Take cover from lightning in secure shelter

Gail Larkin/Emergency By Gail Larkin/Emergency Staten Island Advance
on June 27, 2011 at 5:51 AM, updated June 27, 2011 at 5:55 AM

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The summer heat builds, the day growing more humid by the minute. By late afternoon, rising hot air has been carrying water vapor high into the atmosphere for hours.

As the water vapor cools, ice crystals form and get tossed upward in the rising stream of summer air. The ice crystals collide and static electricity begins to build inside the clouds that are forming.

From your sleepy spot on the beach, this dramatic event looks like nothing more than a tall cloud growing in the distance. Pretty soon though, the power within this thunderhead will be unleashed, transforming the calm summer beach to a dark, gusty, hail-infused storm, kicking up sand and sending everyone running for shelter.

Where’s your shelter?

You may be tempted to stick out the storm on the beach, either out in the open, or under an umbrella, awning, or some other poorly protected area. There aren’t too many safe shelters on a beach when lightning is in the area. Your best bet is most likely going to be in your car with the windows rolled up.


Your odds of being struck by lightning are relatively small; only a couple hundred people per year are struck and fewer than 50 typically die.

The bad news is that for the majority of survivors, life is never the same. There are a myriad of serious physical and psychological changes that have become a long-term part of the lives of lightning strike victims.

Immediate effects noticed may include short-term memory loss, problems learning new information and multitasking, slower reaction time, distractibility, irritability, personality change, forgetfulness, headaches, ringing in the ears, dizziness, nausea and difficulty sleeping.

Other symptoms may develop later on including seizures, back pain, depression, difficulty carrying on a conversation, family and work problems arising from changes in the victim’s ability to function.

Of course there may be other, more obvious issues such as cardiac problems, burns, and bone fractures from the severe impact of the unbelievably powerful, highly-charged strike.

While the numbers on the statistics vary from study to study, if you’re putting yourself at risk, the numbers mean very little. Lightning is random and uncontrollable.

Think of risk reduction of lightning and thunder this way: “If you can hear it, fear it. If you can see it, flee it.”

Lightning and thunder always go together. Lightning creates a super-heated(hotter than the sun) path. As the air molecules heat up, they expand and the crackling boom of thunder is created.

Because light travels faster than sound, we see lightning before we hear the thunder. So, once you’ve heard the thunder, the lightning has already struck. That’s not the time to feel safe though. If there’s one lightning strike, there are bound to be several more in the area, usually very close together.

If you hear thunder, the storm may be up to 10 miles away but according to scientific data, that’s close enough for a direct strike.

If you hear thunder, you’re at risk of being hit. Get to a safe shelter. Avoid stadium seats, fences, tall or isolated trees, open shelters such as dugouts, overhangs and porches. You are safest inside a shelter that has four walls and a ceiling with the windows closed.


Remember though, lightning can travel on plumbing and wiring so avoid anything attached to these paths, including the toilet, shower, kitchen sink, computer, television, and corded phone. There are plenty of lightning strike deaths and injuries where the victim was inside his own home.

The old adage of crouching down “like a bowling ball with legs” if you’re stuck outside has not been proved to provide any additional safety at all. If you are stranded outside in a storm, avoid natural lightning conductors such as those previously mentioned above (tall trees, fences, railroad tracks, etc.). Go to a low lying area and wait out the storm. If you can make it to a closed vehicle, do so. Leave the windows up. The lightning will travel around you through the metal of the car and then into the ground.

And finally, wait 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder before venturing back outside, lest you get struck while skies are clear as lightning comes “out of the blue.” For more information on lightning safety go to or If you or a loved one is the victim of a lightning strike and is struggling with the after-effects, the Lightning Safety Institute can connect you with others as can the Lightning Strike and Electric Shock Survivors International, Inc. at