LIVE: Kristen's Classroom: Lightning truths vs. tales

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AUSTIN (KXAN)—Lightning, it’s one of the most underrated threats during severe weather season, and the frequency with which it is overlooked often results in grave injury to those who ignore it.

Lightning facts

People often think that lightning is attracted to metal objects, when in reality, lightning is attracted to height. That’s often telephone poles, trees, tops of buildings, antennas, etc.

Another common misconception is rubber tires of a vehicle can protect you from lightning. Unfortunately, rubber tires will only insulate low voltage. It’s the metal cage of the vehicle that protects you from lightning, as it redirects the electrical current into the ground without touching the interior contents

Lightning can strike up to 10 miles from the parent thunderstorms. These strikes are known as “bolts from the blue”. It is important to stay weather aware whenever a storm is nearby or present.

Be sure to download the KXAN Weather app and turn on the ‘lightning’ feature to be notified when lightning nears you.

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