Lightning Safety: Avoid Becoming a Conductor

When you hear a clap of thunder, you know a lightning storm is nearby. There’s no safe place outdoors in a lightning storm.

Get into a safe building or vehicle as soon as possible when you first hear thunder, see lightning strike or observe dark clouds build overhead. If you’re camping, a tent provides zero protection from lightning. A safe building would be a house, school, church or shopping center — something with a roof, walls, floor, and indoor plumbing or wiring.

Stay inside for at least 30 minutes after you hear the last rumble of thunder.

Sometimes, you can’t immediately get to a building or vehicle. To reduce risk, take these steps:

• Avoid open fields, the top of a hill or a ridgetop.

• Spread your group out 100 feet from each other, if possible.

• Stay away from isolated trees, flagpoles or other tall objects. If you are in a forest, stay near a lower group of trees.

• If you are staying in an open area, set up camp in a valley, ravine or other low area, but avoid flood-prone areas.

• Stay away from bodies of water and metal objects, like fences and poles. Water and metal are excellent conductors of electricity.