storm
Behavior during thunderstorms: What you should pay attention to when there is lightning and thunder
Behavior during a thunderstorm: What to do when there is lightning and thunder?
© Patrick Pleul/DPA
This is how you behave correctly in a thunderstorm – and protect yourself from dangerous lightning. First of all: You can safely forget the saying “You have to move away from oaks, you should look for beech trees”.
According to the DWD, an average of two million people live in Germany every year Lightning registered. The current intensity in the lightning channel can briefly be up to 400,000 amperes, and within a few milliseconds the air there heats up to around 30,000 degrees Celsius. For comparison: temperatures on the Sun’s surface are about six times lower. People are often struck by lightning. Although the probability of this is very low, it can increase if you behave unfavorably during a thunderstorm.
How to behave in a thunderstorm: dos and don’ts
Anyone who is surprised by a thunderstorm outdoors should therefore note the following:
- It is best to have one solid building – ideally with a lightning rod. Even a Car offers protection. Be sure to close the window!
- Avoid trees, tall towers, poles and metal fences. Anyone who is nearby should move as far away as possible – at least a hundred meters.
- The saying “You have to move away from oaks and look for beeches” is nonsense. Lightning makes no distinction between tree species. Therefore, avoid trees in general.
- Swimming is also life-threatening during a thunderstorm. The water should be exited immediately.
- If possible, avoid wet soils. Do not lie on the floor or place your legs apart. In this case, tension would build between limbs. This discharges as the current flows through the body.
- In the open field: Find a hole and make yourself as small as possible. Squat down, place your feet close together, wrap your arms around them and tuck your head in.
- In the mountains Thunderstorms form particularly quickly. At best, one quickly Find a stone shelter. A wooden hut offers no protection from lightning. If there is no longer enough time for this: Take a protective stance.
- Who If you are traveling by bike or motorbike, you should dismount and within a few meters Distance stop at the two-wheeler.
Anyone who Thunderstorms approaching sees, can with one As a rule of thumb, calculate how much time he has left to get to safety: Because where there is lightning, there is also thunder. However, sound travels slower through the air than the light signal. If you want to know how far away the thunderstorm is, you have to Count the seconds between a flash of lightning and the corresponding thunder and divide them by three. If it’s less than five seconds, you should seek protection, experts advise. Because then the lightning is only a good one and a half kilometers away.
Climate change
What the weather was like in Germany 50 years ago – and what it will be like in 2070
In the gallery: What the weather was like in Germany 50 years ago – and what it will be like in 2070