Summer heat brings not only the threat of fires, but also storms. The National Weather Service recommends 8 tools to protect yourself from lightning.

A dangerous, long-lasting and record-breaking heat wave will continue in the southwestern United States, the National Weather Service (NWS) notes. Temperatures are expected to remain high next week but return to average. In Orange County, meteorologists are predicting 26 to 34 degrees Celsius in late July and early August. Which could be a pre-history for fires as well as severe thunderstorms with lightning.

If thunder starts - it is necessary to hide in time. "Find safe shelter in enclosed structures or vehicles with a hard roof to ensure safety for you and your family," emphasizes lightning expert and NWS severe weather program coordinator Aaron Treadway.

To be prepared for bad weather, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers 8 tools to protect yourself from lightning:

• NWS page. Here you can see statistics on lightning fatalities and learn how to protect yourself from lightning.
• Weather.gov. Before going outside, check the weather forecast on this website. If a thunderstorm is expected, plan a place where you can find shelter.
• Lightning Climatology tool - allows you to assess the risk of lightning damage on any given day, depending on where you are in the United States.
• Lightning Cartographer - an instrument mounted on satellites allows real-time tracking of lightning from space.
• Lightning Safety Toolkit program - contains tool kits for a variety of outdoor activities. They will keep you and others as safe as possible from lightning strikes.
• Multi-Radar, Multi-Sensor - helps to directly observe where lightning is or may occur.
• A tool that shows where lightning has struck - it displays locations where lightning has occurred in the last 30 minutes in an easy to understand red/yellow/green light format. If you are in a place where the app displays in red, it means lightning has recently occurred and you need to seek shelter now.
• LightningCast Viewer - tool can be used to predict the likelihood of lightning within the next hour.

Read also: What to carry in your camping bag in case of emergency

Socium.Network team recommends using the services above to always be safe.

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