17349. DEALING WITH THE IMPACT OF THUNDERSTORMS AND LIGHTNING. This short study provides a descriptive overview of the natural processes involved in causing thunderstorms and lightning strikes and then focuses on the human activities that can help people deal with the impact of these phenomena. Based on a review of scholarly literature on thunderstorms and lightening, this study considers the hypothesis that certain human activities can help reduce the threats posed by severe thunderstorms and lightning strikes. Finds that although the basic concepts of protection during thunderstorms have long been established, there is still a need for further research on the most effective and accurate ways to predict thunderstorms. There is also a need for further study in the area of global warming and whether or not such warming is causing thunderstorms to be more frequent or severe. Includes an appendix illustrating the processes involved in thunderstorms. KEYWORDS: thunder lightning storms safeguards mitigation threats. Written 2005. 10 pages, 38 footnotes, 9 bibliographic sources. 2,475 words.