Re: Mobile cell phone lightning strike risk

[Guest guest]

This is baloney. Cell phone casings are not usually made of

metal...they are polymers which are insulators. How about the fact

that she was in a park during the storm...nahh....it must have been

the phone because lightning would not likely strike someone standing

out in the middle of a park during a storm.

>

> Mobile phone users warned of lightning strike risk Jun 23,

> LONDON (Reuters) - People should not use mobile phones outdoors

> during thunderstorms because of the risk of being struck by

> lightning, doctors said Friday.

> They reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using her

phone

> in a park when she was hit during a storm. Although she was

revived,

> she suffered persistent health problems and was using a wheelchair

a

> year after the accident.

>

> " This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education is

> necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors

> during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences from

> lighting strike injuries, " said Swinda Esprit, a doctor at

Northwick

> Park Hospital in England.

>

> Esprit and other doctors at the hospital added in a letter to the

> British Medical Journal that usually when someone is struck by

> lightning, the high resistance of the skin conducts the flash over

> the body in what is known as a flashover.

>

> But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the

skin

> it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal

injuries

> and death.

>

> The doctors added that three fatal cases of lightning striking

people

> while using mobile phones have been reported in newspapers in

China,

> South Korea and Malaysia.

>

> " The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that

> metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should not

be

> used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm, " Esprit added.

>

http://news./s/nm/20060623/od_nm/telephones1_dc;_ylt=Aup0UkM

C

> 33OZxOYKTmTK5NkuQE4F;_ylu=X3oDMTA4cmUwbnA1BHNlYwMxNzAy

>

> This should be included in a new edition of A. Uman's

classic

> All About Lightning (Paperback).

> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/048625237X/qid=1151123977/sr=1-

> 1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6062788-3083914?s=books & v=glance & n=283155

>

[Guest guest]

Hello Amy,Oh yea, you are the authority of cell phones in the world or what?. Do you know a simple fact like coins and rings are metals that can cause more injuries a person if lightning strikes. What is baloney in your super expert knowledge, do you know that the resistance of skin and its contact with any metals increases the flow of the lightining into the body and causes more tissue damage?. Do you know that holding a cell phone increases the flow of the lighting into the body and increases the flow and thereby it causes more damage.The 13 year girls incidence was investigated by scientists and doctors in london and it was published in a reputed "british medical journal", you got to think before spitting out words like Baloney, you don't need to be a scientist to know this fact, but if you are a scientist and said those words, it is a shame.muniAmy <amyo11@...> wrote: This is baloney. Cell phone casings are not usually made of metal...they are polymers which are insulators. How about the fact that she was in a park during the storm...nahh....it must have been the phone because lightning would not likely strike someone standing out in the middle of a park during a storm. > > Mobile phone users warned of lightning strike risk Jun 23, > LONDON (Reuters) - People should not use mobile phones outdoors

> during thunderstorms because of the risk of being struck by > lightning, doctors said Friday. > They reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using her phone > in a park when she was hit during a storm. Although she was revived, > she suffered persistent health problems and was using a wheelchair a > year after the accident. > > "This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education is > necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors > during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences from > lighting strike injuries," said Swinda Esprit, a doctor at Northwick > Park Hospital in England. > > Esprit and other doctors at the hospital added in a letter to the > British Medical Journal that usually when someone is struck by > lightning, the high resistance of the skin conducts the flash over

> the body in what is known as a flashover. > > But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the skin > it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal injuries > and death. > > The doctors added that three fatal cases of lightning striking people > while using mobile phones have been reported in newspapers in China, > South Korea and Malaysia. > > "The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that > metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should not be > used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm," Esprit added. > http://news./s/nm/20060623/od_nm/telephones1_dc;_ylt=Aup0UkM C >

33OZxOYKTmTK5NkuQE4F;_ylu=X3oDMTA4cmUwbnA1BHNlYwMxNzAy > > This should be included in a new edition of A. Uman's classic > All About Lightning (Paperback). > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/048625237X/qid=1151123977/sr=1- > 1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6062788-3083914?s=books & v=glance & n=283155 >

[Guest guest]

" do you know that the resistance of skin and its contact with any

metals increases the flow of the lightining into the body and causes

more tissue damage?. "

Yes, I am not arguing these points and the effects of metal contact

and strikes.

Uh hmmm....the reputed " british medical journal experts are

assumming that all cell phones are made out of metal. Most are not.

I guess cingular must be cheap as the last few upgrades they sent me

had plastic casings. Maybe they are aware of this huge problem and

are looking out for their customers. What about listening to ipods,

portable listening devices during a storm, right more likely someone

will have rings watches, jewelry etc as opposed to a phone. What not

tell us all to stop wearing that. I think a clarification is need

before telling us we are all going to die holding our cell phones in

a storm. It's misleading Muni.

> >

> > Mobile phone users warned of lightning strike risk Jun 23,

> > LONDON (Reuters) - People should not use mobile phones outdoors

> > during thunderstorms because of the risk of being struck by

> > lightning, doctors said Friday.

> > They reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using her

> phone

> > in a park when she was hit during a storm. Although she was

> revived,

> > she suffered persistent health problems and was using a

wheelchair

> a

> > year after the accident.

> >

> > " This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education

is

> > necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors

> > during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences from

> > lighting strike injuries, " said Swinda Esprit, a doctor at

> Northwick

> > Park Hospital in England.

> >

> > Esprit and other doctors at the hospital added in a letter to

the

> > British Medical Journal that usually when someone is struck by

> > lightning, the high resistance of the skin conducts the flash

over

> > the body in what is known as a flashover.

> >

> > But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the

> skin

> > it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal

> injuries

> > and death.

> >

> > The doctors added that three fatal cases of lightning striking

> people

> > while using mobile phones have been reported in newspapers in

> China,

> > South Korea and Malaysia.

> >

> > " The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that

> > metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should

not

> be

> > used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm, " Esprit

added.

> >

>

http://news./s/nm/20060623/od_nm/telephones1_dc;_ylt=Aup0UkM

> C

> > 33OZxOYKTmTK5NkuQE4F;_ylu=X3oDMTA4cmUwbnA1BHNlYwMxNzAy

> >

> > This should be included in a new edition of A. Uman's

> classic

> > All About Lightning (Paperback).

> > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/048625237X/qid=1151123977/sr=1-

> > 1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6062788-3083914?s=books & v=glance & n=283155

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Here is another article from an expert. There are many on both

sides. Group subcribers will have to decide for themselves whether

to use their cell phones or not during a storm. Nonetheless, enough

of this topic and rest assured Dr. Muni I will refrain from calling

you on your cell during a storm in your area. Interesting read

though even thought I am no expert. But you gotta admit, Occam's

razor suggests that standing on a in the middle of a park in a

lightning storm is likely the statistically relevant factor, rather

than mobile phone usage.

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic299.htm

Chao! -Amy

> > >

> > > Mobile phone users warned of lightning strike risk Jun 23,

> > > LONDON (Reuters) - People should not use mobile phones

outdoors

> > > during thunderstorms because of the risk of being struck by

> > > lightning, doctors said Friday.

> > > They reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using

her

> > phone

> > > in a park when she was hit during a storm. Although she was

> > revived,

> > > she suffered persistent health problems and was using a

> wheelchair

> > a

> > > year after the accident.

> > >

> > > " This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education

> is

> > > necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones

outdoors

> > > during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences

from

> > > lighting strike injuries, " said Swinda Esprit, a doctor at

> > Northwick

> > > Park Hospital in England.

> > >

> > > Esprit and other doctors at the hospital added in a letter to

> the

> > > British Medical Journal that usually when someone is struck

by

> > > lightning, the high resistance of the skin conducts the flash

> over

> > > the body in what is known as a flashover.

> > >

> > > But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with

the

> > skin

> > > it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal

> > injuries

> > > and death.

> > >

> > > The doctors added that three fatal cases of lightning

striking

> > people

> > > while using mobile phones have been reported in newspapers in

> > China,

> > > South Korea and Malaysia.

> > >

> > > " The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that

> > > metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should

> not

> > be

> > > used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm, " Esprit

> added.

> > >

> >

>

http://news./s/nm/20060623/od_nm/telephones1_dc;_ylt=Aup0UkM

> > C

> > > 33OZxOYKTmTK5NkuQE4F;_ylu=X3oDMTA4cmUwbnA1BHNlYwMxNzAy

> > >

> > > This should be included in a new edition of A. Uman's

> > classic

> > > All About Lightning (Paperback).

> > >

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/048625237X/qid=1151123977/sr=1-

> > > 1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6062788-3083914?s=books & v=glance & n=283155

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

It may also be baloney but the underwire bra has also been cited as a

hazard. But they are always going to try to find some reason why

lightning struck one person on an open field as opposed to the many

others there. Guess this is better than consulting tea leaves.

>

> This is baloney. Cell phone casings are not usually made of

> metal...they are polymers which are insulators. How about the fact

> that she was in a park during the storm...nahh....it must have been

> the phone because lightning would not likely strike someone standing

> out in the middle of a park during a storm.

[Guest guest]

LOL..I am living more dangerously than I thought!

> >

> > This is baloney. Cell phone casings are not usually made of

> > metal...they are polymers which are insulators. How about the fact

> > that she was in a park during the storm...nahh....it must have

been

> > the phone because lightning would not likely strike someone

standing

> > out in the middle of a park during a storm.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi there. I think the original article was published in the

esteemed " Lancet " medical journal. When I first read of this article

I thought it was going to say that the RF emissions would attract

lightning strikes, but it doesn't...

However, when one considers that Lightning is of the order of

millions of volts at high amps, it is doubtful whether the thin

plastic case of a 'phone would offer much protection at all; it

would probably jump that small protective gap. I would concede that

it does look unlikely that there would be any greater risk from

using a phone than carying a bunch of keys, however. I'll try to get

a look at this report to see for myself.

Mike.

> >

> > Mobile phone users warned of lightning strike risk Jun 23,

> > LONDON (Reuters) - People should not use mobile phones outdoors

> > during thunderstorms because of the risk of being struck by

> > lightning, doctors said Friday.

> > They reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using her

> phone

> > in a park when she was hit during a storm. Although she was

> revived,

> > she suffered persistent health problems and was using a

wheelchair

> a

> > year after the accident.

> >

> > " This rare phenomenon is a public health issue, and education

is

> > necessary to highlight the risk of using mobile phones outdoors

> > during stormy weather to prevent future fatal consequences from

> > lighting strike injuries, " said Swinda Esprit, a doctor at

> Northwick

> > Park Hospital in England.

> >

> > Esprit and other doctors at the hospital added in a letter to

the

> > British Medical Journal that usually when someone is struck by

> > lightning, the high resistance of the skin conducts the flash

over

> > the body in what is known as a flashover.

> >

> > But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the

> skin

> > it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal

> injuries

> > and death.

> >

> > The doctors added that three fatal cases of lightning striking

> people

> > while using mobile phones have been reported in newspapers in

> China,

> > South Korea and Malaysia.

> >

> > " The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that

> > metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should

not

> be

> > used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm, " Esprit

added.

> >

>

http://news./s/nm/20060623/od_nm/telephones1_dc;_ylt=Aup0UkM

> C

> > 33OZxOYKTmTK5NkuQE4F;_ylu=X3oDMTA4cmUwbnA1BHNlYwMxNzAy

> >

> > This should be included in a new edition of A. Uman's

> classic

> > All About Lightning (Paperback).

> > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/048625237X/qid=1151123977/sr=1-

> > 1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6062788-3083914?s=books & v=glance & n=283155

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Mike, You hit the nail on the head. The plastic around a cell

phone does not conceal the metal that is within and attracts the

lightning. People really do need to buy and read A. Uman's

book on lightning which I recommended below.

This should be included in a new edition of A. Uman's

classic All About Lightning (Paperback).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/048625237X/qid=1151123977/sr=1-

1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6062788-3083914?s=books & v=glance & n=283155

Uman Receives 2001 Fleming Medal

" A. Uman is the world's foremost authority on the physics of

lightning, and his contributions in both pure and applied research

and in teaching and service have helped to shape progress in the

field for almost 40 years.

http://start.org/inside/awards/bios/uman_martina.html

Some online info:

Answers archive: Lightning science

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/walightn.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/wlightning.htm

Other Books about weather and climate

Books: Basics of weather and climate

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Weather by M.

Ludlum can be used to identify clouds and other sky phenomena in much

the way a field guide to birds is used. A key, using symbols

representative of phenomena such as cumulus clouds or rainbows,

guides readers through the book's 378 photographs. The pages to turn

to for textual information are listed with each photo. The Guide

would make a good supplement to any of the other general interest

books listed here.

Clouds in a Glass of Beer and What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks

by Craig F. Bohren are delightful introductions to atmospheric

phenomena and scientific thinking. Bohren uses simple " experiments "

such as sprinkling salt in beer to create bubbles to explain aspects

of how the atmosphere works. Along the way, he uses experiments and

sound scientific thinking to demolish ideas such as the old saw that

humid, cold days are more uncomfortable than dry, cold days. Borhen

goes to the basics of physics to explain phenomena such as dew on the

grass or why car headlights, unlike other electric lights, don't go

out immediately when you turn them off. (Everything in his books

isn't directly related to weather). Both books also offer many simple

experiments, such as measuring the temperature at which water boils

to determine the height of the top of a hill. His introduction to The

Doppler Effect is a good way to begin understanding how Doppler radar

works.

Glossary of Weather and Climate edited by Ira W. Geer is just one of

many reference books published by the American Meteorological Society

that gives readers a better understanding of the field of meteorology

and related sciences. From Ablation to Zulu time, this glossary

contains definitions to climatological, meteorological, oceanic and

hydrologic terms. This is the book that the USATODAY.com Weather Team

uses as the source of definitions and spelling of weather terms. We

think it should be on the desk of anyone who writes about the

weather. Anyone who reads much about the weather will find the

Glossary the quickest way to look up unfamiliar terms.

The USA TODAY Weather Book by Jack explains the basics of

meteorology with text and the kind of colorful graphics that have

become USA TODAY's trademark. The American Meteorological Society

(AMS) awarded its Louis J. Battan Author's Award for the

book in January 1994. The AMS and many scientists have commented on

the book's scientific accuracy and the AMS is using it in its

education program. The first edition came out in 1992 and the second

edition was published in 1996. More information on the Random House

Web site.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------

Climate and climate change

Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises from the National

Research Council is a report from a committee of leading climate

scientists on the implications of findings that Earth's climate has

undergone very quick changes in the past. Over the last couple of

decades, as researchers have found better ways to measure climates of

the distant past, they've discovered that climates of some places

have warmed or cooled by almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit in times as

short as a decade. This has discredited the old picture of climate as

changing over very slowly, at least in terms of human life spans. The

book is a thorough and readable look at the evidence for quick

climate changes, theories about what is behind them, global warming

as a possible trigger for such changes in the future, and the

potential economic and ecological impacts of sudden climate changes.

Atmosphere, Climate and Change by E. Graedel and J.

Crutzen, is probably not a good place to begin if you are unfamiliar

with climate science. But, it is a good second book to turn to if you

are trying to educate yourself about climate and climate change. The

book's many illustrations and graphs will help you understand what's

going on, but they aren't for rank beginners. The book is especially

strong on atmospheric chemistry, including the gases that tend to

cool the atmosphere as well as those that tend to warm it. These

important important aspects of climate are often slighted in other

books. It also has more on past climates that you will find in many

other books on the topic.

The Change in the Weather: People, Weather, and the Science of

Climate by K. s is a good place to begin learning about

the science of climate change and also many of the major players that

you'll be reading about in the coming years. s, a science

writer for the New York Times thoroughly covers the science of

climate and the politics of the debate about what, if anything, could

be done to counter human activities that affect the climate. The

book's selective bibliography will be invaluable to anyone who wants

to look deeper into any aspect of climate science and politics.

The Changing Atmosphere: A Global Challenge by Firor is a good,

brief overview of the questions about climate change and ozone

depletion. The American Meteorological Society awarded Fairer its

1993 Louis J. Battan Author's Award for this book. Firor, who is

director of the Advanced Study Program at the National Center for

Atmospheric Research, not only describes aspects of the atmosphere

but how scientists use methods such as computer modeling to

understand what's going on.

Currents of Change: El Niño's Impact on Climate and Society by

H. Glantz. This is the best introduction to El Niño

available. Glantz covers the basics of the science, but the focus is

on how scientists built our current understanding of El Niño by

discovering over the years how events around the Pacific and in other

parts of the world were all connected; how they are all part of what

we now call El Niño. The book is also a good source of information on

the consequences of El Niño and how societies are responding.

El Nino: Unlocking the Secrets of the Master Weather-Maker by J.

Madeline Nash takes you along with scientists who are learning about

El Niño by drilling into glaciers atop a mountain in the Andes or

into coral around a Pacific island. This is a book you'll find hard

to put down as you learn how El Niño can affect people around the

world, how researchers are learning more and more about how it works

and what it's done in the past, and how forecasters have gone out on

a limb to predict what it's likely to do next. The book closes with a

look at how El Niño and global climate change might be related

----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------

Cold weather and science, the polar regions

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Arctic and Antarctic by Jack

. This book is an overall look at the Earth's Polar regions

beginning with explaining why their are the Earth's air conditioners,

and moving on to look at the landscapes, the oceans, the plants and

animals, and the people who settled the Arctic long before Europeans

came to North America. Antarctica never had native people, but the

book has chapters on the history of Antarctic exploration (as well as

Arctic exploration), why no one owns any land in Antarctica, and what

it's like to work there, including information on how to find an

Antarctic job. Several chapters examine various aspects of science in

the Arctic and Antarctic, and the book closes with chapters on " Is

the Ice Melting, " and " Global warming and the Polar Regions. "

The Ice Chronicles: The Quest to Understand Global Climate Change by

Mayewski, White, and Lynn Margulis is the book to

read after reading The Two-Mile Time Machine (see below). Mayewski is

a veteran polar regions researcher who in early 2003 led a team of

scientists on an 800-mile overland trek to the South Pole. White is a

science writer and Margulis is a leading biologist who has written

several books. If you are not too familiar with science, especially

climate science, you might find some of the book's figures off

putting. By reading The Two-Mile Time Machine first, you will find

The Ice Chronicles are easier to understand. Mayewski headed the big,

U.S. ice core project in Greenland in the early 1990s, which produced

strong evidence that the Earth's climate has made abrupt changes in

the past. (See Abrupt Climate Change above.) The Ice Chronicles will

help you understand how scientists work, and Mayewski's stories about

his experiences illustrate the adventurous side of science.

Riddle of the Ice: A Scientific Adventure into the Arctic by Myron

Arms. Scientists have good reason to think that the interactions

among the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic's sea ice, Greenland's ice cap

and the atmosphere in the Labrador Sea and Strait between

Greenland and Canada are key players in the climate of the entire

Earth. The author takes us on a journey to this region in a 50-foot

sailboat, blending the events of the journey with reports of what

he's learned from climate scientists. What would otherwise be

abstract climate theory becomes as real to readers as the icebergs

encountered in the Strait. The book's excellent notes and

bibliography are a good guide to anyone interested in pursuing the

topics covered.

The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our

Future by Alley is a must-read book if you're at all curious

about what scientists have learned about past climates by pulling

cores of ice from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and from

glaciers in other parts of the world. Alley has been a part of teams

of scientists and technicians who have extracted ice cores and

studied them. If more leading scientists could write about their work

as clearly as Alley, learning about science would be much easier for

most of us. Readers of the Two-Mile Time Machine learn not only how

researchers obtain and " read " ice cores, but enough about how the

Earth's climate works to understand why ice cores help us understand

past climates.

Winter: An Ecological Handbook by C. Halfpenny and Roy

Ozanne answers, in detail, how plants, animals and even insects

survive in cold and snow. While the book goes into scientific detail

in places, it doesn't require a great deal of specialized knowledge

to understand. A large section of " People and Winter " has important

information for anyone who ventures out into cold and snow. This

section includes one of the most extensive discussions of wind chill

available outside highly technical publications. The final

chapter " Experiencing Winter, " describes several scientific

experiments that teachers or parents could use to get students

outdoors and into science.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------

Sky watching

The Rainbow Bridge: The Rainbow in Art, Myth, and Science by

L. Lee Jr., and Alistair B. Fraser, is the book for anyone who ever

looked at a rainbow and wanted to learn more. The title is an

accurate description of what you will find in the book. This means

that you will find a great deal of information not found in other

books about the sky, such as how different cultures have seen the

rainbow - not everyone sees a rainbow as a sign of hope. The book's

high-quality paper allows the many full-color paintings and photos to

tell their stories with brilliance.

Rainbows, Halos, and Glories by Greenler explains what causes

many of the different kinds of light phenomena in the sky. These

include common sights such as rainbows and rare kinds of arcs and

mirages. A high-school level knowledge of basic geometry would be

helpful in understanding the book. If nothing else, reading this book

should encourage readers to look up and see things such as halos that

are relatively common but that most people never notice. His book has

been the source of answers to many USATODAY.com Ask Jack questions

about sky phenomena over the years.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------

Storms and disasters

The Avalanche Handbook by McClung and Schaerer is the

guide to avalanches. The book covers the weather and snow conditions

that set the stage for avalanches. It describes what happens during

various kinds of avalanches and has chapters on forecasting, safety

and protection. The book would be especially useful to anyone who

goes skiing in the back country - away from ski areas. It is also a

good introduction to what happens to snow after it falls and would be

of interest to anyone who likes wintry weather. Anyone who goes

skiing in the back country of the western USA should be familiar with

the basic information about what causes avalanches covered by this

book.

Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth by Dr. Bob

Sheets and Jack is a history of how humans have come to

understand and forecast hurricanes. " Readers will easily and eagerly

follow the authors' step-by-step look at advances in both meteorology

and emergency response from the first known successful hurricane

prediction in the 16th century on Columbus's fourth voyage to the New

World through advances in instrumentation, satellite imagery,

aircraft reconnaissance and computer modeling in the 20th century to

the unresolved problems and the uncertainties of changing climate in

the 21st, " Publishers Weekly said in its review. More information is

available on the Random House Web site. This Web site also has an

excerpt from the book's preface.

The Tornado Nature's Ultimate Windstorm by P. Grazulis is the

ultimate book for anyone who is interested in tornadoes. Grazulis, a

tornado research meteorologist who runs the Tornado Project, has been

a consultant for both government agencies and for television

specials. His Tornado Project Online is the most complete source of

tornado information on the Web. The Tornado includes a great deal of

history, both of tornadoes themselves and the growth of tornado

science, including the role of tornado chasers in advancing

scientific understanding. Tornado myths are debunked with facts, and

we see how much scientists have yet to learn about what causes

tornadoes to form and act as they do. As Grazulis says, the growth of

understanding, which has led to greatly improved forecasts, has been

a success story with tornado deaths declining as the population has

grown. But, in his last chapter, " Final Thoughts, " he notes that

while the last tornado to kill more than 100 people in the United

States occurred in 1953, " it seems inevitable, however that a killer

tornado with a death toll of one hundred or more people will strike

the United States sometime in the future. " Why he thinks this is

something that anyone concerned with public safety should ponder.

Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed

America by A. Barry takes us back to 1927 when the Mississippi

River flooded 27,000 square miles from Illinois and Missouri south to

the Gulf of Mexico. At that time no one expected the government to

help the victims. President Calvin Coolidge even refused to visit the

area. But times were changing and Herbert Hoover, who Coolidge's

secretary of Commerce, was put on the road to the White House by the

masterful job he did running the relief effort. The legacy of the

flood is the elaborate system of lower Mississippi River flood

control measures that have confined larger floods, and also today's

response to disasters, which includes quick federal aid, often with

the president on hand to take credit. USATODAY.com has a more

detailed review of this book.

Twister: The Science of Tornadoes and the Making of an Adventure

Movie by Keay son. This 1996 book as a little bit about the

making of the movie Twister and a lot of good, solid information

about tornadoes, including the history of tornadoes and of the

scientific understanding of tornadoes. This book doesn't have as much

information as Grazulis' Tornado; Nature's Ultimate Windstorm, but

does have some stories that Grazulis doesn't include. The story is

well told with enough science so readers will know what's going on,

as we follow the development of the science of tornadoes. You will

learn how tornado chasers, who are quite a bit more professional than

those in the movie, have helped advance the science.

All About Lightning by A. Uman uses questions such as " Does

lightning always strike the tallest object? " to cover the basics of

lightning and its effects. The book should answer just about any

question that anyone but an advanced student of the topic has about

lightning. And, for those who want more advanced knowledge, Uman

offers an extensive listing of articles and books. This book is

probably the best way to begin learning about lightning.

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Textbooks and advanced reading

Atmospheric Science, an Introductory Survey, by Wallace and

Pater V. Hobbs, is an introduction to basic meteorological science

for anyone with a good understanding of basic calculus and physics.

In this book you'll learn how to derive many of the important

mathematical formulas atmospheric scientists use.

An Introduction to Three-Dimensional Climate Modeling by Warren M.

Washington and L. Parkinson, is a basic text on using computer

models to simulate climate. It introduces the use of three-

dimensional computer models of the atmosphere, oceans, land, and sea

ice. The book assumes knowledge of calculus and introductory physics.

Mesoscale Meteorology and Forecasting, edited by S. Ray,

focuses on medium-scale weather systems such as hurricanes,

thunderstorm complexes, fronts and others. It includes physical and

mathematical descriptions of such systems as well as the technology,

such as radar, used to observe them, and computer modeling of them.

This book would be good for anyone who is interested in severe

weather, and has a good basic knowledge of atmospheric science.

Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather, Climate, and the

Environment by C. Ahrens, is one of the USA's most popular

college textbooks. It is designed for students who are not planning

to major in meteorology, which means little mathematical knowledge is

required. This book is recommended for someone who has read the basic

books listed above, such as The USA TODAY Weather Book, and wants to

learn more.

Meteorology Today for Scientists and Engineers by Roland B. Stull, is

a " Technical companion Book " for the Meteorology Today text above. It

is a good source for many of the formulas meteorologists use.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/weather-books.htm

[Guest guest]

Two lightning information sites

http://thunder.nsstc.nasa.gov/primer/

http://www.usscouts.org/safety/safe_lig.html

[Guest guest]

>

> This is baloney. Cell phone casings are not usually made of

> metal...they are polymers which are insulators. How about the fact

> that she was in a park during the storm...nahh....it must have been

> the phone because lightning would not likely strike someone standing

> out in the middle of a park during a storm.

Amy,

Being the tallest object around might be more relevant, but I don't

think you should be holding a cell phone antenna up. Inside the phone

are electronics parts holding a charge such as a capacitor.

As you say in another post, you've been living dangerously with those

underwire bras. Take it off immediately, then perhaps I can check you

for other hazards.

Dan