---
title: Expert Strikes Down Myths on Avoiding Lightning Strikes
date: 2023-07-03T10:31:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/umd-expert-strikes-down-myths-on-avoiding-lightning-strikes"
section: Articles
---
# Expert Strikes Down Myths on Avoiding Lightning Strikes

*July 3, 2023* — by [Georgia Jiang](/author/georgia-jiang)


> 5 Tips on Summer’s Shocking Guest Are Grounded in Research

*Lightning 1920x1080 5 — No, rubber doesn't stop lightning, and your cell phones doesn't attract bolts from the blue. These are just some of the correctives a UMD expert applies to lightning safety myths.*

Summer brings to mind sunny days and relaxing vacations, but the season’s dark side makes it one of the busiest times of the year for a University of Maryland “fulminologist”—a scientist specializing in lightning research.

“About two-thirds of lightning that happens over land in the U.S. occurs during the summer months,” said Daile Zhang, a postdoctoral associate at UMD’s [Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center](https://essic.umd.edu/joom2/index.php). “And because I study storms, how they form and where they go, I end up tracking a lot of them during the season.”

Zhang uses land- and satellite-based lightning locating systems to detect what’s brewing across the country. Her [Atmospheric Electricity Research & Training](https://lightningdev.umd.edu/aert/index.html) group captures lightning strikes and storms using cameras around the College Park campus and nationwide; the team also operates a ground-based network of sensors called the [Mid-Atlantic Lightning Mapping Array](http://lma-tech.com/malma/) to detect and geolocate a range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves produced by lightning.

In addition, she’s helping the National Weather Service with one project to improve visualization of weather and climate data through virtual reality, and on another to help airplanes avoid dangerous storms.

“I’m working to make all this satellite-based data we have easy to access for everyone around the world,” Zhang said. “Studies have shown that this data can increase the lead time we have over severe weather hazards. This not only mitigates the number of potential lightning fatalities or injuries, but also other lightning-related weather hazards like hail, strong winds and tornadoes.”

The chances of being struck by lightning are slim, averaging less than 1 in a million each year—a frequency that translated into 444 deaths from 2006 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Safety education about the phenomenon appears to be paying off, Zhang said, with yearly deaths declining from 49 in 2006 to just 19 last year. She recently spoke with us to dispel some persistent lightning myths.



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*lightning strikes twice illustration*



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*lightning striking near someone getting low illustration*



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*lightning strikes tree illustration*



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*lightning strikes rubber soled shoe illustration*



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*lightning strikes cell phone illustration*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)