Basic Lightning Safety

[fotogirl53]

So, I made a comment about taking shelter under a ledge to wait out a storm with extreme lightning while descending Kendrick a couple of years ago. I was about 2 miles from my truck in the thick, tall Ponderosas. The static was making my hair stand on end and I could smell the ozone from nearby strikes. Another member commented that taking shelter under a ledge or in a cave should never be done. I don't think I could squat down and wait it out. Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

[joebartels]

Shawn sent me this Backcountry Lightning Safety pdf

Good to revisit even if you think you know it all

[The_Eagle]

Good info in there... I learned a bunch.

Shawn,Thanks for providing.
Thanks for posting ole' Web Master General

[Dschur]

Ugandan Lightning Strike Kills 18 Primary-School Children, New Vision Says
By Fred Ojambo - Jun 28, 2011 10:06 PM MT
A lightning strike killed 18 primary-school children and injured 36 others at a school in northwestern Uganda, the New Vision reported, citing Patrick Byaruhanga, a regional police commander.

The children died at Runyanya Primary School in the Kiyandongo district, about 189 kilometers (117 miles) northwest of the capital, Kampala, the newspaper said. They were waiting in their classroom for a storm to pass when the lightning struck, it said.

The deaths came as at least 37 children and two teachers were wounded in another lightning strike at a school in Paidha near the Congolese border, the newspaper said.

In the past “few weeks,” at least 40 people have died in Uganda after being hit by lightning, the newspaper said.

[The_Eagle]

Thought I'd put this here to bump this thread....
It's that time of year.

How Far Away Is Lightning From Me?
To estimate the distance between you and a lightning flash, use the "Flash to Bang" method: If you observe lightning, count the number of seconds until you hear thunder.
Divide the number of seconds by five to get the distance in miles.

Example: If you see lightning and it takes 10 seconds before you hear the thunder, then the lightning is 2 miles away from you (10 divided by 5 = 2 miles).

[kingsnake]

More importantly, no matter how far away, if you can see it, it can hit you. (Actually, it can hit from further away than you can see: The longest reported ground strike was over a hundred miles from where it left the cloud.)

[Jim]

Hmm, with that in mind, perhaps we need a thread for "advanced lightning safety"?

[azbackpackr]

It worries me when I have to ride my bike home after work and it's nearby.

Rather than asking us to do a division problem, not easy for some people, why do they not just teach the very easy old Boy Scout rule of 5 seconds equals one mile? Duh! I have worked with a youth search and rescue group for at-risk teens for many years. If you asked these kids to do division in their heads they would just give you the thousand yard stare. If on the other hand you teach them to say "One mississippi, two mississippi, three mississippi," etc., and explain the five-seconds-to-the-mile rule, they will be amused and will be able to remember it. Many at-risk teens are interested in the outdoors. In my experience these kids can barely add and subtract, let alone do division.

With the simple five-second rule, then you can simply say to them: if it's less than five seconds, be very careful, especially if the time difference is getting to be less and less.

[PLC92084]

@Jim_H
Your tagline is quite apropos for those that don't take proper lightning precautions!!

[Jim]

Fixed it for my intent. From "the honking".

[The_Eagle]

If you asked these kids to do division in their heads they would just give you the thousand yard stare.

If our youth is getting so bad that they can't do simple division, let them download one of the many smartphone Lightning Apps that lets them push buttons to derive the distance.

[tibber]

a relevant article: It is regarding the hikers struck at Glacier Park a week ago on a low trail: http://missoulian.com/news/local/b211a1 ... 963f4.html Those hikers were very lucky that help was there.

[desertgirl]

http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archiv ... nd-canyon/

Arizona Raft Adventures river guide required medical attention as a result of a lightning strike...

[Sredfield]

More bad news . . .
http://flagscanner.com/fsmedical-lightn ... lling-two/

[azbackpackr]

A man from Phoenix was struck and killed by lightning while walking with his family at Scott Reservoir in Show Low on July 19.

[rally_toad]

Lightning: Man's Greatest Enemy! :stretch:

[nonot]

I think they will have to close all the national forests in AZ for a month because lightning was spotted last week. Our government is hard at work to protect us.

[azbackpackr]

Yeah, but they need to corral it and keep it out of the towns, you know? Why am I paying taxes, anyway?

[cactuscat]

Several people struck in the Park recently ... I noticed the GRCA e-mails related to lightning have a new tag line - "If you see it, flee it. If you hear it, clear it."

[chumley]

Rather than asking us to do a division problem, not easy for some people, why do they not just teach the very easy old Boy Scout rule of 5 seconds equals one mile?

I hate to break this to you, but unless thunder is exactly 5 seconds after the lightning, this "rule" IS a division problem.

And I'm neither a boy scout nor a mathematician. I don't play one on TV, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[Hippy]

GRCA e-mails related to lightning have a new tag line - "If you see it, flee it. If you hear it, clear it."

I saw that too, its catchy, now if only people would pay attention...