The Valley saw its share of sudden and violent thunderstorms over the weekend and those can be deadly, especially on the water.
Late last week, a Ravenna man was caught in a storm in the middle of Lake Erie when he died from a lightning strike.
Water safety officials say when you're caught on the lake during a storm, you're the tallest thing around and you could attract lightning. There's little to do, once the storm hits. That's why officials remind boaters how important it is to check weather reports before heading far off shore.
"Check the weather. Find out if storms are going to be coming through. You don't want to be caught out there if there is a storm, and if you do happen to be out on the water and you see it coming, you want to be looking at the sky and seeing what's coming," said Jeremy Oyen, water safety expert. "If you see it coming, you want to get off the water as quickly as possible."
So far this year, 16 people have died in the United States from lightning strikes.
