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Staying Safe from Lightning

POCONO TOWNSHIP — There have been some pretty strong storms this summer in northeastern and central Pennsylvania, including a storm that may have led to a...
Lightning bolts – August 13th, 2016

POCONO TOWNSHIP -- There have been some pretty strong storms this summer in northeastern and central Pennsylvania, including a storm that may have led to a man's death over the weekend.

Officials at Beltzville State Park in Carbon County say three people were in Beltzville Lake on Saturday when it was struck by lightning.  All three were taken to the hospital. One man later died.

"Water is a very efficient conductor of electricity. It's especially important that when thunderstorms and lightning are threatening that guests stay away from and out of water," Drew Jackson of Camelback Mountain said.

At Camelback Mountain in Monroe County, hitting the pool is exactly where most people want to be on a hot summer day.

There are precautions that need to be taken. Being in water is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm.

At Camelback Mountain on any given day in the summer, there can be a few thousand people in the water. That's why the resort invests in a radar program to make sure its guests are safe. The program pinpoints exactly where the lightning is and if it's getting too close.

"As soon as we see a strike that gets within a 25-mile radius of the park, we'll start to trigger a plan to evacuate some of the folks from the activities that may take longer to evacuate," Jackson said.

You might think that would be hard to do with kids. Even the youngsters understand lightning is no joke.

"If thunder is long and loud, then usually lightning will come after it," Lauren Hurst said.

"Water, it's a pretty good mix with lightning with electricity and stuff," Braydon Hurst said.

Parents like David Milowitz of New York keep an eye to the sky for potential storms when they're by the pool. He understands lightning can take a life in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah, it can happen anywhere, but the minute you see it and hear it, go inside. It's obviously the safest bet or go inside a car," Milowitz said.

Even though it may not be raining where you are, according to the National Weather Service, lightning can strike 10-15 miles away.

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