By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The summer season can bring some potentially dangerous weather, and local officials are getting out the word.
Meteorologist Ben Miller, with the National Weather Service, says many people are surprised to learn that lightning can be a threat even when it seems far away.
"If you can hear the thunder you're close enough to be struck by lightning, even though it might be clear overhead," Miller said. "There have been many documented cases where lightning arched out of a cloud and hit many, many miles, as much as ten, away from the parent thunderstorm."
Miller says if you're outside and hear thunder, seek shelter in a building. He says cars are safe as long as you're not touching the metal frame.
Those caught in an open field during a storm should make themselves as small a target as possible.
The state health department says 25 Missourians died last year from heat-related causes. Fourteen of those people were elderly and one was a child.