Lightning: What You Need to Know

SAN JUAN NATIONAL FOREST

15 Burnett Court

Durango, Colorado 81301

970 247-4874

Lightning: What You Need to Know

NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!!

·         If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you.

·         When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building with electricity or plumbing or an enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up.

·         Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.

Indoor Lightning Safety

·         Stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity.

·         Avoid plumbing, including sinks, baths and faucets.

·         Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.

·         Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls.

Last-Resort Outdoor Risk-Reduction Tips:

·         If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your risk:

·         Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges or peaks

·         Never lie flat on the ground

·         Never shelter under an isolated tree

·         Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter

·         Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water

·         Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (barbed wire fences, power lines, windmills, etc.)

Myth: Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
Fact: Lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, especially if it’s a tall, pointy, isolated object. The Empire State Building is hit nearly 100 times a year.

Myth: If outside in a thunderstorm, you should seek shelter under a tree to stay dry.
Fact: Being underneath a tree is the second leading cause of lightning casualties. Better to get wet than fried!

Myth: If it’s not raining or there aren’t clouds overhead, you’re safe from lightning.
Fact: Lightning often strikes more than three miles from the center of the thunderstorm, far outside the rain or thunderstorm cloud. “Bolts from the blue” can strike 10-15 miles from the thunderstorm.

Myth: Rubber tires on a car protect you from lightning by insulating you from the ground.
Fact: Most cars are safe from lightning, but it is the metal roof and metal sides that protect you, NOT the rubber tires. Remember, convertibles, motorcycles, bicycles, open-shelled outdoor recreational vehicles and cars with fiberglass shells offer no protection from lightning. When lightning strikes a vehicle, it goes through the metal frame into the ground. Don't lean on doors during a thunderstorm.

Myth: If you're caught outside during a thunderstorm, you should crouch down to reduce your risk of being struck.
Fact: Crouching doesn't make you any safer outdoors. Run to a substantial building or hard topped vehicle. If you are too far to run to one of these options, you have no good alternative. You are NOT safe anywhere outdoors.

For tips that may slightly reduce your risk: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/safety.shtml