Some lightning facts.

First of all, cars are safe, but not because of the rubber tires; it’s because the metal shell conducts the electricity around you. So don’t touch the metal doors, even from inside. Also, don’t feel secure in your convertible or fibre-glass Corvette. They’re probably no safer than a bike.



Most lightning deaths indoors come from people talking on land line phones as current goes through the phone lines. Electricity in a building is liable to be carried through electrical lines or plumbing so don’t take showers, use the sink or do your laundry. The surge protector won’t stop the current so unplug tv’s and computers, but not after the storm has begun – they’re also hot spots.



Buildings without something to direct the charge, such as lightning rods, plumbing systems or electrical wiring, offer very little protection. Small shacks, sheds, tents, etc, provide no protection whatsoever.



Outside is a very bad place to be. Lightning will seek a tall, pointed or isolated object. Like you in a field. Or like the tree you’re sheltering under. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. Even lying flat is a bad plan because the ground will conduct lethal current for a good hundred yards from the point of a lightning strike. Find a low group of trees, with taller ones very nearby, and get under them. Maybe. Recently, in England, 31 cows sheltering from the rain under a tree were killed by a single lightning strike. Basically, there’s nowhere safe outside. Get to a building or vehicle if possible.



Keep all this in mind when pitching your tent. Avoid high ridges, tall isolated trees. Go for the low ground. Your tent offers zero protection.



If you hide under an overpass, don’t touch any metal and even avoid the concrete because it contains metal reinforcing rods. Find low ground, like a ditch or a valley.



Lightning can strike up to six miles from the storm centre. That’s ten kilometres. The seconds that lapse between lightning and thunder gives you an estimate of distance. Divide by five for miles. Ten seconds divided by five equals two miles – too close. So a count of thirty seconds or less means you’re in striking range. Even under blue skies and sunshine.



Wait thirty minutes after the last lightning to venture outside again.



In the US there are about 100 deaths a year from lightning and about 1,000 injuries. The injuries can be debilitating and can result in life-long muscle or neural damage. People are often just “different” and don’t function the same, likely some sort of brain damage.



First aid and CPR can help, especially if the lightning has caused cardiac arrest. The victim is safe to touch; the human body does not store electricity.



Lightning is the second most fatal weather phenomenon, behind floods but ahead of hurricanes and tornadoes.



So, all you campers, forget about the bears. In North America, there are almost twice as many people killed by lightning every year than have been killed by black bears in the entire last century. If you can find a bear in a lightning storm you’re probably better off hiding under it.



Check the weather reports and trust them. Stay home and play pinochle. Not too near the windows, though. Basement is best.