Every storm accompanied by lightning is dangerous, but it can be mainly hazardous in a busy airport environment. Amid all the movement and technology, both staff and passengers are prone to danger.
Airport Lightning Risk Index
A meteorologist with Vaisala, Chris Vagasky, told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell: "Lightning heats up the atmosphere to hotter than the sun's surface and it packs thousands of times more electricity than the outlets on the wall that you would plug your phone or computer into."
A weather data measurement firm, Vaisala, has developed an Airport Lightning Risk Index that can compute how much every airport in the United States is affected by lightning. The index takes the number of departure and landings at an airport and multiplies that by the density of lightning in that region.
The Top Five Airports
The top five airports on the index are all located in only two states, one of which has long been referred to as "the lightning capital of America."
The following five U.S. airports have both so much lightning and so much flight activity, According to Vaisala.
5. Dallas Love Field
4. Miami International Airport
3. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston)
2. Orlando International Airport
1. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is the airport in America that is most likely to experience lightning strikes, according to Vaisala's list.
Of the top 10 airports at risk of lightning, seven are situated in Florida and Texas, which isn't surprising, again, bearing in mind Florida has long been regarded as the lightning capital of America, although a new report reveals Oklahoma is edging out the Sunshine State coming to lightning density per square kilometer.
However, Vagasky told AccuWeather not to anticipate a clear lightning capital to be named in the near future. Vagasky said whether one is going to beat the other and just be the lightning king for the remaining period of time, you can't actually say that. Vagasky thinks there's going to be too much fluctuation between the two. And they're going to be fighting it out.
On the other edge of the list, most of the airports less likely to experience lightning activity are in California. It's also worth bearing in mind America is not the top lightning capital all over the globe, as that distinction goes to Singapore.
Lightning
When it comes to natural occurrences, lightning has likely been the most observed throughout the ages. It has been studied, worshiped, and feared.
Lightning is an outcome of static electricity and has been noticed in intense forest fires, volcanic eruptions, heavy snowstorms, in large hurricanes, surface nuclear detonations, and even in the exhaust of large turbine engines.
However, it is most usually seen in thunderstorms. Ben Franklin usually gets the credit for making a conclusion that lightning is based on the theory of static electricity.
Related Article: It's Alive!: Lightning Played an Important Role in Creating Life on Earth
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