I received an email from one of the engineers at the television station I work for recently about a way some people react to a thunderstorm that really, really scared me.
It was in the second paragraph. Actually, it was the second paragraph. It read:
“They turn off their televisions when the weather gets bad.”
Apparently, turning your TV off during a thunderstorm came to be during the days of non-grounded houses. The thought was, if you turned off all of the electronics a lightning bolt wouldn’t damage any of the electronics in the home.
This isn’t true.
Some homes come with a lightning rod that takes the bolt to the ground. But if not, so long as anything is plugged in, it can still get zapped if the house gets struck.
But unplugging the cord isn’t the answer. Because you may miss vital information on a storm that is moving toward you.
So, if you currently turn off the TV when the weather gets bad – please don’t.
Especially on days that the weather is expected to be bad. I know how much you love your new big screen TV, but please leave it on when severe weather strikes. Leave it tuned to your favorite local news station for the updates.
It could save your life.
I can’t count high enough to tally all of they people that have stories about watching the local severe weather report, knowing when and where to go because the local TV meteorologist was delivering the latest available information on the track/speed of a storm.
Television meteorologists cut into programming and give out this information for you. To save your life. Help your neighbors. Keep everyone safe. Please don’t cut off your best way to get that information by turning the television off.
