How can you protect your computer from thunderstorms?
Show Although summer brings with it exciting adventures, time with family and friends and more, it also brings thunderstorms. Nothing can ruin a great day outside like a thunderstorm, especially if lightning is involved. That is why the National Weather Service conducts an annual campaign called Lightning Safety Week that has run through the first week of summer every year since 2001. The goal of Lightning Safety Week is to bring awareness to one of the most frequent, yet underrated, storm-related killers — lightning. Each day of Lightning Safety Week shines a light on a different aspect of lightning safety. Knowledge is power, and a greater understanding of what lightning is and why it is so dangerous is key to protecting yourself and your home against it. An Introduction to Lightning:The first part of Lightning Safety Week offers an introduction to lightning safety. If you are outdoors, there is no safe place to be during a lightning storm. If you hear thunder, then that means that you are in immediate danger, because lightning can strike from over 15 miles away. A good rule to live by is that, “When thunder roars, go indoors.” This is because the two most dangerous times for lightning strikes are just before a storm begins and just after a storm passes. That’s why it’s important to get inside when you see a storm approaching and stay indoors until at least 30 minutes after the storm has stopped. The best ways to avoid storms and lightning are to plan ahead or to sign up for an advanced lightning alert system. If, for some reason, you cannot get indoors for a storm, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk of lightning strikes:
What to Do Once Inside:The second half of Lightning Safety Week focuses on what you can do to guard yourself against lightning strikes once inside. Even though you’re indoors, you’re still not completely safe from lightning. According to the National Weather Service, a safe shelter is a place with electricity and/or plumbing or a metal-topped vehicle with the doors closed. You can further protect yourself while indoors by doing the following:
Protect Your Property:Now that you’ve taken the proper steps to safeguard yourself and your family, you’ll want to make sure that your electronics are protected as well. There is no way to prevent lightning strikes on your home or shelter, but there are ways to protect your house in the case of a lightning strike. Lightning rods are designed to protect a building from lightning strikes by intercepting the strike and providing a conductive path for the electrical discharge to follow. At the end of the path, the energy is dispersed safely into the ground. Lightning rods can protect your structure from a direct lightning strike, but it is also important to have a system in place to protect against harmful electrical surges caused by summer storms. This is where surge protectors can save your electronics or appliances from voltage spikes. Surge Protector Guide:A surge protector safeguards electronics from the harmful effects of power surges and voltage spikes. Surge protectors have the ability to absorb and dissipate the power of a surge so that connected equipment is shielded from the surge. Here is a great video that explains what surge protectors do: There are many factors to consider when choosing the right surge protection:
If you have any additional questions, be sure to check out this FAQ article with tons of helpful answers.Can a thunderstorm damage my computer?Yes, if your home's electrical system is struck by lightning, it's going to produce a power surge strong to wipe out your computer, other electronics, and appliances. Even if the lightning strikes near your home rather than directly on it, you can still be hit with a power surge strong enough to do damage.
How do you protect your electronics during a thunderstorm?Use plug-in surge protectors for telephone and cable TV lines. Lightning-induced voltage surges can travel up phone and cable lines to damage the devices and appliances connected to them. The phone and cable protectors work in the same fashion as electric-line surge protectors by sending surges to an electrical ground.
Should I turn off computer during thunderstorm?Unless you have very good surge protection equipment you should turn off and disconnect your Desktop PC from power, LAN and phone lines during a storm. Even with surge protectors it is still possible that your computer may be damaged.
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