Lightning strikes on the rise – and on track for more in the future!

Normally it would not be a surprise with storm season in full swing that lightning strikes are occurring. However, the rate, frequency and strength of lightning strikes along with storms has certainly thrown everyone off guard.  Areas that do not normally see heavy lightning strikes are being more often and areas that do usually see major storms and heavy lightning are being hit harder and longer.

The Northeastern United States and Europe have seen an increased number of lightning strikes this year.

Reports from Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island keep pouring in. Many of these incidents took place at outdoor facilities or in local communities — a Long Island teen was struck behind the ear at a state park causing second degree burns and possible hearing loss. Similarly three Rhode Island children were sent to the hospital after a nearby lightning strike hit them indirectly.

In Germany violent storms and lightning have continued to wreak havoc causing damage to buildings and injuring hundreds. Lightning strikes killed three women on a golf course in the state of Hesse and injured over 50 concertgoers at a music festival near Leipzig.

With the weather more and more extreme more people are starting to believe that climate change is actually happening. Scientists in general have been in agreement that not only it is happening, it’s also going to cause an increase in lightning strikes.

Lightning Protection

So now, more than ever is the time for assessing the risks associated with lightning strikes.

At LEC we’ve studied the problems associated with lightning and designed lightning protection systems like charge transfer system that utilizes the point discharge phenomenon that work so well a full no-strike warranty is issued to each and every client who purchases a system. Over time, the success ratio or reliability of the charge transfer point discharge system stands at 99.85%, with over 60,000 system years of data on over 3,000 installed lightning protection systems.

Working in over 60 countries and throughout the United States, LEC has implemented its proprietary DAS ™ solutions in addition to RGA ™  solutions for floating roof tanks across many industries like Petrochemical, Oil and Gas, Biochemical, Information Technologies, Nuclear Energy, Utilities and Manufacturing. LEC has worked with corporations, communities, governments and organizations worldwide.