Lightening Safety Outdoors
Each year, about 400 individuals in the United States are stuck by lightening while working outside, at sports events, on the beach, mountain climbing, mowing the lawn or during other outdoor activities. About 67 people are killed and several hundred more are left to cope with permanent disabilities.
All thunderstorms produce lightening and are dangerous
Lightening often strikes as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall
You are in danger from lightening if you can hear thunder
Lightening injuries can lead to permanent disabilities or death
Look for dark cloud bases and increasing wind
Blue skies and lightening : Lightening can travel sideways for up to 10 miles. Even when the sky looks blue and clear, be cautious. If you hear thunder, take cover. At least 10% of lightening occurs without visible clouds overhead in the sky.
Outdoors is the most dangerous place to be during a lightening storm. When lightening is seen or thunder is heard, or when dark clouds are observed, quickly move indoors or into a hard-topped vehicle and remain there until well after the lightening storm ends.
Safety Rules :
Postpone activities promptly. Don't wait for rain. Many people take shelter from the rain, but most people struck by lightening are not in the rain. Go quickly inside a completely enclose building is convenient, get inside a hard-topped all metal vehicle. A cave is a good option outside but move as far as possible from the cave entrance.
Be the lowest point. Lightening hits the tallest object. In the mountains if you are above treeline, you ARE the highest object around. Quickly get below treeline and get into a grove of small trees. Don't be the second tallest object during a lightening storm. Crouch down if you are in an exposed area.
Stay away from trees, if you can't get to a shelter. If there is no shelter, crouch in the open, keeping twice as far away from a tree as it is tall.
Keep an eye on the sky. Look for darkening skies, flashes of lightening, or increasing wind, which may be signs of an approaching thunderstorm.
Listen for the sound of thunder. If you can hear thunder, go to a safe shelter immediately.
If you see or hear a thunderstorm coming or your hair stands on end, immediately suspend your game or practice and instruct everyone to go inside a sturdy building or car. Sturdy buildings are the safest place to be. Avoid sheds, picnic shelters, baseball dugouts, and bleachers. If no sturdy building is nearby, a hard-top vehicle with windows closed will offer some protection. The steel frame of the vehicle provides some protection if you are not touching metal.
Avoid leaning against vehicles. Get off bicycles and motorcycles.
Get out of water. It's a great conductor of electricity. Stay off the beach and out of small boats or canoes. If caught in a boat, crouch down in the center of the boat away from metal hardware. Swimming, wading, snorkeling and scuba diving are NOT safe. Lightening can strike the water and travel some distance beneath and away from its point of contact. Don't stand in puddles of water, even if wearing rubber boots.
Avoid metal. Drop metal backpacks, stay away from clothes lines, fences, exposed sheds and electrically conductive elevated objects. Don't hold on to metal items such as golf clubs, fishing rods, tennis rackets or tools. Large metal objects can conduct lightening. Small metal objects can cause burns.
Move away from a group of people. Stay several yards away from other people. Don't share a bleacher bench or huddle in a group.
Listen to NOAA Weather Radio. Coaches and other leaders should listen for a tone-alert feature during practice sessions and games.
LINK to Indoor safety and other info hereGreat info.
The oldtimers also said to stay off the phone
and when they had running water to stay out of the tub.
Also used to tell us to count one blue mountain two
blue mountain... etc. from the TIME you heard the thunder,
inutile the lighting struck, and that would tell you how
many miles away the storm was from you.