A man in New Jersey was killed and several people were injured by a lightning strike Wednesday night. Meg Oliver reports on his death and the rise in lightning events brought on by climate change. And Lonnie Quinn has more on the danger of lightning.

New Jersey

A man was killed and more than a dozen people, including children, were injured when lightning struck a New Jersey archery club during a Cub Scouts event. The incident occurred without a storm overhead, with witnesses describing the strike as sudden and unexpected.

Experts note that lightning strikes are becoming more frequent due to rising temperatures associated with climate change. Safety systems, such as lightning warning sirens, have been implemented in some areas to protect the public. The National Weather Service recommends the 30-30 method for lightning safety: seek shelter if thunder is heard within 30 seconds of seeing lightning and wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before going outside. The incident involved a 'side flash' from a tree, with injuries resulting from both direct and ground current effects.

Man killed by lightning in New Jersey, several injured

A man in New Jersey was killed last night when he was struck by lightning. With climate change, the experts tell us a number of lightning events is on the rise. Here's Meg Oliver. One unconscious, one breathing, one CPR in progress. The lightning strike happened here, where a New Jersey archery club was hosting a group of Cub Scouts. I thought it was a bomb. Mike Luster was helping at the club. More than a dozen people, including children as young as seven, were injured by a bolt out of the blue. There was no storm overhead. It knocked me to the ground, and I'm like, what happened? Am I dead? The odds of getting hit by lightning are one in 1.6 million, but it's generally agreed among those who study lightning that rising temperatures linked to climate change are contributing to an increase in strikes overall. According to the National Lightning Safety Council, 12 people have been killed in the U.S. so far this year. Seaside Park, New Jersey, is about an hour drive from the site of last night's fatal strike. A lightning warning system was recently installed here. A lifeguard was struck and killed in Seaside Park in 2021. Is it saving lives? You know, I would definitely say it's helped. There's no foolproof way to prevent against thunderstorms. They pop up out of nowhere sometimes, but this is the best possible way to keep people safe. I would definitely say it is working. Jim Rankin is the captain of the local beach patrol. He told us the system can detect a strike within 20 miles and warn beachgoers without risking the safety of lifeguards. Once the public got educated on what the sirens mean and basically what to do, it's almost automatic they get off the beach. The National Weather Service advises following the 30-30 method. If you see lightning and hear thunder within 30 seconds, take shelter immediately and wait at least 30 minutes from the last time you heard thunder. Bolt out of the blue is a real thing, Meg Oliver. Thank you. And Lonnie Quinn is here. Really, out of the blue, Lonnie? That's terrifying. Yeah, and that term out of the blue comes from lightning coming from a blue sky overhead. I'll try to talk about everything, but the most dangerous type of lightning strike is a direct hit, where the bolt actually hits you. That's not what happened in New Jersey. Here's how it played out. It's something called a side flash, where the lightning strikes the tree, all of that electricity and energy travels down the trunk. It's almost like too crowded in there. Some of that energy actually bounces out and then makes a shortcut, if it can, down to the ground. The shortcut would be a human standing underneath that tree trying to get out of the storm, and that's what we believe happened last night. As far as the 14 other people that were injured, how does that happen? Well, that's something that we refer to as a ground current. That current, okay, hits the tree, travels down the trunk, goes into the ground. It then dissipates. All right, eventually, it fades away, but if you're close enough, you can be struck that way. There's one other type I want to talk about. All right, and this is called the conduction strike. Let's say it strikes a fence, a metal fence, and you're holding onto that fence down the way. You can be struck that way, but keep in mind, that lightning bolt could strike the ground as I showed you. That current travels through the ground. If it hits a metal pipe that goes into your house, maybe into your plumbing, and you're touching the faucet at the time, you've got to be careful about that. Meg was saying, look, 30 minutes after you hear the last rumble of thunder, then it's safe. Until then, try to get indoors during a thunderstorm. If you can't get indoors, they used to tell you to lie flat on the ground. No. Then they said, crouch down. You want as little of your body touching the ground as possible. Now, as of 2008, they say run. Run as fast as you can. Guys? But you say, don't touch the faucet. I guess that's a big deal. It is a big deal. Any sort of electrical appliance, if your electrical wires are led outside, that could be a problem. Lonnie Quinn, thank you.

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