Does your dog whine, shake, drool and hide when thunderstorms hit? Do you own special snug shirts to gently squeeze Fido’s petrified frame? Do you snuggle and coo to soothe the seemingly irrational terror? News flash, oblivious human: canine instincts are spot on. These furious thunderstorm tempests are scary and very dangerous.
“Thunderstorms cause billions of dollars of damage every year in this country,” says Adriana Young, Owner, Paul Davis Restoration of Central Dallas Fort Worth, Texas. “Our teams see the harm that hail, wind, lightning and heavy rain inflict. We work to repair their effects nearly every day. Thunderstorms have earned sober respect and vigilance.”
Some 100,000 thunderstorms prowl the United States annually; about 10 percent reach severe levels. Sorry, Rover, pacing and whining won’t blunt the danger. Awareness, planning and caution, however, are proven methods to resist against Mother Nature’s fury:
- Understand and respect the danger. A few key facts highlight the diverse and alarming hazards that thunderstorms pose. Lightning travels at about 270,000 miles per hour through a channel about the width of your thumb, carrying heat and electricity that is about five times hotter than the sun. Clearly, there is no darting away from a pending bolt, which could strike up to 25 miles away from a storm. Hail – varying from pea-sized to bigger than a softball – can fall at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour, and it has killed people. Further, almost all tornadoes – one of earth’s most extreme meteorological event – develop from thunderstorms.
- Protect family, pets and property. Use the 30-30 rule to estimate how close a storm is. First, count how many seconds elapse between seeing a lightning flash and hearing the thunder. If it’s fewer than 30 seconds, take immediate cover in a fully enclosed building or a hard-topped vehicle. Second, once the storm has passed, wait 30 minutes after hearing the final rumble before going outdoors. As you wait safely inside, do not shower or wash dishes because plumbing pipes may conduct current if lightning strikes the building.
- Be smart if lightning strikes your home. Ensure that occupants are unharmed and then summon the fire department. Don’t wait until you smell smoke or a burnt odor: lightning can ignite hidden fires or superheat household materials to dangerous levels.
- When the danger clears, inspect the structure. Scan for missing shingles, damaged paint, buckled siding or dislodged gutters. If a bolt struck your home, it may have cracked masonry, brick and cinderblock, or even ejected shrapnel that hit other objects at tremendous speed. Sometimes the damage is obvious but often a building professional needs to inspect the premises to ensure safety.
Animals possess keen senses that alert them to storms, noticing signs that we miss: barometric pressure changes, faint ozone scents that lightning emits, static electricity buildup or very low-frequency sounds. Humans are fortunate to have other reliable means. “Track the forecast,” Young advises. “Meteorologists will advise when thunderstorms threaten.”
