Otter Tail County urges lightning safety, promotes Smart911 alerts
Otter Tail County wants residents inside at the first thunderclap and signed up for Smart911 before storms reach lakes, fields and summer events.
Thunder over Otter Tail County should send people indoors fast, and officials are reminding residents to stay there for 30 minutes after the last rumble. The county is also pushing Smart911 sign-ups so severe weather, road closures and other hazards can reach phones, texts and email before a storm turns a day at the lake, on the ballfield or in the field into an emergency.
The message comes as National Lightning Safety Awareness Week runs June 21-27. The campaign began in 2001 to draw attention to lightning as an underrated killer, and NOAA and National Weather Service materials say U.S. lightning deaths have fallen from about 55 a year to fewer than 30. The National Lightning Safety Council puts the decline at about 20 deaths a year, but officials say the risk remains serious every summer in Minnesota.
Otter Tail County says Smart911 has been available countywide since 2019 and replaced CodeRED on July 1, 2020. The system is free, and residents can create a Safety Profile that gives 911 call takers and responders more information in an emergency. It also sends location-based alerts by phone, text or email for severe weather, road closures, evacuation notices, missing child incidents and other health and safety hazards.
The practical advice is simple: at the first sound of thunder, move inside and do not wait for rain to start. Families at lakes, coaches working ballgames, farmers in the middle of field work and organizers of summer events should have a shelter plan ready before the sky darkens, because severe weather can strike quickly and preparation is the single most important step residents can take to protect themselves and their families, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Outdoor activities should pause early enough to get players, spectators and workers under solid shelter, not under trees, bleachers or open-sided buildings.
For Otter Tail County residents, the next storm will not wait for a second warning. Smart911 gives the county another way to reach people quickly, and lightning safety starts with getting inside before the strike arrives.
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