Instructions for Lightning Avoidance

<p><em>Abstract</em></p> <p>Lightning is a massive electrostatic discharge between the electrically charged regions within clouds or between a cloud and the Earth’s surface. While many may find lightning visually appealing due to the immediacy of its appearance (10 microseconds or less), as well as the nonlinear, relative complexity and nonuniformity of its structure due to the short step size and random distribution of higher conductive regions, generally causing a current to channel an indirect pathway for the transfer of electric charge through normally nonconductive media such as air, glass, leaves, and soil, lightning is also dangerous. In the past, lightning functioned as a mythology in which God used storms as tools to punish the wicked. In the present, the lightning mythology becomes reinvented and recontextualized in terms of risk management and disaster prevention. While risks can never be entirely avoided, they can nonetheless be identified, prioritized, and minimized in order to reduce threat probability. The seemingly random nature of thunderstorms cannot guarantee the individual or group absolute protection from lightning strikes; however, being aware of, and following proven lightning safety guidelines can greatly reduce the risk of injury or death…</p>