At the Shore and Elsewhere, A Stormy Weekend

With four people struck by lightning in Wildwood on Wednesday afternoon, the ever-friendly reminder needs to go out about lightning safety.  

"If thunder roars, head indoors."  

If you hear thunder or see a flash of lightning, it means the possibility exists for a lightning strike that's too close for comfort.  

If you're at the beach, the best way to avoid being struck by lightning is to be inside a fully enclosed building or your car. Avoid staying under an umbrella (it has metal in it) or in an open shelter. Avoid open water, since salt water is an excellent conductor of electricity.

Lightning strikes kill more people annually in the United States than tornadoes or hurricanes typically do. It's better to not be a statistic and best to be safe.

This weekend offers a chance of thunderstorms on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons as a front approaches and crosses the region on Sunday night.  

Sunday's thunder threat could be a bit volatile away from the coast, especially over Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania, but thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon and early evening both Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday's chance is a bit better and more widespread than Saturday's.  It won't be a total washout, but a "typical" summer weekend ahead.

Temperatures this weekend will be quite warm and humidity levels will be high as well.  Expect highs in the 80s on the Jersey coast, low 90s in Delaware, with heat index values several degrees higher.

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Tom Thunstrom is the editor and publisher of Phillyweather.net. You can also follow Phillyweather.net on twitter at @phillywx or on Facebook.