Chelsea teenager struck by lightning

SHELBY CO., Ala. (WBRC) - One in maybe 700,000 people get struck by lightning, and while that seems uncommon, for one Chelsea teenager, it was not.

Lightning hit Emma Eggler in her in the chest, traveling down the left side of her body all the way to her foot.

It was a close call for Eggler, because often, lightning strikes end in death.

Here’s why her doctors call her case miraculous: lightning is five times hotter than the surface of the sun, with about 50,000 degrees traveling about 270,000 miles per hour.

Our First Alert Meteorologist Jill Gilardi said that’s why it is so important to stay inside when its lightning.

“During a thunderstorm, there is nowhere safe when you are outside. you want to find a sturdy building or business anywhere, but outside and even a vehicle is going to be a safer place,” Gilardi said. “The key is, you hear the thunder roar, you go indoors. Lightning can strike up to 10 miles away from a storm. It doesn’t even have to be raining where you were located to be potentially get struck.”

The CDC said as many as 30 people have died from lightning strikes in Alabama between 2006 and 2021.

Eggler was hit in Florida, which has one of the highest rates of lightning deaths in the country.

There are multiple ways to be struck by lightning, but it’s important to be away from anything that conducts electricity.

There is no way to predict when lightning is going to strike, so be safe.

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