Camping safety question?

Question

What should you do if you're camping and are caught in a thunderstorm, with no chance of finding secure shelter?

Answer 1

What should I do if I'm caught out in the open during a thunderstorm and no shelter is nearby?

There are NO SAFE PLACES outdoors during a lightning storm. To minimize your chance of being struck, crouch down on the balls of your feet (a position known as "The Lightning Crouch") and cover your ears. The Lightning Crouch will minimize your chances of being struck, but it WILL NOT guarantee your safety.

The 30/30 rule

Any lightning safety plan should incorporate the 30/30 Rule. The 30/30 Rule states that people should seek shelter if the "Flash-To-Bang" delay (length of time in seconds between a lightning flash and its subsequent thunder), is 30 seconds or less, and that they remain under cover until 30 minutes after the final clap of thunder.

A 30 second lead time is necessary prior to a storm's arrival because of the possibility of distant strikes. A 30 minute wait after the last thunder is heard is necessary because the trailing storm clouds still carry a lingering charge. This charge can and does occasionally produce lightning on the back edge of a storm, several minutes after the rain has ended.

Studies have shown most people struck by lightning are struck not at the height of a thunderstorm, but before and after the storm has peaked. This shows many people are unaware of how far lightning can strike from its parent thunderstorm. DO NOT wait for the rain to start before seeking shelter, and do not leave shelter just because the rain has ended.

Answer 2

stay away from trees, metal, and electronics.

Answer 3

don't go under a tree, i know this may sound uncomfortable but lie as flat as possible until its over

Answer 4

We usually have a car or truck nearby that we can duck in to. Tires are made of rubber and therefore discourage lighting strikes.

Ditches are also good places if they're away from trees. Remember that you don't want to be the tallest, or around the tallest, thing around.

If a car or truck isn't available, remove the stakes and poles from your tent and crawl into the flattened tent. This will keep you dry, although it's not the most comfortable location.

Answer 5

Strike tent poles, and throw them far from yourself. Enter tent envelope and lie flat till storm is over.

Answer 6

lie down and die!

Answer 7

***When the flash-to-crash is less than 30 seconds, take cover as I'll describe in a sec. Remain like this for 30 minutes after the storm passes:

In a nutshell, GET LOW, MINIMIZE GROUND CONTACT, AND SPREAD YOUR GROUP OUT.***

**A lower area is safer than a higher one. Sit or squat as low as you can, while MINIMIZING THE AMOUNT OF YOUR BODY IN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. Sit or squat on your foam sleeping pad or backpack- something that can act as insulation between you and the ground to prevent current travelling along the ground from reaching you. A group should be well spread out, as far as you can be while remaining in voice contact (so a strike won't get everyone at once- scary, yeah). Don't swim or wade during a thunderstorm (duh). Lightning can and will travel across the face of a cliff, especially if wet, and it CAN reach into caves. Not to mention it can explode rock, so just don't use a cliff or cave as protection. Inside a vehicle (or building) is best. Under or on a vehicle is bad (duh again).**

Thats your basic info to answer your question. If you want more info:

Big, puffy clouds (cumulus) developing vertically can be an indicator of a thunderstorm developing. If you see these, have in mind an escape route or plan. Lightning strikes anywhere it wants to, not necessarily the highest object or the tallest point, and it can travel far distances, but your isolation and height can determine the liklihood of being struck. So get off of that bare mountaintop!

YOUR HAIR STANDS ON END WHEN YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. Other signs of lightning about to strike are small rocks jumping about, glowing air around metal objects, and the smell of ozone.

Because lightning, despite its massive power, is really brief in duration, the average discharge is actually too short for much of the electrical energy to overcome skin resistance and enter the body. As a result, less than 20% of lightning victims die of their injuries, because most of the current passes over the skin surface on its way to the ground. (Not all that reassuring, I know.) When a strike victim goes into cardio-pulmonary arrest (no heartbeat, not breathing) there is a very good chance of recovery by CPR. Other injuries may include burns, blunt and penetrating trauma (from objects being thrown about from the strike, which is essentially an explosion), and neurologic impairment.

So there's me rambling, but essentially, when the gap between the flash and the boom is less than 30 seconds, spread out, get low, minimize ground contact.