The Case for Lightning Alerts: Protecting Communities from a Deadly Hazard

Understanding the Danger of Lightning

Lightning is one of the most dangerous and unpredictable weather phenomena in Canada. Every year, it causes wildfires, power outages, injuries, and even fatalities. As a result, the risk it poses to both people and property is significant, particularly in areas prone to thunderstorms and dry conditions. A deeper understanding of lightning’s consequences reveals why real-time lightning alerts could play a critical role in public safety.

The Role of Lightning in Wildfires

Among lightning’s most devastating impacts is its role in starting wildfires. In 2023, lightning was responsible for 59% of all wildfires in Canada, yet these fires accounted for over 90% of the total area burned. This striking statistic highlights lightning's disproportionate impact, especially in remote and forested regions where fires are harder to detect and contain.

Lightning-induced wildfires can spread rapidly, especially during droughts, and wreak havoc on ecosystems, wildlife, and infrastructure. They not only destroy natural habitats and timber resources but also lead to poor air quality from smoke and ash. Furthermore, fires caused by lightning often damage electrical grids and essential utilities, disrupting service for thousands and requiring costly repairs. These realities highlight the need for early detection and public alerting as part of wildfire prevention and response.

Lightning Strikes and Their Impact on People

Lightning is also a direct threat to human safety. Each year in Canada, lightning causes 2 to 3 deaths and up to 180 injuries, most of which occur during the summer months from June to August, peak thunderstorm season. These months also align with increased outdoor activity, which raises the risk of being caught in a storm.

Provinces like Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan see the highest number of lightning-related injuries and fatalities due to their storm-prone climates. Interestingly, data shows that males are more likely to be struck than females, often because of occupational or recreational exposure activities like golfing, fishing, or construction work increase lightning risk.

Broader Consequences of Lightning Strikes

The effects of lightning extend far beyond immediate injury. Lightning strikes can cause widespread power outages, damage to electronics and appliances, and fires in homes or buildings. The sudden surges of electricity from a strike can overwhelm even surge-protected systems, leading to expensive repairs and business interruptions.

In both urban and rural areas, these disruptions affect critical infrastructure, including hospitals, emergency services, and communication systems. For this reason, having advanced notice of potential lightning activity could help individuals and organizations take timely precautions to protect people, property, and vital systems.

The Science Behind Lightning

Lightning occurs when there is a buildup of electrical charges within a cloud. This buildup creates an imbalance between the positively charged particles at the top of the cloud and the negatively charged particles at the bottom. When the difference in charge becomes too great, a sudden discharge of electricity, or lightning, occurs. This discharge can happen within the cloud, between clouds, or between the cloud and the ground. The latter is what we most commonly recognize as a lightning strike.

The Different Types of Lightning

Lightning isn’t one-size-fits-all. There are several distinct types, each with unique characteristics:

• Intra-cloud Lightning (IC) - The most common type of lightning occurs entirely within a single cloud.
• Cloud-to-Cloud Lightning (CC) - Lightning that arcs between two separate clouds. Less common and often not visible from the ground.
• Cloud-to-Ground Lightning (CG) - The most dangerous type, this bolt travels from the cloud directly to the Earth’s surface, causing injuries, fires, and power outages.
• Cloud-to-Air Lightning - A discharge between a cloud and the surrounding air, often faint and harder to detect visually.

Understanding these lightning types helps meteorologists interpret storm behavior and make more accurate forecasts and warnings.

How Lightning Is Detected in Canada

The Canadian Lightning Detection Network (CLDN), established in 1998, monitors lightning activity. This network includes over 80 sensors distributed across Canada, detecting cloud-to-ground and cloud-to-cloud lightning strikes. The information gathered by these sensors is processed and made available to the public through the Canadian Lightning Danger Map, which provides real-time data on lightning activity.

Technology Behind Lightning Detection

The sensors in the CLDN detect the electromagnetic pulses generated by lightning strikes. These pulses are recorded and analyzed to determine the location, intensity, and type of lightning. The data is then transmitted to meteorological services, which use it to issue warnings and forecasts. Advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques further enhance the accuracy and timeliness of these detections, making lightning tracking more reliable than ever before.

Real-Time Lightning Maps

Thanks to modern detection systems, real-time lightning maps are now accessible to the public. Tools like the Canadian Lightning Danger Map display up-to-the-minute data on lightning activity across the country.These maps help:

• Outdoor enthusiasts assess storm risks
• Emergency planners monitor wildfire threats
• Utility providers prepare for potential outages

By watching these maps, individuals and organizations can make smarter, safer decisions when lightning is in the forecast.

Lightning and Thunderstorms

Environment Canada currently issues alerts for thunderstorms that are or have the potential to be severe. A severe thunderstorm alert is triggered when there are wind gusts of 90 km/h or greater, hail two cm or larger, or heavy rainfall. While these alerts are crucial for public safety, as severe thunderstorms can cause significant damage and pose a serious threat to life, they do not consider the risk of lightning or the potential damage it can cause.

In recent years, non-severe thunderstorms have caused significant damage and disruption. For example, in 2020, a series of dry thunderstorms in California sparked some of the largest wildfires in the state's history. Similar events have occurred in Canada, highlighting the need for greater awareness and preparedness for lightning-related hazards.

Should Lightning Be an Alertable Event?

Lightning is a powerful force of nature, responsible for triggering wildfires, causing power outages, and even taking lives. Yet, it is not currently classified as an “Alertable” event in Canada’s public alerting system.

Alertable uses the standardized Canadian Profile of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP-CP) to determine which types of emergencies should trigger notifications. This includes many events, like floods, wildfires, and severe weather, but not lightning on its own, unless it’s part of a broader severe thunderstorm warning.

As lightning-related events increase in both frequency and severity, especially under conditions like dry thunderstorms or non-severe storms that still carry a high risk, there’s a growing conversation around whether lightning itself should be added to the CAP-CP list of alertable events.

Potential Benefits of Lightning Alerts

Adding lightning as an alertable event could offer several key advantages:

• Increased Awareness - Proactive lightning alerts would help individuals understand when lightning is nearby, even if there’s no official storm warning. This could prevent injuries or fatalities during outdoor work, recreation, or travel.
• Timely Precautions - Real-time lightning alerts would allow people and organizations to pause outdoor operations, postpone events, or seek shelter when lightning risk is imminent.
• Wildfire Prevention - Early alerts during dry thunderstorms could enable emergency services to monitor and respond faster to lightning-ignited wildfires, especially in remote or forested areas.

Challenges of Implementing Lightning Alerts

Despite these potential benefits, introducing lightning as an alertable event is not without complications.

• Risk of Alert Fatigue - Too many alerts, especially for less severe or short-lived risks, can lead to alert fatigue, where people begin to ignore notifications altogether. To remain effective, lightning alerts must strike the right balance between frequency and relevance. To know more about Alert Fatigue, check out: Over-Alerting and Alert Fatigue: How to Stop People from Disabling Alerts
• Need for Speed and Accuracy - Lightning moves fast—and so must alerts. For a lightning alert to be useful, it must be:
  • Issued almost instantaneously after a strike is detected
  • Backed by accurate, real-time data
  • Delivered through multiple channels (e.g., mobile apps, text messages, social media) with minimal delay

Any false alarms or slow alerts could erode public trust in the system, leading people to ignore notifications when a real threat arises.

Lightning Alerts in Alertable

Lightning is a powerful and dangerous natural phenomenon that warrants serious consideration as an Alertable event. By understanding the science behind lightning, the current alerting criteria, and the potential benefits and challenges of lightning alerts, we can make informed decisions about enhancing public safety.

There are arguments both for and against lightning alerts. One of the strongest arguments for making lightning an Alertable event is the potential to save lives and reduce injuries. By receiving timely notifications about lightning activity, people can avoid being outdoors during thunderstorms, reducing the risk of being struck. This is particularly important in regions where outdoor activities are common. This includes things such as parks, beaches, and sports venues. Furthermore, early warnings can help protect property, as individuals and organizations can take steps to safeguard electronic equipment and other vulnerable assets. The main reasons not to include lightning alerts are alert fatigue and the ability to issue alerts quickly enough.

The consideration of lightning as an Alertable event raises important questions about public safety, the effectiveness of alerting systems, and the potential risks of alert fatigue. While the dangers of lightning are well-documented, and the benefits of timely alerts are clear, implementation of such a system must be carefully designed to balance the need for information with the potential for overload.

Check out our latest blog on Border Crossing Alerts: Border Crossing Alerts: Should They Be Part of Alertable’s Emergency Notification System?