Lightning Safety By Sabrina

© 2000 Sabrina

Hello, my name is Sabrina. I was hit by lightning, while taking a hike in the Grand Canyon. Believe me being hit by lightning is not fun! I want you to know how to protect yourself from lightning, so here are some basic lightning safety tips that can help you to be safer.

Outdoor Lightning Safety Tips

1. The very first thing to do is to make a lightning safety plan with your parents or your group and follow it.
   
   
2. Before going on a long hike be sure to check the weather forecast for the day.
   
   
3. When hiking: assign one person to look for big puffy clouds, that might be coming your way or growing. Have another person be in charge of spotting possible shelters all along the way in case you need them on the way back. A third person should watch and listen for lightning and thunder. (See "Flash to Bang" below) another person should be in charge of deciding when it is time to go back.
   
   
4. If you are caught in a thunderstorm, try to find a low place to stay in until the storm is over.
   
   
5. If you cannot find a shelter, get in to the "lightning safety position," squat down near the ground with your heels touching and put your hands over your ears.
   
   
6. Do not go under a tree for shelter because if you do the lightning could hit the tree and travel under the ground or "splash" from the tree and hit you.
   
   
7. If you are playing out side and get caught in a thunderstorm go into a nearby building or enclosed car (with the windows rolled up).

Indoor Lightning Safety Tips

1. During a thunderstorm, stay away from anything that is metal (yes, even the refrigerator) because lightning can come into the house through wires and pipes.
   
   
2. When there is a thunderstorm outside do not stand near the windows.
   
   
3. Don't take a shower or bath when there is a thunderstorm.
   
   
4. Never use the phone during a thunderstorm and if the phone rings don't answer it. Because lightning could hit the phone line and travel though the line and zap you though the phone. Some people have died that way.
   Portable phones aren't connected to wires, but lightning could still cause a loud "pop" that could hurt your ear.
   
   
5. A metal Franklin stove/fireplace with a metal chimney could also provide a path for lightning to enter your house.

Things To Watch Out For

1. If you are outside and you can hear thunder, then the storm is close enough to be dangerous.
   
   
2. If you and a friend are outside someplace, and you see your friend's hair start to stand up, you are in danger! You could also feel prickles on your skin. The reason that you are in danger is that a lightning charge is building up somewhere very close by. Lightning may strike any second and you could be hit by lightning and be badly injured or killed.

What To Do If Someone Is Hit By Lightning

1. It is not dangerous to touch someone who has just been hit by lightning.
   
   
2. If someone is hit by lightning and there is still thunder take the person to a near by shelter (a building or car).
   
   
3. Once the person is in a safe place, send for help.
   
   
4. If the person is not breathing, CPR must be done immediately.

What Are Safe Shelters, And What Are Not Safe Shelters?

1. Buildings or cars (not convertibles and be sure that windows are closed) are the safest place to be during a thunderstorm. If there is not a building or car near you, a ditch, ravine or a deep cavern might be safer than being out in the open.
   
   
2. Standing under a tree is not a safe place to be in a thunderstorm. It may keep the rain off you but if lightning hits the tree, it might kill you.
   
   
3. You may have heard that if you can't find a shelter, you should lie down flat on your stomach. Well, doing that is not safe at all! If lightning hits someplace near you and travels through the ground, it could enter your whole body and electrocute you. Instead get into the lightning safety position.

What To Do If You Are On A Sport Team?

If you are on a sport team and there is a thunderstorm during a game, what should you do? Should you tell your coach or the person in charge, that the team should get off the field? If the coach says it is just a little rain and not to worry about it, should you leave anyway and take shelter? This is a serious question. You could get kicked off the team if you leave, but your life is more important than the game. In 1999, a whole soccer team was killed by lightning in Africa and a whole football team was injured by lightning in Colorado. My advice is to discuss this question with your parents and with your coach and team before the season begins.

"Flash To Bang"

"Flash to bang" is a way to measure how far away the lightning strike was. The sound of thunder can go one mile in five seconds. So if you see the lightning strike and hear the thunder ten seconds ten seconds later, you know the lightning was two miles away. Scientists say that if you are less than six miles away, you are in the high danger zone. Scientists know that lightning can strike several miles away from a storm cloud.