Northwest Iowa — This is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Iowa. Each day this week, the National Weather Service is focusing on a different severe weather topic.
Monday’s topic is lightning safety.
We talked with Warning Coordination Meteorologist Peter Rogers. He says they don’t issue a specific watch or warning for lightning, as deadly lightning is a part of EVERY thunderstorm, not just severe ones.
Thunder is merely the sound of lightning. The two appear to happen at different times because light travels faster through air than sound does. The closer you are to a lightning strike, the closer together thunder and lightning appear.
Rogers says if you are close enough to hear thunder, you are also close enough to be struck by lightning, as lightning sometimes strikes outside of the footprint of the storm. That’s why they say, “When thunder roars, go indoors.”
