Lightning Safety Tips

Lightning — it may look cool when you see it streak across the sky, but it's also an incredibly dangerous, unpredictable force of nature. It's hotter than the surface of the sun, and strikes the United States approximately 25 million times a year. So if you see a lightning bolt, even if it seems far away, it's important to act quickly and get yourself to a safe place to wait out the storm.

Quick Facts On Lightning

• During a thunderstorm, NO PLACE is safe from a lightning strike.

• If you can't see lightning but you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you.

• A substantial, enclosed building or a metal-topped vehicle are the safest places to wait out the storm.

When You're Outside

Before you even embark on outdoor plans, make sure you check the weather forecast. If there's a chance of thunderstorms, you might want to raincheck, or have an indoor contingency plan. However, if an unpredicted storm hits and you're already outside, it's time to start packing up and heading to the car or indoors.

When the storm seems further away, and you want to take a chance on staying outside, you can implement the 30-30 rule. If you see lightning, count to 30 and listen for a thunderclap. If you hear one before you reach 30, you should book it inside and wait to resume outdoor activities until at least 30 minutes after the last thunderclap.

If You're Indoors

While staying inside during a thunderstorm is certainly safer than staying outside, you can still get severely injured if you're not careful. In fact, more than one-third of all lightning strike injuries occur indoors. In order to avoid that, stay away from all electronic devices that are plugged into a power source during a storm — this includes corded phones, TVs and radios. It's also important not to unplug electrical equipment during a storm as you might damage the equipment or even be shocked by an electrical surge. You'll also want to steer clear of turning on the water as electrical currents can travel through plumbing.

If your home or the space you're in has concrete walls or floors, stay away from them, or put something non-conductive, like a blanket, between you and it. The same goes for any metal windows and doorways.

Lightning can be deadly in more ways than one, but if you take these precautions, you should be able to watch this incredible natural phenomenon safely and get back to business as usual once the storm has passed.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.