Your chances of getting struck by lightning in your lifetime are low, about 1 in 12,000. Lightning is not something to mess around with.Â
"Just because you're in a low spot does not guarantee you're not going to be hit by lightning," said meteorologist Chris Smallcomb of the National Weather Service.
The best place to be during a thunderstorm is inside in a sturdy building. Definitely avoid an open field or body of water. Patios or trees won't due either. Â Your car is a better option than a tent.Â
"We've seen pics where it hits trees and it shatters the tree almost to shrapnel. So that's another reason why not to be outside in a thunderstorm," added Smallcomb.
You don't want to underestimate the power of lightning.It can reach temperatures up to 50,000 degrees, or five times the surface of the sun.Â
"It creates a a rapid warming of the the atmosphere and that's what creates those sound waves that are thunder," said Smallcomb.
How lightning forms is rather complex. It all starts with the collision of frozen particles inside the belly of a towering cloud.
"It's kind of analogous to sometimes if we have a really cool dry day winter day and you're in your house and you're rubbing your bare feet on the carpet and create a little static discharge. It's kind of like that. It's those little particles rubbing against each other," said Smallcomb.
To go more in depth, there are basically three different steps in how lightning forms. In step one the storm cloud separates charges with positive charges on top and negative charges on the bottom. At the same time, the ground is collecting positive charges as well.
In step two, the negative charges start to descend from the cloud and reach out to the positive charges on the ground. This is called a stepped leader.Â
In the final step the positive charges make a connection with the negative charges and a lightning stroke is created. Any leftover charges causes a flicker.
Not all thunderstorms have a ton of lightning associated with them. Sometimes you can have more hail and wind than lightning. This is especially true in our region opposed to say Texas.Â
Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms will continue to move through the region tonight and last through the weekend. Snow will also be possible in the higher evaluations.Â
The Washoe County School District says all practices (middle school track, high school baseball/softball) are cancelled for today. There are no outdoor after-school activities due to the weather. And due to lightning and rain, Sparks Centennial Little League is cancelling its games and practice.
Lyon County road crews tell us they are busy clearing hail from county roads, and are ensuring drainages are cleared for runoff.Â
