Lightning - What To Do When You Are Caught In A Storm

Imagine you are out enjoying a day in the outdoors when seemingly out of nowhere you find yourself in the middle of a wicked lightning storm.  What should you do?

Lightning strikes somewhere on earth every second and 67% of those deaths occur while participating in some type of outdoor activity.  According to NOAA.gov 216 people were struck and killed by lightning in the eight year period between 2006 and 2013.  Among these, the top three activities that had lightning strike victims who died were fishing, camping and boating in that order.  As an outdoorsman/woman it is critical that you know how to respond if you should ever be caught in a storm.

When a sudden storm arises while fishing, immediately retreat from the water.  Water is a major conductor of electricity and should be avoided during a storm.  The best case in this situation would be to get to your vehicle if it is close by.  If unable to reach a vehicle, I would retreat to a group of small trees that are surrounded by several much taller trees and try to wait out the storm.  If there are no trees, it is time to retreat to the lowest area around and crouch down to become the lowest "target" in the area.  Never lay down on the ground as this action will maximize your body's contact with the ground.  The idea is to get as low as possible while minimizing ground contact with your body.  Areas to avoid include stand-alone trees, rock ledges and outcrops and places prone to flooding in the event of a flash flood.

If you are camping when a storm shows up, get in your vehicle or go into a campground shelter (avoid getting into your tent).  If you are not in a campground, seek out the safest place in the area.  This could once again be a small group of trees that are surrounded by many taller trees.  Make yourself as small as possible with minimum ground contact.

When you are near a shoreline in your boat when a storm appears make sure that everyone has a life jacket on and get to shore and off of your boat as quickly as possible.  You don't necessarily need to get back to the loading ramp.  Make your way to the nearest cove that will allow you to safely get on shore.

In order to avoid the dangers of lightning, always check the local weather forecast for the area in which you will be and avoid going out when severe weather is expected.  Consider bringing a small along on your adventure so that you can keep up with the local weather conditions.  Storms can pop up without warning.

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day 

(Just be sure that you don't put yourself in any unnecessary danger)