Trucking and Severe Weather - Thunder Storms

Thunder storms consist of lightning, rain, and high winds.

If you’ve been in Oklahoma or Nebraska during a storm with a lot of lightning you know it’s quite a sight. Flat plains and a lot of sky make a lightning display an amazing light show. Lightning is also one of the most underrated severe weather dangers. If you see a lot of lightning limit your time outside of the truck, avoid parking under tall objects, and stay away from down power lines. You don’t need to be directly struck by lightning to be harmed.

To figure out how far the lightning strikes are from you count the seconds from seeing the lightning flash to the time you hear the thunder. Each second represents about 300 meters (or 984 feet).

On a side note, did you know that Florida is the lightning capital of the world?

Rain can cause floods and flash floods. The weather band and local broadcasters will broadcast where flooding is occurring and places at risk of floods and flash floods. Just get out of the way.

Wind speeds are underestimated in summer storms. We think of tornados and hurricanes as the biggies when it comes to wind damage. Thunder storms can produce “straight line” winds which can be tornado force and move horizontally along the ground away from the storm.

At Len Dubois Trucking safety is our number one priority. We are a Winnipeg trucking company who sees first hand severe winter weather. We run through Canada and most parts of the United States and see plenty of severe weather from other regions. We understand no delivery time is so important to take unnecessary risks. When our drivers conclude they need to shut it down due to bad or severe weather they just need to contact dispatch and clients/consignees affected. Remember you, as the professional driver, have the responsibility to operate safely.