By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A CHIEF meteorologist is urging Bahamians to take precautions during thunderstorms, advising people to go indoors when lightning is nearby and avoid activities that could increase their risk of being struck.

Kaylinda Ward-Forbes said The Bahamas has recorded cases of people being struck by lightning in the past, including a fatal incident involving aircraft engineers at an airport.

“Yes, we have had some some cases. I can’t right offhand remember the year,” she said. “We had a thunderstorm that even wasn’t directly over the airport, but lightning struck more than one person on the aerodrome. These were persons for fixing the plane. Aircraft engineers, and one of them died.”

Her comments come after R M Bailey High School Grade 11 student Anton Bowe was struck by lightning and killed on the school grounds.

Ms Ward-Forbes said most thunderstorm activity occurs during the hurricane season, which runs from June through November, but she could not say whether the frequency of thunderstorms has increased.

“What I would like to advise residents is to really pay special attention to the daily forecast, and once there is thunderstorms expected make sure you have yourself privy to some building that you can move indoors,” she said.

“Lightning and thunder they begin at the same time, but you will see the lightning before you hear the thunder. More than likely, if you hear thunder direct almost the same time as you see the lightning, that thunderstorm is directly above you and your chances are greater for lightning to hit something nearby.”

She said people participating in outdoor sporting activities should stop and wait until conditions improve.

“If you're indoors, we want you to avoid being near windows. If you have windows, make sure your windows are closed. Also, avoid using any corded appliances like your toasters, anything that carries electricity, because you know lightning is actually electricity moving through the atmosphere. It tends to attract to anything that that is that is electrical as well.”

She advised people to avoid touching metal objects or chain-link fences and to leave pools or other bodies of water. People should seek shelter in a sturdy building or, if none is available, inside a hard-topped vehicle until the storm passes. Wireless cellular phones are generally safe to use.

Ms Ward-Forbes said thunderstorm activity got off to a relatively late start this year, with June experiencing unusually dry conditions.

“I can’t say the frequency has increased because it seems like we’ve gotten a late start to the season because of the El Nino effect,” she said.

She added: “I haven’t done the the analysis yet, but the month of June for this year has to be one of our driest months on record for June because we got very little rain in June, so that means we got very little thunderstorms as well.”

She said the season “started a bit late in terms of thunderstorm activity.”