Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has declared the week of June 18-24 as Colorado Lightning Safety Awareness Week. Lightning strikes the ground in our state over a half million times each year and with many of us participating in outdoor activities, we need to learn how to protect ourselves from lightning hazards.

Lightning is also responsible for about half of the wildfires in Colorado each year. When lightning or other conditions are conducive to a high wildfire threat, the National Weather Service will issue Fire Weather Watches or Red Flag Warnings.

During this week, a series of statements will cover a variety of topics related to lightning and wildfires.

• Monday - Lightning overview for Colorado
• Tuesday - The science of lightning
• Wednesday - Outdoor lightning risk reduction
• Thursday - Indoor lightning safety
• Friday - Lightning medical issues for survivors
• Saturday - Lightning and wildfires

Here are a couple of web sites that contain additional lightning information.

• NOAA’s lightning website which contains abundant information on lightning safety can be found at: www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov
• Lightning information specific for the State of Colorado can be found at: www.weather.gov/pub/lightning 

• Weather information - updated throughout the day - can also be found at http://kiowacountypress.net/weather