The lightning safety community reminds you that there is little you can do to substantially reduce your risk if you are outside in a thunderstorm. The only completely safe action is to get inside a safe building or vehicle.

This page has two main sections: Lightning risk reduction outdoors when a safe location is nearby, and when a safe location is NOT nearby.

Safe and Unsafe Buildings

A safe building is one that is fully enclosed with a roof, walls and floor, and has plumbing or wiring. Examples of safe buildings include a home, school, church, hotel, office building or shopping center.  Once inside, you should take some basic precautions.

If lightning should directly strike a building with electricity and/or plumbing, the dangerous electrical current from the flash will typically travel through the wiring and/or plumbing, and then into the ground. This is why you should stay away from showers, sinks, hot tubs, and electronic equipment such as TVs, radios, corded telephones and computers.

Lightning can damage or destroy electronics so it's important to have a proper lightning protection system connected to your electronic equipment. The American Meteorological Society has tips for protecting your electronics from lightning.

Unsafe buildings include car ports, open garages, covered patios, picnic shelters, beach pavilions, golf shelters, tents of any kinds, baseball dugouts, sheds and greenhouses.

Safe and Unsafe Vehicles

A safe vehicle is any fully enclosed metal topped vehicle such as a hard topped car, minivan, bus, truck, etc. If you drive into a thunderstorm, slow down and use extra caution. If possible, pull off the road into a safe area, Do NOT leave the vehicle during a thunderstorm.

Unsafe vehicles include convertibles, golf carts, riding mowers, open cab construction equipment and boats without cabins.

While inside a safe vehicle, do not use electronic devices such as radio communications during a thunderstorm. Lightning striking the vehicle, especially the antenna(s), could cause serious injury if you are talking on the radio or holding the microphone at the time of the flash. Emergency officials such as police officers, firefighters and security officers should be extremely cautious using radio equipment when lightning is in the area.

Bolts from the Blue

A lightning flash can travel horizontally many miles away from the thunderstorm and then strike the ground. These types of lightning flashes are called "Bolts from the Blue" because they seem to come out of a clear blue sky. While blue sky may exist overhead (or in part of the sky overhead) a thunderstorm is always located 5 to 10 miles (and sometimes even farther) away. Although these flashes are rare, they have been known to cause fatalities.

Lightning Risk Reduction When a Safe Location is Nearby

Run to a safe building or vehicle when you first hear thunder, see lightning, or observe dark threatening clouds developing overhead. Stay inside until 30 minutes after you last hear the last clap of thunder.

Figure 1: When you see lightning or hear thunder, run to the nearest safe building or vehicle. Do not shelter under trees. You are not safe anywhere outside.

Plan Ahead! Your best source of up-to-date weather information is a NOAA Weather Radio (NWR). Portable weather radios are handy for outdoor activities. If you don't have NWR, stay up to date via internet, TV, local radio or cell phone. If you are in a group, make sure all leaders or members of the group have a lightning safety plan and are ready to use it.

If you are part of a group, particularly a large one, you will need more time to get everyone to a safe place. NWS recommends having proven professional lightning detection equipment so your group can be alerted from significant distances from the event site.

Below are a few common outdoor scenarios with suggestions on how to safely respond to the lightning threat.

Coach of Outdoor Sports Team

You are the coach of a little league team and have a game this evening at the local recreational park. The weather forecast for the day calls for partly cloudy skies, with a chance of thunderstorms by early evening. You arrive in your vehicle while the kids arrive with their parents. Once arriving at the park, you notice the only buildings are the restrooms (an enclosed building with plumbing and electricity). Shortly after sunset, the skies start to cloud up and you see bright flashes in the sky to the west.

In this case, the safest locations are the vehicles the kids came in or the restrooms. You have a choice of allowing the kids to go back to their vehicles or going to the restrooms. It is important NOT to stay in the dugouts as they are not a safe place to be under during lightning activity. Once at a safe place, wait 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder  before going back and resuming play.

Family at the Beach/Lake

Your famly plans to go to the beach today. The weather forecast calls for a nice morning followed by a 30 percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms. When you get to the beach, you see that the only nearby structures are open sided picnic shelters.  The parking lot is about a five minute walk from the beach.  By early afternoon you notice the skies darkening and hear distant thunder. What should you do?

Go to your car!  Do NOT seek shelter under the beach picnic shelters. Wait 30 minutes until after the last rumble of thunder before going back to the beach.

Camping

You are cooking dinner on the camp stove when you hear distant rumbles of thunder. Your tent and a large open sided picnic shelter are nearby.  Your vehicle is about ¼ of a mile away parked at the trail head. What should you do?

Go to your vehicle! The tent and picnic shelter are NOT a safe places. Wait 30 minutes until after the last rumble of thunder before going back to the campsite.

Click here to read a story of a person killed while seeking shelter in a tent.

Section 2: Lightning Risk Reduction Outdoors When a Safe Location Is Not Nearby

Remember, there is NO safe place outside in a thunderstorm. If you absolutely can't get to safety, this section may help you slightly lessen the threat of being struck by lightning while outside. Don't kid yourself--you are NOT safe outside.

Being stranded outdoors when lightning is striking nearby is a harrowing experience. Your first and only truly safe choice is to get to a safe building or vehicle. If you are camping, climbing, on a motorcycle or bicycle, boating, scuba diving, or enjoying other outdoor activities and cannot get to a safe vehicle or building, follow these last resort tips. They will not prevent you from being struck by lightning, but may slightly lessen the odds.

• Know the weather patterns of the area. For example, in mountainous areas, thunderstorms typically develop in the early afternoon, so plan to hike early in the day and be down the mountain by noon.
• Listen to the weather forecast for the outdoor area you plan to visit. The forecast may be very different from the one near your home. If there is a high chance of thunderstorms, stay home.

These actions may slightly reduce your risk of being struck by lightning:

• If camping, hiking, etc., far from a safe vehicle or building, avoid open fields, the top of a hill or a ridge top.
• Stay  away from tall, isolated trees or other tall objects. If you are in a forest, stay near a lower stand of trees.
• If you are camping in an open area, set up camp in a valley, ravine or other low area. Remember, a tent offers NO protection from lighting.
• Stay away from water, wet items (such as ropes) and metal objects (such as fences and poles). Water and metal are excellent conductors of electricity. The current from a lightning flash will easily travel for long distances (See Figure 2 below).

Figure 2: Dead cows lined up along a metallic fence. Lightning struck the fence, and the electrical current traveled along the fence killing the cows. Photo Courtesy Ruth Lyon-Bateman

Motorcyclist/Bicyclist

People have been hit by lightning while riding motorcycles and bikes. Here are just a few examples:

• Virginia Beach, VA: Motorcyclist killed while traveling on Route 58.
• Colorado: a 16 year old boy killed while riding a bicycle.
• Tennessee: a 47 year old man killed while leaning against his motorcycle.
• Virginia:  a man killed riding his motorcycle.

Protect yourself when on a bicycle, motorcycle or dirt bike. Carry a portable NOAA Weather Radio or listen to commercial radio. If you see threatening skies in the distance and you are near a safe building, pull over and wait 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder before resuming your ride.

On the Water

The vast majority of lightning injuries and deaths on boats occur on small boats with NO cabin. It is crucial to listen to the weather when you are boating. If thunderstorms are forecast, don't go out. If you are out on the water and skies are threatening, get back to land and find a safe building or safe vehicle.

Boats with cabins offer a safer, but not perfect, environment. Safety is increased further if the boat has a properly installed lightning protection system. If you are inside the cabin, stay away from metal and all electrical components. STAY OFF THE RADIO UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY!

If you are caught in a thunderstorm on a small boat, drop anchor and get as low as possible.  Large boats with cabins, especially those with lightning protection systems properly installed, or metal marine vessels are relatively safe. Remember to stay inside the cabin and away from any metal surfaces.

Scuba Divers

Your first choice is to head in and get in safe building or safe vehicle.  If the boat you are in does not have a safe cabin to be in during lightning activity, then you are safer diving deep into the water for the duration of the storm or as long as possible.