Quote:
Originally Posted by SALYBOW
I was driving west on 466 A and it was raining so hard I could not see around me. Everyone drove very slowly until we got out of it. When I got to Save A Lot it was basically just drizzling and had not done more than that. Whew
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Glad you got back safe. Everyone's stories remind me of all the times we drove to the airport in torrential rains/thunderstorms in Florida; very scary.
Although Florida may be known as the lightening capital of the world, this has been an especially brutal summer season for lightening ALL OVER OUR NATION, as well as torrential rains & flooding (even in the northeast).....
We, here in Vermont, have had weeks now of warnings of severe thunderstorms coming across New York State to our west, east into Vermont, ON A DAILY BASIS, USUALLY IN THE EVENING & OVERNIGHT. Many rivers & streams were overflowing.........many people had water in their basements due to living on hilly terrain. We are blessed to have French drains. The lightening is terrifying.
I'm thankful our daughter & two of our school aged grandchildren have returned back to Vermont from their Colorado vacation, where they actually missed, by one week, all of these lightening strikes at Rocky Mountain National Park where they were camping.
The little toddler cousins were with them.....as well. So glad they avoided it, considering they were up at 8,000 - 9,000 feet elevation. Very scary......but CO. has had severe storms repeatedly this summer........definite change in the weather pattern.
In New England, a much beloved 24 year old young woman was swimming below a dam in New Hampshire, got caught in a whirlpool (caused by the recent heavy rains).....and was sucked under , drowned.
In another state, a young fellow was sucked into a storm drain while trying to rescue his friend.......so many tragic events this summer......due to heavy rains, storms, all over the U.S. from north to south and east to west.
A year ago, a young father, neighbor to our nephew in Princeton, New Jersey, was sucked into a storm drain in front of his own home & that of our nephew & his wife; perished, after the firemen could not rescue him.......all he was attempting to do was to relieve some of the water pressure for his street/neighbors. Very sad story.
Water is powerful & can be deadly, as can lightening. Not to mention trees can be uprooted, falling on homes & people, plus cars......as has occurred recently up north.
Stay safe; stay indoors.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. — Two people have been killed
in two days in separate lightning strikes at Rocky Mountain National Park, the park's spokeswoman Kyle Patterson confirms.
A lightning strike near the Rainbow Curve on Trail Ridge Road at around 3:30 p.m. affected 13 people Saturday. They were taken to the Estes Park Medical Center in Colorado.
Doctors say rangers and first responders administered CPR to a man who was directly hit by the bolt of lightning. He was pronounced dead when he arrived at the center.
Authorities identified the man as
Gregory Cardwell, 52, of Scottsbluff, Neb. The Larimer County Coroner's Office will determine cause of death and release the information in the next couple of days.
This lightning fatality comes just over 24 hours after a woman died from a lightning strike on the Ute Crossing Trail, which is located on Trail Ridge Road between the Rainbow Curve and Forest Canyon Overlook.
Seven other people were injured. The woman who died has been identified as Rebecca Teilhet, 42, of Yellow Springs, Ohio. She had been hiking with her husband and a friend.
In total, 21 people were taken to the hospital because of lightning strikes on Friday and Saturday, an official with the Estes Park Medical Center told KUSA-TV.
Lightning claimed two lives in two days in Rocky Mountain National Park. Use these tips to stay safe and avoid lightning strikes.
The last lightning fatality in Rocky Mountain National Park happened in 2000, when a technical climber was struck on the Diamond on Longs Peak.
So far in 2014 across the USA 11 people have been killed by lightning.
According to the National Weather Service, more than 70% of all fatal lightning strikes in the USA occur in the months of June, July and August. More than 30% of all lightning deaths take place in July alone, making it the peak month for fatalities.
Park officials are reminding visitors of the dangers associated with being above tree line — or more than 10,000 feet. That area is very exposed and there are few places to take cover.
Park rangers say visitors should head to lower ground by 12 p.m. to avoid being caught in a dangerous storm.
The Coloradan's Madeline Novey contributed to this report
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P.S. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY SAY "WHAT'S THE POINT"; WE LIVE IN FL. ???
I was thinking of so many of you who travel during the hottest part of the Fl. summer, taking road trips to all over our beautiful United States & Canada...........IT'S BEEN A BRUTAL SUMMER SEASON FOR STORMS.
We were once driving in Iowa early one morning when it became black as night; visibility was nil. Very scary. Later learned that a tornado had been close by..........we were very lucky. It was like someone had pulled a shade down.
We are looking forward to the Polar Vortex colder weather enroute to us......with low humidity & cooler temps........like beautiful autumn weather. Today it is 95% humidity. Not comfortable at all, even with air conditioning. Too much rain, for sure.