Since we’re going to have a lot more lightning:
New research from the University of California, Berkeley, published on Thursday in the journal Science, found warming conditions would result in 50% more lightning strikes by the end of the century.
“For every two lightning strikes you had at the beginning of the century, we will have three at the end of the century,” said David Romps, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.
Researchers have known for some time that climate change was producing more lightning strikes, and fatalities in developing countries have been rising in recent years. But the latest findings put a number on that rate of increase, using data from federal government scientific agencies.
The scientists found lightning strikes would increase by about 12% for every 1C of warming, resulting in about 50% more strikes by 2100.
I grew up in Florida on the west coast – Lightening Alley – in the late 50s and early 60s. We were always rushed away from the beach and out of the tub during sudden storms.
But I have never seen so many close strikes as now at my home in Atlanta. For the past couple of years the storms just seem more vicious and I’ve witnessed many strikes in my yard and on my street.
I try to be careful and stay inside away from windows and plumbing during storms.