Are you afraid of thunderstorms?

If you are? You're not alone! The American Meteorological Society, along with the University of Iowa recently conducted a survey asking people if they were afraid of severe thunderstorms. Here's a look at some of the statistics.

23% of the people reported no fear of thunderstorms at all but a majority of people (55%) said they had at least some fear of thunderstorms. 17% had a moderate fear while 2% said they had quite a bit of fear.

Of those who relayed some fear of storms, more than 23% watched the television frequently or always during severe weather. 58% occasionally or sometimes watch television for severe weather reports while 18% of people fend for themselves and watch no television weather. 46% of people occasionally or sometimes feel panic during severe weather. 64% of people say their hearts pound during times of severe weather.

To read the complete study, simply click here. There is also a bulletin board for those who are "storm-phobic." It's www.stormphobia.org.

We'd like to hear from you! Are you afraid of storms. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the most afraid) how do you rate yourself? Before I became a Meteorologist I was definitely in the 5-8 range. With a lot of education and even more years of storm tracking, I think I'm down to the 1-2 range. There are sometimes though that Mother Nature throws some interesting (and sometimes frightful) events my way. -ERIC