Radars. Weather radar is very important to meteorologists because it can detect rain and severe weather even when it is cloudy or dark. Doppler radar sends out electromagnetic wave fields that can be reflected back to the radar by things in the air like precipitation.

Thunderstorms can happen anywhere and at anytime as long as the weather conditions are right. These storms most frequently form within areas located at mid-latitude where warm moist air front collides and border cool air fronts.

Which state has the most thunderstorms? A: The answer is Florida, says Brent McRoberts of Texas A&M University. Florida has all of the right ingredients for thunderstorms – especially warm, humid air and heat.

Most Frequent Thunderstorms

Here’s a look at the top 10 most thunderstorm-prone cities in the U.S., along with their average number of annual storms:

• Gainesville, Florida – 81.
• Orlando, Florida – 80.
• Mobile, Alabama – 79.
• West Palm Beach, Florida – 79.
• Lake Charles, Louisiana – 76.
• Daytona Beach, Florida – 75.
• Vero Beach, Florida – 75.

DO NOT POOP During A Thunderstorm. That combined with the methane gas in poop caused the bomb-like effect that traveled through the pipes, exploding the toilet in their master bathroom. The plumbing company said this is just as rare as getting struck by lightning yourself.

July 01, 2016. The figure above shows the average number of thunderstorm days each year throughout the United States. The peak is along the northern and eastern Gulf Coast, with Florida having the highest number of thunderstorm days (80+ days per year).

Lightning can travel through plumbing. It is best to avoid all water during a lightning storm. Do not shower, bathe, wash dishes, or wash your hands.

It’s not safe for your phone. If you must charge a phone during a thunderstorm, it is safe to charge it from a laptop or power bank that is itself not connected to the electrical outlet. Anything connected to the electrical grid in the house is in danger.

Even if there’s barely any lightning, there are still trace amounts of lightning-produced ozone and nitrogen dioxide in the air scattered about the storm. When the gust front of a storm carries it out ahead of the rain, you can smell it before it’s “scavenged” to the ground. You may just be smelling lightning.

How To Tell A Storm Is Coming

1. Towering Cumulus Clouds: Cumulous clouds are those fluffy, cotton ball guys.
2. Shelf Clouds: These look exactly what they sound like: shelves in the sky.
3. Wall Clouds.
4. Cloud Movement.
5. Drastic Temperature Change.
6. Sudden Wind Changes.
7. Smoke Direction.
8. Follow Your Nose.

“It felt like you’d actually been walloped by something, or you were inside a bass speaker.” As the bolt struck, there was a millisecond flash of intense, burning heat, that had already dissipated by the time his brain could even register it.

Although it’s rare, with the odds of getting struck in your lifetime being roughly 1 in 12,000, every now and then a human will provide an attractive target for lightning bolts to unleash their power. And of the roughly 500 people who are struck by lightning each year, about 90% survive.

The chances of being struck by lightning are 300,000 to one, with 24,000 people hit and killed a year, says the BBC.

Direct Strike A person struck directly by lightning becomes a part of the main lightning discharge channel. Most often, direct strikes occur to victims who are in open areas. The heat produced when lightning moves over the skin can produce burns, but the current moving through the body is of greatest concern.

Lightning strikes can produce severe injuries, and are lethal in between 10% and 30% of cases, with up to 80% of survivors sustaining long-term injuries. This effect might explain cases where cardiac arrest or seizures followed a lightning strike that produced no external injuries.

Lightning is one hell of a force of nature. Thankfully every lightning strike is not a fatal strike. According to a the National Weather Service (NWS), 90 percent of lightning strike victims survive, though survivors can still be left with lingering and debilitating health issues.

Symptoms of a lightning strike include:

• Thermal burns.
• Clothing that is blown apart or burned.
• Breathing problems, including not breathing.
• Confusion, disorientation, and memory problems.
• Cardiac arrest or irregular heartbeat.
• Personality changes, which can be permanent.
• Loss of consciousness or coma.
• Temporary hearing loss.

Common injuries caused by lightning include: muscle pains, broken bones, cardiac arrest, confusion, hearing loss, seizures, burns, behavioral changes, and ocular cataracts. Loss of consciousness is very common immediately after a strike.

Roy Cleveland Sullivan

“Lightning can travel through plumbing,” the CDC said. “It is best to avoid all water during a lightning storm. Do not shower, bathe, wash dishes, or wash your hands.”

Mr. Daws (Ted Manson) recalls being struck while in his car: “Did I ever tell you I been struck by lightning seven times? Once when I was just sittin’ in my truck just minding my own business,” as happened to Sullivan in 1969. Early development of the film began in 1994.

A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps. In comparison, household current is 120 Volts and 15 Amps. There is enough energy in a typical flash of lightning to light a 100-watt incandescent light bulb for about three months or the equivalent compact fluorescent bulb for about a year.

How many times per day does lightning strike the Earth? About 100 lightning bolts strike the Earth’s surface every second That’s about 8 million per day and 3 billion each year.

And while lightning strikes vary in strength, Dr. Brown was right: they can produce 1.21 gigawatts of power. That’s a sobering fact when you consider that lightning is Utah’s second deadliest natural hazard and has been for the last 15 years according to Utah.gov.

The average lightning bolt has about 250 kilowatt-hours of electricity, but the average house uses 914 kilowatt-hours per month.

There is so much power in a thunderstorm. Some places in the world are renown for the sheer number of lightning strikes they get a year. One of these places is Tampa Bay, Florida. This lightning city could theoretically harness the incredible power of lightning to power their city.