness for moments afterwards, said Dr. Steven Sandoval, director of the hospital's burn unit. The lightning struck Burke behind the ear, leaving her with second-degree burns on her arm and possible hearing damage in her right ear, Sandoval said. Nicole Burke (credit: CBS 2) Filed Under LI News, Local, News, NY News, Radio.com - News, Seen On CBS 2HD, Syndicated Local, Watch + Listen Related Tags Carolyn Gusoff, Heckscher State Park, Lightning Strike, Nicole Burke, Patchogue PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) She is a rare survivor. She s a Long Island teenager who was barely hurt after being hit by a jolt from the sky. She was struck by lightning during violent weekend storms, but returned home on Tuesday. The doctors said getting hit by lightning like that, you shouldn t be alive, Nicole Burke told CBS 2 s Carolyn Gusoff. Burke is beyond one in a million. She was directly struck by lightning, but is somehow alive to tell her incredible story. It hit me here and went through my arm, out my hand and onto the car, Burke said. The incredible incident happened Sunday at Hecksher State Park. The Burke family was playing Frisbee when the sky darkened and storms rolled across the Tri-State Area. They loaded into the car to watch nature s fury over the Great South Bay. When Nicole dashed out of the car to jump in the back seat, lightning struck. The sound was like a stick of dynamite, an M80, fireworks and a flash of light. I looked and she was on the ground, said Tim Burke, Nicole s father. They thought I was dead, Nicole added. Nicole blacked out. Her father performed CPR and the family prayed. When she came to, the 18-year-old college student couldn t move, having taken a hit that could power a light bulb for months. I could hear what they were saying, but I couldn t react, she said. Rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital, Nicole, incredibly, only suffered minor burns, a shattered ear drum and some singed hair. The odds of being struck by lightning are about 1 in 700,000, experts say, but surviving a direct hit is far more rare. Nicole was wet from rain and doctors said that helped. It could have chosen different pathways. If it chose a pathway through her heart or her head it could have been a whole different story, said Stony Brook s Dr. Steve Sandoval. I know when I m older and my kids complain about having scraped their knee I ll say, well I got hit by lightning! There was only a tiny ping on the car from the jolt, but the engine died. Nicole, however, said she is feeling blessed. About 50 people are killed in the U.S. every year from lightning strikes, experts said. Their best is the most obvious one: during a severe storm, go indoors.
Sun, 07/01/2012 12:00 PM Killed	farmer	40.0	M	India
RAJKOT: A 40-year-old farmer died after being struck by lightning in Lodhika village in Rajkot district on Sunday. According to flood control room officials, farmer Valji Rathod was busy in sowing activity at his farm on Sunday evening when lightning struck him. He was taken to a private hospital in Rajkot, but attending doctors declared him brought dead. On Sunday evening, rainfall occurred in parts of Bhavnagar and Rajkot districts, while rest of the Saurashtra region remained dry. Officials said this season Dhoraji has received 85mm, Jetpur 104mm, Gondal 116mm, Kotdasangani 178mm, Lodhika 99mm, Rajkot city 98mm, Upleta 34mm, Wankaner 112mm rainfall. Sources said delayed monsoon has become cause for concern for farmers in the region as many have sowed their farms taking the advantage of groundwater and expecting rains in the region. "If rain gets delayed further, farmers who have ploughed their farms, would lose their seeds, making it difficult to get it again from the market,' a farmer from Sayla village in Surendranagar district Valji Patel said. India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said light to moderate rainfall would occur in isolated places of Saurashtra and Kutch during the next 48 hours.
Sun, 07/01/2012 02:00 AM Injured	51 people	0.0	U	Roltzschjora  Germany
A single lightning bolt left 51 people injured at the With Full Force music festival in Roitzschjora, Germany on July 1. In the early morning hours of the fest, a bolt of lightning struck the crowd, sending audience members flying and leaving three individuals in a hospital s intensive care unit. The 2012 With Full Force Festival boasted a powerful lineup, including bands such as Machine Head, Soulfly, Children of Bodom, Cannibal Corpse and many more. However, it was during Heaven Shall Burn s set when the bolt of lightning struck. German website Spiegel.de described the shocking happening in full detail. The first showers, heavy as they were, provided just an inkling of what was to come, the site describes. Just before 2 a.m., the next black cloud parked over the stage. And the lightning it unloaded resulted in 51 injuries, three of them landing in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital. Witnesses say that the lightning strikes sent some people flying through the air and left behind a wasteland of destroyed tents, panicked guests and a venue flooded with mud and deep puddles. Strangely enough, a lightning strike occurred the day before the June 30 festival date, where three women were killed by a bolt of lightning while playing golf in Hesse, Germany. A fourth member of the group survived, but is recovering in the hospital.
Sun, 07/01/2012 04:00 PM Injured	1 of 3 teens	0.0	U	Glocester RI  USA		at family party		Outside
BOSTON - Shortly after the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning on Sunday, three teenagers were shocked by lightning in Rhode Island. Related Wx Blog Feds to issue special weather warnings... Funnel clouds spotted off Cape Violent storms bring lightning,... Lightning strikes cause fires, injuries Fire officials in Glocester said the teens were at a family party when they were shocked just after 4 p.m. They were taken to Hasbro Children's Hospital where they were said to be OK. A thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of southeastern Worcester County and Rhode Island until 5:15 p.m. Storm Team 5 s Mike Wankum said the storms would generally stay south of the Mass Pike, then drift out of Connecticut through Rhode Island and into southeastern Massachusetts. These thunderstorms contain some gusty winds, hail, downpours and lightning, Wankum said. The thunderstorms were capable of producing quarter size hail and damaging winds in excess of 60 mph, according to the national weather service. Read more: http://www.wcvb.com/weather/Fire-officials-3-teens-shocked-by-lighting-in-RI/-/9850416/15365368/-/f7ly13/-/index.html#ixzz1zPsMmm1f
Sat, 06/30/2012 11:00 AM Killed	John Henry Jansevanrensburg	33.0	M	Harris county TX  USA		replacing light pole	N/A	Cardiac Arrest,CPR,Critical,Delayed Death,Direct hit,Electric/Line workers,Outside,Work
Utility worker struck by lightning in east Harris County A 33-year-old utility worker was rushed to the hospital late Saturday morning after he was struck by lightning, according to the Harris County Sheriff s Office. The man was replacing a light pole at Miller Road 1 and Miller Road 2 in east Harris County. Deputies said he was taken by ambulance with CPR in progress to an east Houston hospital. His condition is unknown, officials said. Electrical worker critical after lightning strike HOUSTON - A North Houston Line and Pole worker is listed in critical condition after he was struck by lightning, and first responders said he had no pulse when they arrived. Workers were repairing electrical lines near Miller Road 1 and Miller Road 2 when one worker was hit. "When they noticed the lightning, they were packing up, and he was walking out of a vehicle out in the field," said Shalacey Thistle with South Lake Houston EMS. "The coworkers said they actually saw the lightning strike him." Thistle said the man's coworkers immediately began CPR on him and called 911, but when emergency responders arrived, the man didn't have a pulse. "The lightning strikes were still going. It was raining really hard once we got there. Got him on the stretcher and in the back of the unit as quickly as we could," said Thistle. Paramedics said upon his arrival at East Houston Regional Medical Center, the man's pulse returned. Several Angleton volunteer firefighters have been at the hospital. They said the man volunteers with them. HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We have a sad update about a local volunteer firefighter who was struck by lightning this past weekend. Related Content STORY: Man struck by lightning while working on utility pole MORE: Got a story idea? Let us know! CenterPoint Energy confirmed Tuesday the man has died. He was working as a contractor for CenterPoint installing a utility pole in east Harris County Saturday when lightning struck him in the head. His co-workers started CPR and paramedics did eventually revive him. The Medical Examiner's office has identified the victim as 33-year-old John Henry Jansevanrensburg. He had been with the Angleton Fire Department for more than two years.
Fri, 06/29/2012 11:00 PM Injured	2 of 2 in tent	0.0	F	Arcadia National Park ME  USA		sleeping in tent		Camping,Outside,Park,Tent
Fri, 06/29/2012 05:30 PM Killed	3 women killed 1 injured	0.0	F	Korbach  Germany		in a cabin on golf course		Golf Course,Taking Shelter,Ungrounded Shelter
BERLIN, June 29, 2012 (AFP) Three women were killed by lightning and a fourth was badly injured Friday in the central German city of Korbach, police said. The four women had sought shelter from a late-afternoon storm in a cabin on a golf course when it was struck by lightning, police said in a statement. Despite doctors efforts, three of the four women died, local police spokesman Wolfgang Jungnitsch said. The fourth is fighting for her life. Weather services had issued storm warnings Friday for several regions in Germany. Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Lightning+strike+kills+three+women+Germany/6863076/story.html#ixzz1zOLBvTqo
Fri, 06/29/2012 12:00 PM Injured	1 of 2 in tent	0.0	M	Arcadia National Park ME  USA		sleeping in tent		Camping,Outside,Park,Tent
An Acadia National Park official says two people were hospitalizated after they were struck by lightning on Friday. A man and a woman were sleeping in a tent at the park in eastern Maine on Friday night. Park Ranger Supervisor Richard Rechholtz said lightning struck a vehicle at the Blackwoods campground and it somehow transferred to the tent where the couple was sleeping. The couple was transported to an area hospital, but their injuries were not thought to be serious. Their names were not released.
Thu, 06/28/2012 12:00 PM Killed	2 die 3 injured	0.0	U	South 24 Parganas  India
2 die of lightning, 3 women injured Press Trust of India / Canning (WB) June 28, 2012, 21:35 Ads by Google HP® - Make it Matter : What Matters To You Matters To Us. See How HP® Can Help. www.HP.com/MakeitMatter Two persons were killed and three women suffered burn injuries when they were struck by lightning during a squall at Basanti in South 24 Parganas district this afternoon. The father-son duo died on the spot as lightning struck courtyard of a house, police said. Three women of the same household suffered burn injuries in the incident and had to be taken to local hospital.
Wed, 06/27/2012 12:00 PM unknown	bad safer info, NOAA WCM	0.0	U	Pittsburg PA  USA	charlie woodrum, wcm wpix.com			Bad Safety info,Education
HOME > NEWS > LOCAL Updated: 6:58 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, 2012 | Posted: 1:48 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Lightning Safety Awareness week under way SHARE FAVORITE VOTE (0) View Larger Sponsored Links PITTSBURGH This week marks Lightning Safety Awareness week and in Monaca, a Little League team is making sure they know about the "strikes." Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff McKay wears a lightning detection pager on his belt. He said it lets him know how far away lightning strikes are to the ball field where the Little Leaguers play. "Once it gets to the 0 to 6 or 6 to 12 miles then we put everyone on alert," said McKay. That's when players and fans leave the field and head for their cars. "With the youth out in the open, there are a lot of dangers with fencing, polls and bleachers," McKay said. Lightning kills an average of 54 people each year in the United States. According to the National Weather Service, since 2002, 10 people in Pennsylvania have died from it. Charlie Woodrum is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. He recently recognized the Monaca Youth Baseball League Association for completing the Lightning Safety Toolkit. It is the firstLittle League in the country to receive this honor. "It's a big threat when you're out on the field so knowing where to go and what to do is very important," he said. On Monday, 15 people were treated after a lightning strike at a Connecticut golf course this week. To learn more or sign up for the Lightning Safety Recognition program email Charles.woodrum@noaa.gov. To access the lightning safety toolkit, log on to lightningsafety.noaa.gov.
Wed, 06/27/2012 12:00 PM unknown	bolt as weapon	0.0	U	NJ  USA		us army tests bolt as weapon		Military,Science
Bolt From The Blue: U.S. Army Tests Lightning-Bolt Weapon Laser-Induced Plasma Channel fancy way of describing cool way to blow stuff up. by David Trifunov, GlobalPost COURTESY U.S. ARMY A guided lightning bolt travels horizontally, then hits a car when it finds the lower resistance path to ground. The lightning is guided in a laser-induced plasma channel, then it deviates from the channel when it gets close to the target and has a lower-resistance path to ground. Though more work needs to be done, Picatinny Arsenal engineers believe the technology holds great promise. Not only is it effective, think about the psychological impact of sending a bolt of lightning at your enemies. Perhaps that s why US Army researchers are so excited about recent successful tests of a laser-guided lightning-bolt weapon. We never got tired of the lightning bolts zapping our simulated (targets), project leader George Fischer said. They tested the weapon at the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. They call it a Laser-Induced Plasma Channel (LIPC), and it mimics lightning rather than harnessing it, Live Science reported. Fischer said that lightning travels the path of least resistance, so researchers found a method that allows the charge to travel along the laser beam. The laser s electro-magnetic field uses electrons to create a plasma pathway for the lightning. The likely, unlucky targets could be anything that conducts electricity better than the ground, say tanks, vehicles or other weapons. The difficult part is powering the weapon and making it strong enough to withstand field use, RT.com said. Not only will it require vast amounts of energy, it s too costly to put into production. But Army brass are impressed by the potential. Definitely, our last week of testing in January 2012 was a highlight," project officer Tom Shadis said. We had a well thought-out test plan and our ARDEC and contractor team worked together tirelessly and efficiently over long hours to work through the entire plan. That s Army speak for we did it.
Tue, 06/26/2012 03:00 PM Injured	17 injured at festival	0.0	U	Borlange  Sweden		at music festival		Festival,Ground Strike,Indirect,Outside
Lightning Strikes Injure 17 People at Sweden's Peace & Love Festival Posted on Jun 26th 2012 3:18PM by Cameron MatthewsComments 2 2 0 AP Photo, Scanpix Sweden, Ulf Palm Seventeen people have been taken to a hospital after being struck by lightning at Sweden's Peace and Love Music Festival. As shown in the AP photo above, festival organizers set up a makeshift care center to begin transporting people to a local health facility near Borlänge, Central Sweden. "First we saw a lightning flash and then we heard a really loud clap of thunder. The next thing we knew, the ambulances had come," says witness Amanda Andersen to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (quote via The Local). Lightning struck the grounds around 3PM on Tuesday, just as the summer concert series was beginning. Rihanna, Mumford and Sons, Regina Spektor, Skrillex, Bloc Party and Billy Idol are just a few of the big-name performers. The people involved have reportedly received only minor injuries, with most "up and walking." We will continue to update you as more information becomes available.
Tue, 06/26/2012 12:00 PM Killed	1 killed 7 injured	0.0	M	San Mateo  Philippines		crossing a river
1 killed, 7 hurt in lightning strike ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 06/26/2012 12:55 AM | Updated as of 06/26/2012 12:55 AM SAN MATEO, Philippines - One person was killed while 7 others were injured when they were struck by lightning in San Mateo, Rizal on Monday, authorities said. The lone fatality was identified as 18-year-old Jeffrey Cariaga. He and his companions were planning to cross a river in the town when heavy rains fell. They sought shelter inside a hut that was later hit by lightning. The victims were thrown to the ground when the lightning struck. Some were paralyzed. One of the survivors, 12-year-old Mark Vincent Morales, was able to stand up and seek help. Alfredo Cristobal, who also survived, said one of their companions lifted his mobile phone to look for a signal when the lightning struck. He said he couldn't move after they got hit. "Iyung mga mata ko lang ang nakakagalaw. Nakikita ko yung mga kasama ko pero wala akong magawa," he said. The other survivors were identified as Jason Cristobal, Ariston Santos, Ulysses Morales, and Ely Morales. An unidentified woman was among those injured in the lighting strike. - report from Jenny Reyes, ABS-CBN News
Tue, 06/26/2012 Injured	Tim Lambert	0.0	M	Loongmont CO  USA		enforcing speed limit		Indirect,Outside,Police Officer,Work
Officer: Lightning Felt Like Thor's Hammer Bolt Strikes While Officer Enforced Speed Limit By Lance Hernandez, 7NEWS Reporter POSTED: 1:19 am MDT June 29, 2012 UPDATED: 5:40 am MDT June 29, 2012 LONGMONT, Colo. -- A Longmont police officer who was struck by lightning Tuesday said he feels blessed to still be alive. Master Police Officer Tim Lambert said he was enforcing the speed limit on Ken Pratt Boulevard east of Martin when he heard a loud boom. "It sounded like a sonic boom just above my helmet," Lambert said. "It literally felt like Thor's hammer trying to pound me onto the ground." Lambert said he managed to get up and walked under the nearby Left Hand Creek bridge then radioed for help. He said he didn't suffer any exit wounds but he did have a headache, constricted chest and backache. The officer told 7NEWS that for awhile, he thought he might be having a heart attack, but tests ruled that out. He said his doctors believe he had a close call with lightning. I think we later realized my back hurt because I hit the wall with such force. It just felt like a pro boxer took a punch to the middle of my back, he said. Lambert said the firemen who responded to his call for help looked at all the marks on his helmet. They were asking me, Is that an old one? Is that an old one?" The motorcycle officer pointed to a nearby delineator post, which appeared to be charred on top. He said he wonders if the post, which was about 10 feet away, took a direct hit and he felt the results. I just have a suspicion that it could have been that close, he said. Lambert said the experience has changed his outlook a bit. Live life like it s your last day, because it could be, he chuckled.
Mon, 06/25/2012 11:00 AM Injured	11 of 15	0.0	U	Stonington CT  USA		taking shelter in a wooden building		Golf Course,Indirect,Taking Shelter,Ungrounded Shelter,Work
Mon, 06/25/2012 11:00 AM Injured	9 of 15	0.0	U	Stonington CT  USA		taking shelter in a wooden building		Golf Course,Indirect,Taking Shelter,Ungrounded Shelter,Work
Mon, 06/25/2012 11:00 AM Injured	10 of 15	0.0	U	Stonington CT  USA		taking shelter in a wooden building	N/A	Golf Course,Indirect,Taking Shelter,Ungrounded Shelter,Work
Mon, 06/25/2012 09:30 AM Injured	2 of 15 golf course workers	40.0	M	Stonington CT  USA		taking shelter in a wooden building	N/A	Golf Course,Indirect,Work
Mon, 06/25/2012 11:00 AM Injured	8 of 15	0.0	U	Stonington CT  USA		taking shelter in a wooden building		Golf Course,Indirect,Taking Shelter,Ungrounded Shelter,Work
Mon, 06/25/2012 11:00 AM Injured	13 of 15	0.0	U	Stonington CT  USA		taking shelter in a wooden building		Golf Course,Indirect,Taking Shelter,Ungrounded Shelter,Work
Mon, 06/25/2012 12:00 AM Injured	7 of 15	0.0	U	Stonington CT  USA		taking shelter in a wooden building		Golf Course,Indirect,Taking Shelter,Ungrounded Shelter,Work
Mon, 06/25/2012 11:00 AM Injured	15 of 15	0.0	U	Stonington CT  USA		taking shelter in a wooden building		Golf Course,Indirect,Taking Shelter,Ungrounded Shelter,Work
Mon, 06/25/2012 12:00 PM unknown	bad safey info	0.0	U	Springfield IL  USA	market watch	bad safety info...lightning squat		Bad Safety info
Lightning Strike Survivor Shares Story SPRINGFIELD, Ill., June 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- It only takes one lightning strike to change a person's life forever. Tamara Pandolph-Peary of Chatham, Illinois learned this the hard way in 2010. After work on a rainy day, Tamara, a store manager, offered to get her van and take employees to their cars. As Tamara put her hand on the van door, she saw a bright light bounce off of her umbrella. The next thing she remembers is sitting in her van and being confused about how she got there. Over the next few days, it became clear that all was not well with Tamara. When people talked to her, their words sounded garbled and did not make sense. She had difficulties remembering people and how to do simple things like preparing recipes. Tamara recovered her ability to understand speech but struggles with other effects of the lightning strike. She has found hope by supporting other lightning strike survivors and is working with the Safe Electricity program during Lightning Awareness Week (June 24-30) to share her story and educate others. "It's changed my life. It's changed the lives of everyone around me. It may seem like a one in a million chance, but it is not a risk worth taking," she says. Lightning can strike up to 10 miles away from a thunderstorm, so if you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance. The best policy is to plan ahead so you do not get caught outside in a storm. However, if you cannot take shelter in a building, take the following precautions: Take shelter in a vehicle with a solid metal roof. Close the windows, and avoid contact with electrical conducting paths, such as the steering wheel, gear shifter, or radio. Avoid water, high ground, and open spaces. Do not seek shelter in open-frame shelters or vehicles such as golf carts. Do not stand near poles, metal fences or bleachers, trees, or even other people (spread out 20 ft. apart). If your skin tingles or your hair stands on end, lightning may be about to strike. Squat down low to the ground with your head between your knees. Wait until 30 minutes has passed without lightning or thunder until you return outside. For more information on electrical safety, visit SafeElectricity.org. Note: Photos available at http://safeelectricity.org/index.php/news-room . Contact: Kyla Kruse, 217-546-6815 This press release was issued through eReleases® Press Release Distribution. For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com . SOURCE SafeElectricity.org Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. Al