There are no outdoor locations that are safe from lightning

Lightning storms are more common in coastal and tropical regions

Water-abundant areas that receive increased solar radiation, such as those near the equator, experience increased rates of evaporation, which produce tall clouds as moisture rises, cools, and condenses. Mountain ranges can also steer air to higher altitudes, creating collisions between atmospheric particles that generate charge imbalances—the precursors to lightning.

Being struck by lightning has a mortality rate of about 10%

Near-immediate deaths are the result of electrical disruptions in the heart and nervous system, causing cardiac arrest, but severe skin burns, temporary paralysis, and blown eardrums are more common. About 74% of survivors are left with a long-term disability, which includes brain damage and changes in memory and mood.

Lightning rods provide a conductive pathway to safely steer massive electric currents

The device is positioned higher above the ground to "catch" one of the many branching filaments of electrons from clouds before they make contact with other surface structures, which have been induced to have a positive charge by overhead storm clouds. The current is then sent to a conductive grid buried underground.

View the various types of lightning

The most common form of lightning involves channels of electricity between oppositely charged regions within a cloud or between two clouds to reestablish electrostatic equilibrium. While cloud-to-ground lightning is understood best, research is ongoing to fully model the mechanisms behind rarer forms of lightning, such as transient luminous events.

The sound of thunder can vary based on your distance from lightning

The rapid flow of electricity heats and pressurizes air, causing it to expand and produce a shockwave at each point along the bolt at multiple frequencies. As these shockwaves overlap, higher-frequency sounds, which produce a sudden crack, dissipate more quickly, while lower-frequency sounds—long booms and rumbles—travel farther.

Track lightning strikes around the world

The Blitzortung platform triangulates the positions of this phenomenon from stations that detect atmospheric interference in low-frequency signals that are characteristic of lightning strikes. A network of nearly 2,000 stations transmits the required data to a central server, where its software performs these calculations and generates the subsequent visualization.

Most commercial planes get struck by lightning multiple times a year

This piece explains why commercial aircraft rarely crash in thunderstorms, detailing how pilots use onboard radar, shared reports, and strict avoidance protocols to navigate storms that look far more dangerous on screen than in reality.

Every day, lightning releases several Hiroshima bombs' worth of energy into the atmosphere

If all this lightning struck one location at once, the bolt would be the diameter of the center circle of a basketball court, turning the entire court into a crater. Its heat would ignite surfaces for miles around, and its shockwave would demolish buildings.

Study pinpoints where to hide during a nuclear blast

There’s no surviving the fireball of a nuclear bomb, but beyond that, there are certain spots indoors where you can try avoid the destructive shockwave.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

You are more likely to be struck by lightning than injured on a roller coaster

The ASTM F24 Committee on Amusement Rides and Devices consists of consumer advocates, government officials, amusement park operators, ride manufacturers, and industry suppliers who work to establish a safety standard for the designs and modifications of roller coasters.

Tornado myths include suggestions to hide beneath a bridge or to open windows

Winds can accelerate due to a tunneling effect as they pass under a structure, making seeking shelter from a tornado in a mobile home or recreational vehicle highly discouraged. Significant tornado damage results from debris being picked up and hurled by strong winds, making it unsafe to be near windows that may shatter.

Scientists have diverted the path of lightning using lasers

A proof of concept for a laser protection system, which could be used to protect launchpads and airports in the future, was conducted on the Säntis mountain in northeastern Switzerland. Rapid laser pulses heated air molecules, creating a more conductive, 50-meter (164-foot) path for the electrical discharge to travel through.

Hail forms in freezing temperatures thousands of feet above the ground

Even if surface temperatures are well above freezing during the summer, updrafts during thunderstorms can push raindrops high into the atmosphere, where they can freeze and form hail. Giant hailstones the size of softballs require updrafts of close to 100 mph.

Explore a gallery of lightning photography taken from the Grand Canyon

In this series, award-winning photographer Adam Schallau accompanies each image with expert advice on how to capture the phenomenon successfully. Initially requiring the shutter to remain open for extended periods, today's technology includes a device called a lightning trigger, which senses incoming lightning and automatically manages the shutter.

Examining the causes of power outages, from system damage to preventative measures

Stray balloons, contact with trees, malfunctioning equipment, and severe weather are among the causes of failures that can cause widespread, unplanned blackouts. Although contingency options that rely on alternative transmission pathways to deliver electricity from generators to consumers may be possible, some shutoffs, brownouts—available power is reduced—and cycles of repeated outages may be intentionally implemented to protect public safety.

The best location to view auroras is within the auroral oval

Earth's magnetic field pushes trapped particles from the solar wind toward the planet's magnetic poles, where they can descend and collide with atmospheric gases in a ring located between 60 and 75 degrees of latitude. Auroras can also be viewed at lower latitudes—the sub-auroral oval and solar storm zones—if the sun produces powerful solar storms.

Wearing tick repellent, covering up, and performing tick checks are the best Lyme prevention

Spraying repellents onto your clothes—and reapplying them—or donning impregnated bug-repelling clothes can help keep ticks away. Effective sprays include DEET, picaridin, or permethrin. Bug spray applied to the body should be applied on top of sunscreen, and only after the sunscreen has dried.

Small elevation differences drastically protect homes in hurricanes

The construction of seaside homes has long involved building residences on elevated stilts, but this feature adds costs—and some elevated homes still fail. Explore the engineering behind the ideal height of a hurricane-proof building.

Heatstroke is when the body's core temperature becomes dangerously high—and needs to cool

Warning signs that the body is overheating include rapid breathing, cramps, heavy sweating, nausea, and feeling lightheaded. Drinking plenty of fluids, seeking shade, and cooling the body down as quickly as possible with icepacks can help reduce the risk of heatstroke.

Avalanches happen when layered snow fails, often on perfect ski slopes

Snowpacks form unstable layers as weather shifts; a weak, refrozen layer buried under fresh snow can shear and release a slab avalanche on certain steep slopes. Triggers range from new snowfall to the movement of skiers, while survival depends on the presence of ski partners, beacons, and rescue teams.

Fast charging can lead to battery degradation if the device does not stay cool

Modern phones use software to monitor charging habits and can activate adaptive charging to delay charging rates and prevent overheating. When charging, devices should not be confined (e.g., stored in your pocket) or placed in direct sunlight, as this can trigger heat warnings and sudden shutdowns.

See what loud noises do to inner ear hair cells

This animation illustrates how louder music can affect inner ear hair cells. Damage to these cells is generally considered permanent. Hearing protection like ear plugs can reduce the level of sound entering into the ear and help protect those cells.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

How to prepare your finances for a layoff

Getting laid off is often unexpected—but that doesn't mean you can't plan for the worst, financially speaking. This article provides a few key tips on how and when to get your finances in order if you're worried about being laid off, such as looking into the cost of replacing employer-sponsored benefits like healthcare. Read more here.

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.

MS risk is shaped by geography, not just genes

Latitude—and related vitamin D exposure—seems to affect MS risk. People who migrate from a high-risk MS latitude (like northern Europe or the northern US) to a lower-risk latitude (like tropical areas) before age 15 tend to adopt the lower risk of their new country—suggesting there's a critical window for environmental exposure.

Poison ivy's rash-causing compound is found in the plant's roots, stem, and leaves—so coming into contact with any part of the plant can lead to rashes for the 85% of people who are allergic to it

Once sold as an ornamental plant, poison ivy can actually look varied—its colors change seasonally from reddish to green to yellow. It typically has three broad, shiny, tear-shaped leaves. But it sometimes may have a different number of leaves, and its edges can be serrated.

Poison ivy's rash-causing compound is found in the plant's roots, stem, and leaves—so coming into contact with any part of the plant can lead to rashes for the 85% of people who are allergic to it.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.