IMPORTANT Lightning/Storm info.

[Buckeye]

Being out in a storm with lightning came up in another thread and I also was out in the middle of a field recently when a storm blew by and couldn't remember what to do, so I looked up some info and thought it could be very helpful to many of us out there

Protect yourself

Protecting yourself during a lightning storm is easy. All you need to do is remember a few simple rules:

1. If possible, don’t go out in a thunderstorm. This means that you need to be aware enough of the weather to know when one is coming.

2. If you are out in a storm, make sure that you are not the highest point. Stay off the top of hills. Don’t make yourself look taller to the lightning by holding things up or holding on to trees or structures. Stay off roofs.

3. In a thunderstorm, don’t take refuge under a tree. The tree may be hit and explode and turn into shrapnel, or fall on you.

4. Stay away from metal. Metal generally attracts lightning. This also means that you should not shower or bathe during storms. Your pipes are made of metal, and current flows through wet things, including people.

5. Don’t sit on the toilet if you can help it. You’re sitting right in the way of a direct ground.

6. Pay attention to your body. It will tell you if you are about to be hit. When you feel the warning signs (a feeling of static electricity, hair standing on end, a tingling sensation), take action immediately: get low (roll into a ditch if possible).

7. Don’t talk on the telephone. The phone lines are not immune to lightning strikes.

8. If you are in a high-lightning area, such as Florida, use lightning rods on your buildings and install surge protection for your house and electronics.

You might survive a lightning strike (many people have), but it’s a heck of a lot nicer if you don’t have to try.

Know the signs of a tornado: Weather forecasting science is not perfect and some tornadoes do occur without a tornado warning. There is no substitute for staying alert to the sky. Besides an obviously visible tornado, here are some things to look and listen for:

1. Strong, persistent rotation in the cloud base.
2. Whirling dust or debris on the ground under a cloud base -- tornadoes sometimes have no funnel!
3. Hail or heavy rain followed by either dead calm or a fast, intense wind shift. Many tornadoes are wrapped in heavy precipitation and can't be seen.
4. Day or night - Loud, continuous roar or rumble, which doesn't fade in a few seconds like thunder.
5. Night - Small, bright, blue-green to white flashes at ground level near a thunderstorm (as opposed to silvery lightning up in the clouds). These mean power lines are being snapped by very strong wind, maybe a tornado.
6. Night - Persistent lowering from the cloud base, illuminated or silhouetted by lightning -- especially if it is on the ground or there is a blue-green-white power flash underneath.

In the open outdoors: If possible, seek shelter in a sturdy building. If not, lie flat and face-down on low ground, protecting the back of your head with your arms. Get as far away from trees and cars as you can; they may be blown onto you in a tornado.

Any other more recent or relevant info. please feel free to post.

Be careful out there!

[Scotto]

Some good info there. Also;

A lot of people don't realize that even if you are not "hit" by lighting, you can suffer serious damage from a shockwave caused by a very close lightning strike. In some rare cases, lungs have been collapsed from it, even if the electric shock doesn't reach you.

Sitting on the toilet isn't all that dangerous, but what is VERY dangerous is washing your hands. Lightning will travel on the water pipes and water will conduct it obviously.

Many stories are out there about lightning hitting a tree by a barb-wire fence, and cattle grazing by the fence down a good ways have been killed when the electricity travelled down the wires and ran into the ground. I saw this personally on one occasion. So pay careful attention to your surroundings if you are caught out in a storm.

Make sure if you install surge protectors, that you also have them installed on the neutral and ground wires going into your service. If lightning hits a tree nearby, it can easily get into your electrical system that way instead of the hot wires (as most surge protectors are installed on). Most people learn that the hard way.

Those strips with surge protectors on them that you plug your computers, TVs or other things into will NOT stop a bad lightning strike. At all. Best bet is to just unplug.

[Mud Hawk]

...and for goodness sake -- dont wash your hands in a toilet bowl on a hill holding a stainless steel plunger you just bought from Sharper Image. Wow, on second thought I think I am going to pre-write my Obituary after that mental picture.

In all seriousness, great info guys. Never thought about some aspects brought to my attention but it makes alot of sense.

[ghost recon]

Good info there fellows, it seems like lightning storms are more violent and numerous than they used to be. I got the s$%t scared out of me earlier today. The same storm that went over my head did some serious damage as it moved east. They cancelled graduation at Va. tech because of this storm, and driving home I noticed alot of downed trees and some structural damage.

I take it alot more seriously than I used too, it can get dicey really quick in the mtns when you can't see what's coming.

[ghost recon]

Just remembered a good tip that an old baseball coach used to tell us every season. Take off your baseball caps when you're caught outside in a storm, the small metal 'button' on top can attract a charge. He witnessed the unfortunate death of a former player and was always quick to tell us about before and during storms. If you're out in the open take off anything metal, chains, jewelry, caps, etc. and move away from anything that is metal and could attract a charge.

[eddies]

very good info here. there is another kind of lighting that i saw a show on some time ago. the lighting in the storm does not strike down to the ground right under the storm. it strikes across the sky and hits the ground quit some distence from the storm. people get hit from time to time because they think the storm is very far away.so when out looking at the ground for points,i guess we need to look up once in a wile .lol

[Flyjunkie]

Another important safety practice when Lightning is present.. if you are out Fishing, put down that Graphite Fishing Rod and walk away from it... Graphite conducts electricity!!!

I recall on a Backpacking trip into the John Muir Wilderness years ago. My friend and i were at a lake and a Storm was coming in from the East. We were pitching flies around the outlet and were keeping an eye on the storm, watching for the Lightning and counting until we heard the thunder.. It was getting close, but still a distance from us. We heard no buzzing in the air and didn't feel any static build up in our bodies.. But we knew the chances are the Storm would pass us very closely... To the Southeast of the lake, opposite the outlet was a High ridge, the storm seemed to be coming in on us over that ridge.
We were still fishing when a very dark mass crossed over the Ridge, I had just cast out a length of flyline when I noticed a Bolt come down the far ridge opposite our position and start tracking over the Lake, I quickly dropped my flyrod into the lake and yelled at my friend to do the samething. When he dropped his rod into the lake, the Bolt disappeared!!! We ran back into the stand of Pine trees back down the outlet creek and stayed there as the storm blew over us, a few bolts nailed Foxtail pines around the tops of the ridge but we were fairly safe in the Pine forest... the storm passed us within 15 minutes and we went back and retrieved our Flyrods... Bloody damn scary...

So always remember to drop your Fishing rod and walk away, or at least shove it down into the water.. you'll avoid being a Human target for a lightning strike

[drdave514]

On days that are threatening storms I just use a 1 iron as a flipping stick. Then if lightening starts I just run around holding that 1 iron straight up in the air. Even God can't hit a 1 iron.