How to Stay Safe During Lightning Storms

Although no place outside is safe during a thunderstorm, you can minimize your risk by assessing the lightning threat early and taking appropriate actions. The best defense is to avoid lightning. Here are some outdoor safety tips that can help you avoid being struck.

When thunder roars, go indoors.

Remember the phrase, “When thunder roars, go indoors.”

• Find a safe, enclosed shelter when you hear thunder. Even if you see blue sky, you could still be in danger.
• Don’t resume outdoor activities for at least 30 minutes after the storm. The beginning and the end of a storm are the most dangerous times.
• If you hear thunder while you are at the beach, find a safe, enclosed shelter, such as your car. Do NOT seek shelter under beach picnic shelters.

Avoid open spaces, vehicles, or structures:

• Stay away from open spaces such as golf courses, parks, playgrounds, ponds, lakes, swimming pools, and beaches.
• Avoid open vehicles such as convertibles, motorcycles, and golf carts.
• Avoid open structures such as porches, gazebos, baseball dugouts, and sports arenas. These structures won’t protect you from lightning.

If you are caught outside with no safe shelter nearby:

• Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges, or peaks.
• Never lie flat on the ground. Crouch down in a ball-like position with your head tucked and hands over your ears so that you are down low with minimal contact with the ground.
• Never shelter under an isolated tree. If you are in a forest, shelter near lower trees.
• Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
• Immediately get out of and away from ponds, lakes, and other bodies of water.
• Stay away from objects that conduct electricity (such as barbed wire fences, power lines, or windmills).

If you are out in the open water and a storm rolls in, return to shore immediately:

• If you are on a boat in open water when a thunderstorm rolls in, return to shore immediately and seek shelter. Once on land, get at least 100 yards away from shore.
• If you are unable to return to shore, boats with cabins offer some protection. When inside the cabin during a lightning storm, stay away from all metal and electrical components, including the radio, unless it is an emergency.
• If caught in a storm in a small boat with no cabin, drop anchor and get as low as possible.