Suppose for a minute that you’re a young meteorology student taking a test. The question is, “Which state ranks second behind Florida in the number of lightning casualties in the United States?” Texas? Arizona?

No, you live in it. Michigan! Our state has recorded more than 700 lightning-related deaths and injuries since 1959. That’s about half the number in Florida, but still, unfortunately, enough to give our state the second highest score in the nation.

  A single lightning stroke is five times hotter than the sun’s surface ..... about 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightning bolts pack 100 million volts or more of electricity. Compare this to the 110 volts that supply your average household electrical outlet, and you begin to get an idea of the tremendous and dangerous power of a lightning strike.

Buildings provide the best protection from lightning. Stay away from trees and open fields. Get off the golf course, out of the pool or off the lake. And, if you can’t get inside a house or building, the family car can give you some protection. The steel frame of a hard-topped vehicle provides increased protection if you are not touching metal. Although you may be injured if lightning strikes your car, you are much safer inside a vehicle than outside.

Florida experiences much more lightning than Michigan. Our high casualty rate could be lower. We just have to heed the safety measures to protect ourselves from this dangerous force of nature.

  Why? Because the Great Lakes State outranks the Sunshine State when you add up the number of golf courses, national, state and county parks, boats and shoreline. During the warm thunderstorm-packed months, we take in Michigan’s beauty.

 

Lightning seems to run rampant in the summer. So do the lightning myths: It doesn’t strike twice in the same place. It can’t strike cars. You can protect yourself by wearing shoes with rubber soles. The facts: The 1,000-foot-high WLNS television tower has been struck by lightning many times. Car windows have been blown out. And, lightning has no problem striking a person wearing rubber shoes.

    


One way to protect your home from the power of a lightning strike or an electrical surge is through the BWL’s new SurgeSentinelÔ program.

SurgeSentinelÔ is a whole-house surge protection system that keeps unwanted power surges from damaging or destroying sensitive equipment. We offer two levels of protection. Level 1 includes an external, whole-house surge protector installed on your meter that protects all electro-mechanical devices such as refrigerators, air conditioners and stoves. Level 2 adds surge strips to protect sensitive electronic equipment such as stereos, computers, VCRs and DVD players.

SurgeSentinelÔ is available to BWL residential customers who own their own homes. For more information, click here, or call us at 702-6006.

 

Just imagine an event featuring one of the most popular radio and television sports announcers ever, along with one of the all-time favorite cars in American automotive history. It all happens Saturday, May 17, when Ernie Harwell and 150 Corvettes will thrill thousands of parade viewers at the 2003 edition of The Michigan Parade in Lansing.

The 2003 parade is extremely proud to honor as Grand Marshal one of Michigan’s most famous and most popular citizens, former Detroit Tigers Baseball announcer Ernie Harwell. The celebration will also honor the 50th anniversary of the Chevrolet Corvette. The parade is one of the beginning highlights of the 2003 Michigan Week Celebration.

The Michigan Parade, formerly known as “Michigan Parades into the 21st Century,” is an event that showcases our state’s people, places and things, celebrating Michigan’s history as we begin the 21st century. Previous parade entries have represented nearly 150 Michigan communities with entries invited from all 83 Michigan counties.

This year’s parade steps off shortly after 11 a.m. and will begin with an exciting fly-over above the parade route in the downtown Lansing area.

With early signs of spring, our thoughts turn to the BWL’s Greater Lansing Chili Cook-Off, to be held this year on Friday, June 6, along the riverfront in downtown Lansing.

The Chili Cook-Off is a tradition that kicks off the summer outdoor season in Lansing, and it just keeps getting bigger, better and more popular. This year will be no exception as we welcome more chili booths and spread them out along Lansing’s downtown riverfront from the Lansing Center to the City Market. The fun runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and includes chili, refreshments, good company and great live music from our two favorite bands, Steppin’ In It and Those Delta Rhythm Kings.

Judging this event becomes an ever-more-daunting task. This year we expect upward of 30 restaurants, organizations and businesses to enter their finest concoctions. An expert celebrity panel helps with much of the chili judging, awarding trophies for best restaurant chili, best organization chili, and many other prizes.

But for one award, we turn to the dedicated chiliheads among our customers. If you have the stomach for it, that could be you! Again this year, we’ll put together a special panel to pick the winner of our Mo’ Hotter, Mo’ Better trophy for the chili with the best combination of taste and heat. We’re looking for three BWL customers with good taste, strong opinions, and even stronger stomachs.

If you’d like to be considered for this special assignment, click here and let us know why you should be one of those selected for our special Mo’ Hotter, Mo’ Better chili judging panel. The deadline for entry is Friday, May 16. We’ll pick three winners.