The dangers of lightning and tornadoes in farming

Perhaps more than any other industry, farming is at the mercy of weather. The nature of all agricultural work if you must carry on regardless of weather conditions, although there is some scope for being able to plan around known hazards.

Hazards such as lightning and tornadoes are on the whole unforeseen, but can actually occur anywhere, although lightning is likely in certain places.

Lightning is a higher risk than most other types of extreme weather conditions, simply because it can often be accompanied with severe and seven rainstorms, which can occur pretty much anywhere.

Lightning is often accompanied with flooding and other effects of heavy rainstorms, along with the possibility of severe wind damage, tornadoes and other high risk weather conditions.

The reality is that anyone involved in agriculture work needs to take some precautions, and most of the precautions will guard against both lightning and other high-risk weather conditions.

On of the most important things to do is to plan ahead. This may sound obvious, but is often left to chance, often over optimistic attitude about how things either won't get that bad, or will get better, both of which can lead to some serious problems.

The first thing to do is tocheck the weather forecast the day or night before starting any work, and also before starting work itself.

There are numerous weather forecast website available, a number of which can predict accurate weather conditions in minute detail, often done to very specific times.

Researching which is the most accurate weather forecasting site is important, and there are certain websites specifically targeted to farming and agricultural workers, which will place heavy emphasis on extreme weather conditions such as lightning, hailstorms, windstorms etc.

These specific sites can vary somewhat depending upon where the individuals live, but satellite technology can accurately predict a lot of weather conditions, that would not have been the case a few years ago.

Aside from websites, there is a lot to be said for an individual's knowledge and experience of the land around where they live and work. This can often be simply looking at a buildup of threatening clouds, or increasing wind, knowing that you can easily develop into more extreme weather conditions.

The reality of lightning is it can kill people, as well as damaging machinery and buildings. Planning ahead is crucial in terms of identifying areas of potential shelter.

There are a significant number of myths around about how and where lightning can strike, the nature of electrical storms and where or not is the safest place to seek refuge.

It is important to consult most current and up-to-date information as to the safest place to refuge from lightning in any given environment, such as open land, land with trees on it, land with utility lines on it, the availability of closed buildings built of, and whether or not it is safe to refuge in the scenery such as tractors for other vehicles.

Whilst tornadoes are probably less common but a lot of people, they can still be a deathly hazard for certain areas of the country. Again the advice given above in terms of doing proper research and planning applies.

Tornadoes often accompany thunderstorms, and as such should be taken into consideration in identifying extreme weather conditions. If a farm or agricultural business is located in an area of the country that is specifically prone to tornadoes, there is likely to be a local or a number of local associations provide tornado watch or warning alerts.

These associations may be voluntary or statutory, but the people reported in normally carry a significant amount of experience and expertise in extreme weather conditions, and should be able to give reliable and up-to-date information that is of value to anyone involved in agriculture or farming in the local area.