Camping in Lightning

No one except ardent storm chasers would deliberately go camping in a lightning or thunderstorm.  However, weather being what it is, any of us could get caught in a thunderstorm while camping just about any time.  Even if there are no storms in the regional forecast you might still get thunderstorm and lightning in the mountains.  Many mountains are large enough to create their own micro-climate and very local weather.  I have had my RV caught in a lightning storm.  It doesn't have to mean the end of an outing.  We just need to take appropriate precautions and sit back and enjoy the show!

Lightning can present a marvelous light show, and sometimes scare the heck out of people!  It can be exciting and fun to watch -- as long as it doesn't get too close and if you are in a safe and comfortable place.  I like watching a good lightning show, as long as I'm in a safe place.  I like hearing the thunder roll.  When I was growing up in Idaho, my grandfather said it was the sound of potato wagons rolling by.  Not too threatening.  Being in an RV is generally pretty safe.  Even if lightning should strike your RV or even close to it YOU should be protected by the vehicle structure.  By the way, it is NOT the rubber tires that protect you.  Think about it.  Lightning easily arcs through 10,000-30,000' feet of air.  Do you really think it can't jump the 6" or so through rubber from your steel wheel to the ground?  The lightning WILL make its way to the ground, no matter what.  It is just a matter of the path it chooses.  It is the steel structure around you that protects you when you are in a vehicle.  If lightning does strike the vehicle it travels through the structure instead of through your body.  Of course, you could get zapped and even be injured if you are touching the structure at the time, so avoid touching window and door frames during an electrical storm.  That's also why your mother told you stay off the phone during an electrical storm.  Lightning striking a telephone pole somewhere miles away could send high voltage down the phone line.  Guess that gives cell phones one more advantage, although lightning may strike the cell towers and knock them out it won't travel back through your cell phone.  The other risk to you inside your RV is if you are parked under or near a tall object that may attract lightning and part or all of the object may explode or topple and damage your RV or set it on fire.  If you are camped in the kind of campgrounds most people prefer, with lots of trees, you probably don't have worry too much unless you happen to be parked near the tallest tree or some other high artificial structure like a flag pole, light standard, or antenna .   And although you may be safe inside your RV, it may suffer negative consequences from being struck or nearly struck by lightning.  Sensitive electronics may be damaged or a strike on a distant power pole might send surge of devastating voltage down the line and through your power cable if you're connected to campground power.  A surge protector is good way to protect your RV against this hazard.  They aren't cheap, but they are less expensive than repairing the damage from voltage surges.  Camping World offers a wide variety of surge protectors.  If you get one be sure to get one that corresponds to the power requirements of your RV.  BTW, if  you spend most of your time boondocking instead of connected to campground power, you probably don't need a surge protector since your generator isn't likely to create the kind of surges that can happen on commercial power grids.

Lightning, like any other severe weather, is going to present a bigger problem for tent campers than for RVers.  Your tent simply isn't going to provide you as much protection against any weather as an RV will.  Should lightning strike nearby you could be peppered with shrapnel or flaming debris, neither of which is going to be much deflected by tent fabrics.  Once again, if your tent is set up in a campground with lots of trees about the same height your probability of a near lightning strike will be reduced  However, if you're near a tall tree, light post or radio tower, they could "attract" lightning.  In reality, objects don't attract lightning.  Simply being the tallest object around makes them the location of the shortest distance for the lightning to jump from clouds to ground.  Lightning rods are used to protect structures from lightning strikes.  They reach higher than the structure an are grounded so the charge is conducted directly into the ground without damaging the structure.  The Empire State Building gets hit by lightning about 100 times every year.  So much for "lightning never strikes twice in the same place!".  The hail and heavy rain that often comes with thunderstorms is going to have more impact on tents than RVs.  You might want to seek protection for yourself and your companions under a sturdy rigid canopy or get inside your vehicles during hail and heavy rain.

Lightning can be a definite hazard for hikers, climbers, skiers (yes, lightning does sometimes strike in winter), boaters, and equestrian and OHV riders.   If you happen to get caught on a hill top or out in the open  in a flat area, YOU could very well be the highest object around!  You will usually get some warning of an approaching electrical storm from the sound of thunder.  You can tell how close the lightning is by counting the seconds between when you see the lightning flash and when you hear the thunder.  I was once within about 100' of a lightning strike.  Instead of "thunder" I heard an explosion simultaneous with the lightning.  I thought someone had bombed the computer center where I worked!  When lightning strikes a tree, the rapid vaporization of sap and moisture may cause the tree to literally explode, sending wooden shrapnel and flaming debris in all directions.  To estimate how far away lightning is, count the seconds between the flash and when you hear the thunder and divide by 3 to get the distance in kilometers or by 5 to get the distance in miles.  If it is closer than 25 or 30 seconds, take immediate steps to protect yourself.  Get off that hill top or out of that flat clearing and seek protection in a cluster of trees all about the same height.  If there are no trees around, try to get down into some kind of depression like a sand wash or creek bed.  Lacking any of these, lay down flat on the ground to minimize your height.  Don't stay too close to an OHV as it may become the tallest object around the the most likely target of lightning.  If lightning strikes it, it could send shrapnel or flaming projectiles in your direction if you are too close.  When entering any low lying area during a storm always be aware of and watch out for flash floods.  Avoid contact with water, which can also increase conductivity and the likelihood of becoming the object of a lightning strike. Even if the rain is several miles away, flash floods can sweep down creek beds and washes with amazing speed and devastating, even deadly, force.  When I worked in the construction industry we would shut down outdoor operations whenever lighting was within 2 miles of our work site as a safety precaution.  Out on the flat surface of an ocean or lake just about any boat could easily become the tallest object around and therefore the most likely contact point for lightning.  The tall masts on sailboats are especially susceptible.  Boats can be equipped with systems similar to lightning rods on buildings to conduct any electrical discharge safely to ground bypassing the components and occupants of the vessel.

One way to avoid being subjected to possible lightning strikes is to monitor the weather forecast and stay out of areas where thunderstorms are likely.  Lacking access to weather reports (shame on you!  Portable radios are small and inexpensive so you should always take one with you when camping) keep an eye on the sky.  Learn to discern the types of clouds that are prone to produce lightning and observe from which direction approaching weather comes and watch for early lightning strikes and take cover before it comes anywhere near you.  When observing clouds you will want to look for shape, color, and movement. Massive, dark, roiling clouds are often home to thunderstorms. High altitude clouds, and white, wispy clouds might bring showers but lightning is unlikely.  Here is a link for Predicting the Weather With Clouds.

Lightning isn't usually a direct threat to highway driving, at least not to the occupants inside vehicles.  If the vehicle is struck by lightning it will be conducted around the occupants by the steel body of the vehicle without injuring them as long as they are not touching the body.  The vehicle itself may not fare as well.  Modern, computer-controlled vehicles are likely to suffer severe damage to the electronic components but the electrical systems in older vehicles are not completely immune to lightning damage.  Lightning may pose an indirect threat as well.  A lightning strike may fell trees, street lights, or power poles across the road to block traffic and knock out traffic lights.  The heavy rain that often accompanies electrical storms may make visibility difficult and make roads slick.  Heavy rain or runoff can flood roadways and even a fairly thin layer of water on the pavement can seriously reduce traction.  Wet pavement has a co-efficient of friction about half that of dry pavement.  That means its about twice as likely for you to loose traction and control and will take twice as long to stop.  As water accumulates on the roadway, vehicles traveling at high speeds can begin to "hydroplane", riding on top of the water instead of the tires actually touching the pavement, causing the driver to lose control.  Whenever you are driving in rain, turn off your cruise control. If the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplane - when your tires loose contact with the pavement your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed and when they once again gain traction you take off like an airplane.  Read more at Snopes report on using cruise control in the rain.   Flooded roadways can also conceal dangerous pot holes, washouts, and debris.  If you drive into a low spot, it may even be deep enough to cause your car to temporarily float, reducing traction and steering to zero and you'll go where ever the water chooses to take you.  Submerged debris may damage tires, suspension, and oil pans.  Suddenly submerging a spinning radiator fan in deep water may cause it to break or bend and damage the radiator.  Metal fans are usually pretty sturdy but a lot of modern vehicles have plastic or fiberglass fans that will virtually disintegrate when suddenly striking water.  Water splashing up under the car is sometimes intrusive enough to interrupt power to the ignition system, causing the engine to stall.  If you must drive through deep puddles, drive slowly.

Lightning can strike distant power lines and send a dangerous surge through electric and phone lines.  If you usually camp with electric hookups it is a good idea to equip your RV with a good surge protector to prevent damage from power surges.  They aren't cheap, but they're a lot cheaper than replacing all the damaged wiring and electrical and electronic equipment that will be ruined without them. 

The thunderstorms that create lightning often generate hail as well.   Drops of rain are caught in the updraft, freeze, fall down only to be caught up again and again until they grow to heavy to rise again.  The higher the winds in the updrafts, the larger the hail grows before falling.  Hail the size of peas or smaller is fairly common and usually doesn't cause much damage.  Dime and even nickel sized hail is not unusual.  I once had the aluminum roof of my motorhome pelted by nickle sized hail and afterwards the texture resembled that of a golf ball.  Larger, golf ball, baseball or even softball sized hail has been recorded.  Any ball-sized hail is very likely to do severe damage, especially to windshields and car tops.  Any hail large than peas is likely to be a problem for tents.

There are a lot of myths about lightning.  Some are just that, myths without any real merit, but some have an element of truth behind them.

Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place.  FALSE!  This a a common misconception, probably based on the fact that a lightning strike often damages what it hits so that it is no longer there or at least no longer the tallest point around.   Thus, if lightning strikes a tall tree, the tree will probably be destroyed so it can't be struck again.  But for more permanent objects, multiple strikes are fairly common.   For example, lightning strikes the Empire State Building in New York City more than 100 times a year.  Why isn't it damaged?  It has a big lightning rod on the top that is wired all the way down through the building into the ground so all the energy is safely conducted into the earth without actually passing through the structure itself -- or the people inside.

Being struck by lightning is always fatal.  FALSE.  In fact, the mortality rate is only 10-20%, although the 80% who survive often suffer long term effects.  It is often thought it causes severe burns, but unless the victim is in contact with something like a metal object that "concentrates" the current, the brief surge doesn't usually last long enough to heat up the tissue.  The damage is usually due to something called "electroporation" in which the high voltage actually makes holes in your cell membranes, seriously damaging nerves and muscles.   Not that the technical difference makes any difference to the victims.  This could lead to pain, weakness, and bruising.  Another common casualty is hearing.  Lightning always produces thunder, although when lighting is close it sounds more like a violent explosion, so at least temporary hearing loss is a fairly common result of being near a lightning strike.  If you are struck by lightning, the thunder will occur simultaneously with the lightning flash, usually with sound something like a couple sticks of dynamite going off next to your ear!

The "30/30 Rule".  Definitely a kernel of truth here.  This rule says if there is less than 30 seconds between when you see the lightning flash and hear the thunder, take cover and then stay inside at least 30 minutes after the storm has passed and you stop hearing thunder.  While some folks may consider this overkill, it is generally good advice.  Better safe than sorry!  When I worked in construction we were required to shut down outdoor activity whenever there was lightning within 2 miles of our construction site.

Someone struck by lightning becomes electrically charged and touching them can injure you.  FALSE.  The actual contact with lightning is very brief, usually only a fraction of a second, and it does not leave behind a residual charge that would be dangerous to rescuers.  The human body is not an effective electrical capacitor (a device that stores electrical energy).  This is significantly different from the circumstances surrounding accidental electrocution from power lines.  The human body does conduct electricity.  A victim may still be in contact with a live line so it is essential that would be rescuers make sure the power is turned off or the wire is no longer in contact with the victim before touching them.  Since lightning strikes are momentary, you would only be in danger if you were touching the victim at the exact time they were struck.  You are in no danger from residual electricity by touching them after the strike is over.

Rubber tires insulate you from being shocked by lightning.  FALSE.  The protection you enjoy being in a vehicle comes from the metal frame around you which conducts any charge past you instead of through your body.  That means when riding on a motorcycle or other rubber-tired vehicle you may still be a target for lightning if you happen to be the tallest point around.  Think about it.  Lightning can arc thousands of feet through the air, why not few inches through rubber tires?

In the United States your odds of being struck by lightning in any given year are about 1 in 500,000 or about 1 in 6250 in an 80-year lifetime.  Your probability of being injured in a vehicle accident on the way to or from your camp site is much higher, in fact about 10-20 in 100,000, about a hundred times more likely than being struck by lightning!

Enjoy the show!