Australia’s indigenous people say the bushfire-ravaged country is paying the price for ignoring their expertise in managing the ecology of the world’s-driest inhabited continent. The fires have already burned more than 6 million acres — an area the size of …
Lightning may not seem as destructive as other natural disasters, yet a strike can cause serious damage to business equipment and electrical appliances, disrupt electrical service for long periods of time, and spark wildfires. In 2014, State Farm paid nearly …
A sudden jump in the number of lightning strikes inside a garden-variety thunderstorm might soon give forecasters a new tool for predicting severe weather and issuing timely warnings, according to research at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. The sudden …
Lightning struck Oregon more than 6,000 times Sunday and Monday, touching off small fires by the dozens. Such a barrage can be expected to cause numerous “sleeper” or holdover fires in coming days. Northwest fire spokeswoman Robin DeMario says lightning …
Florida is known for being the deadliest state in the country for lightning strikes – and 2014 has been no exception. Four people in Florida have been fatally struck so far this year, The Tampa Tribune reports. That’s the same …
A device developed at The University of Alabama in Huntsville has become a valuable tool in researchers’ quest to determine how lightning is spawned in clouds, to map strikes from beginning to end and to better predict severe weather. The …
State and local officials are preparing for another possible round of wildfires in Nebraska by providing additional training and more equipment for first responders who fought massive blazes last year. Nebraska has added a single-engine firefighting plane to its arsenal …
A storm moving across Northern and Central California has brought hundreds of lightning strikes, leading to nearly two dozen wildfires. The National Weather Service counted nearly 500 lightning strikes north of San Francisco Monday. State fire officials say the lightning …
NASCAR fans at Pocono Raceway were advised over public address systems and through social media to take cover when lightning and heavy rain hit the Pennsylvania track near the end of the race. The warnings weren’t enough to avoid tragedy …