Lightning Protection Institute to Kickoff 15th Annual Lightning Safety Awareness Week
Building Lightning Safe Communities initiative brings fun and educational events to NH
NORTH CONWAY, N.H., June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Lightning Protection Institute (LPI), is partnering with the National Weather Service (NWS) to organize several educational and awareness-driven launch events for Lightning Safety Awareness Week, June 21-27. The 2015 campaign theme of “Building Lightning Safe Communities,” emphasizes the importance of protecting people, property and places against the deadly, yet often underrated lightning threat.
Members of the media and the public are invited to attend the official kickoff events in North Conway and Glen, NH on June 19 and 20.
An educational presentation will be held at the Mount Washington Observatory Weather Discovery Center, located in North Conway, NH (2779 White Mountain Highway), on Friday, June 19 at 7:00 p.m. The Mount Washington Observatory is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with a mission to advance understanding of the natural systems that create Earth’s weather and climate. Its mountaintop weather station, located at the highest point in the Northeastern U.S.,has been dubbed “Home of the World’s Worst Weather” which makes it the perfect setting to raise awareness about lightning safety. Experts and speakers from across the country will provide short talks on a wide range of lightning topics including: lightning safety, medical effects of lightning victims, lightning protection, lightning damage statistics and a demo of a lightning simulator machine called, “Protection Test House.” Attendees will also enjoy the opportunity to connect live with the Observatory’s mountaintop weather station staff.
A meet and greet reception begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by presentations from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m. Admission is free and light refreshments will be provided for attendees. https://www.mountwashington.org/visit-us/weather-discovery-center/
On Saturday, June 20, the official Lightning Safety Awareness Week kickoff will be held at Storyland Amusement Park https://www.storylandnh.com in Glen, NH from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The Lightning Safety Awareness Team will begin events with a press conference to recognize Storyland for its StormReady efforts which support the Building Lightning Safe Community’s mission. (Storyland has lightning protection systems on many of its buildings to help safeguard patrons and workers from lightning’s dangerous electricity.) The event will cater to children and families with special appearances by “Dr. Lightning” and “Leon the Lightning Lion” who will share safety materials, information and free giveaways.
LPI is also partnering with the Lightning Safety Alliance http://www.lightningsafetyalliance.org/ in sponsoring the Mount Washington Road Race and expo eventshttp://mountwashingtonroadrace.com scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 20.
The NWS began the annual campaign in 2001 to help increase awareness about the dangers of lightning and provide the public with safety information to help protect families from lightning’s underrated dangers. http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/
The 2015 campaign will focus on both personal safety, as well as minimizing damage to property. Statistics from the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.),http://www.iii.org/ cite lightning as responsible for millions of dollars in homeowners insurance claims each year, with costs reaching $1 billion from 2010-2012.
(According to the NWS, the 2013 lightning death toll of 23 set a new low record for lightning deaths in a single year—a contrast to the deadliest year in 1943 when 432 Americans were struck and killed.)
About the Lightning Protection Institute
The Lightning Protection Institute (LPI) is a not-for-profit, nationwide group founded in 1955 to promote lightning safety, awareness and education and is a leading resource for lightning protection information and system requirements. Visit the LPI website at https://lightning.org for more information.
CONTACT: Kim Loehr, Director of Communications / LPI/LSA / kiml@lightning.org or kaloehr@aol.com / 804-314-8955 | Michelle Cruz (NH contact) / Director of Education, Mount Washington Observatory / mcruz@mtwashington.org / 603-356-2137 ext. 225 | John Jensenius (NH contact) / Lightning Safety Specialist, NOAA/NWS / john.jensenius@noaa.gov / 207-688-3221 ext. 223
