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| Message from the Mayor | Terrorism Tip Line | Contact Us | Message from the Director |
| Columbus, Georgia |
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Mayor/Public Safety Director Muscogee County Sheriff's Office Columbus Police Department Columbus Fire and Emergency Medical Services Muscogee County Marshal's Office Phenix City Police Department Phenix City Fire and Rescue Russell County Sheriff's Office West Georgia Regional Health Department Georgia Office of Homeland Security Alabama Office of Homeland Security Russell County Office of Homeland Security Columbus Office of Homeland Security
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 Thunderstorms Thunderstorms are one of the most common weather products of our atmosphere. They can create a dazzling display of light and sound, but do not underestimate these storms. They can cause serious injury, substantial property damage, even death. Dangers associated with thunderstorms include lightning, hail, heavy rain, flooding and strong winds. Thunderstorms are the first step in the creation of a tornado. They also can band together to form hurricanes. Lightning By definition lightning occurs in all thunderstorms. Lightning is a potential killer with an electrical potential as much as 100 million volts. Georgia averages over 2 deaths per year caused by lightning strikes. In Georgia lightning strikes peak in July with June and August being the next two months of highest occurrence. Lightning is caused by interactions of charged particles producing an intense electrical field within the cloud. A large positive charge is usually concentrated in the frozen upper layers of the cloud. While, a large negative charge, along with a smaller positive area, is found in the lower portions of the clouds. The Earth is normally negatively charged with respect to the atmosphere, but as the thunderstorm passes over the ground, the negative charge in the base of the cloud induces a positive charge on the ground below. The ground charge follows the storm like an electrical shadow, growing stronger as the negative cloud charge increases. The attraction between positive and negative charges makes the positive ground current flow up buildings, trees, and other elevated objects in an effort to establish a flow of current. But air, which is a poor conductor of electricity, insulates the cloud and ground charges, preventing a flow of current until huge electrical charges build up. Lightning occurs when the difference between the positive and negative charges – the electrical potential – becomes great enough to overcome the resistance of the insulating air and to force a conductive path for current to flow.
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