Lightning Awareness Week: Protection for Jackson golfers
NORTH JACKSON, Tenn. – Golfing can be a dangerous sport when it is lightning. The Jackson Country Club takes that risk very seriously and has installed a “Thor Guard” automatic lightning detection system. The PGA Tour uses the same system. The “Thor Guard” is a lightning prediction system. A siren sounds when lightning is predicted or detected by the system. This week, June 22 – 28, is Lightning Safety Awareness Week. Safety officials use this time to educate others about the dangers lignting poses. Spring and summer are the times of year when lightning is most frequent. In recent years, lightning strikes cost nearly $1 billion in insured losses, according to the Insurance Information Institute Experts recommend both a whole-house surge protector as well as localized surge protection for individual electronics. Last year twenty-eight people were killed by lightning. In fact, 85 percent of lightning victims are children and young men ages 10-35 engaged in recreation or work. To prevent death or injury, the Lightning Protection Institute advises the following: *If you are outside and a thunderstorm approaches, immediately seek shelter inside a fully enclosed building. *If a building is not available, take shelter in a car with a metal top and keep doors and windows closed. *Avoid lakes, beaches or open water; and riding on golf carts, farm equipment, motorcycles or bicycles. *Never seek shelter under a tree! *If caught outdoors, try to minimize your risk by going to a place of lower elevation. *Stay off the telephone. *In your home, do not stand near open windows, doorways or metal piping. *Stay away from the TV, plumbing, sinks, tubs, radiators and stoves. *Avoid contact with small electric appliances such as radios, toasters and hairdryers.
