Countermeasures for a storm wind

1. When stay at home

Pay attention to the weather forecast in advance and take precautions in time, such as fixing breakable objects outside the house, fixing windows with tape and other props, drawing curtains, and staying away from rooms with glass.

Prevent water and mud from flowing into your home stacking bags of soil at the entrance, inserting waterproof boards at the entrance, checking the drainage openings of kitchens, toilets and washrooms, or blocking bags with water to prevent blockage mud, garbage, etc., or to prevent backflow into the house.

2. When going to an evacuation site

Wear a raincoat when you go out to prevent your body temperature from dropping when you get wet, bring clothes that can be changed at any time and put them in a waterproof backpack, carry emergency items of minimum weight, and preferably put your valuables in a waterproof bag. It is best to wear sneakers, rain shoes that are not easy to get into the water, in case they become heavy and inconvenient to move. It is best to stay away from underground, fires, and routes near rivers, and to avoid places that may be dangerous to get to the evacuation site quickly.

The mechanisms of lightning and thunder

Thunder is produced mainly within cumulonimbus clouds. Cumulonimbus clouds contain very small ice particles and relatively large hail. When they collide, the small ice particles are electrified positive ions and the hailstones are electrified negative ions.

The lighter small ice particles with positive charges gather above the cloud, and the heavier hail with negative charges gather below the cloud, so the negative charges at the bottom of the cumulonimbus cloud attract and the positive charges accumulate on the ground below.

Between the clouds and the ground when a certain amount of electricity accumulates, light and sound discharges are produced, thunder is heard and lightning is seen.


The phenomenon of lightning and thunder

1. The voltage of lightning is said to be about 200 million volts. Air does not normally conduct electricity, but in the case of lightning, the voltage is so high that it can conduct electricity through the air and discharge.

2. In fact, lightning can occur even in the absence of cumulonimbus clouds. One of these phenomena is called “volcanic thunder”. Volcanic thunder occurs when a volcano erupts.

According to the Meteorological Agency, on the Japan Sea side, thunder occurs all year round, and there are many places where thunder occurs even in winter. There are fewer thunderstorms, though in winter, and there is a part of the Atlantic coast which also has thunderstorms in winter. Thunder in winter is slightly different from thunder in summer. Winter thunder is very powerful and has fewer discharges, so winter thunder is also known as a single one, and its energy is about 100 times that of summer thunder. Summer thunder can be heard from a distance, so it is easy to take precautions, but winter lightning has very few discharges, which means it can approach silently and then strike suddenly.

3. In addition to the damage to the human body from being struck lightning, there are malfunctions in electrical appliances such as computers and televisions due to high currents flowing through them, as well as fires in forests and buildings.