No place is absolutely safe from lightning; however, some places are much safer than others. The SAFEST location during lightning activity is a large enclosed building, not a picnic shelter or shed. The second safest location is an enclosed metal vehicle, car, truck, van, etc., but NOT a convertible, bike or other topless or soft top vehicle.
Safe Buildings
A safe building is one that is fully enclosed with a roof, walls and floor, such as a home, school, office building or a shopping center. Even inside, you should take precautions. Picnic shelters, dugouts, sheds and other partially open or small structures are NOT safe.
Enclosed buildings are safe because of wiring and plumbing. If lightning strikes these types of buildings, or an outside telephone pole, the electrical current from the flash will typically travel through the wiring or the plumbing into the ground. This is why you should stay away from showers, sinks, hot tubs, etc., and electronic equipment such as TVs, radios, and computers.
Lightning can damage or destroy electronics so it's important to have a proper lightning protection system connected to your electronic equipment. The American Meteorological Society has tips for protecting your electronics from lightning.
Unsafe Buildings
Examples of buildings which are unsafe include car ports, covered but open garages, covered patio, picnic shelters, beach shacks/pavilions, golf shelters, camping tents, large outdoor tents, baseball dugouts and other small buildings such as sheds and greenhouses that do not have electricity or plumbing.
Safe Vehicle
A safe vehicle is a hard-topped car, SUV, minivan, bus, tractor, etc. (soft-topped convertibles are not safe) . If you seek shelter in your vehicle, make sure all doors are closed and windows rolled up. Do not touch any metal surfaces.
If you're driving when a thunderstorm starts, pull off the roadway. A lightning flash hitting the vehicle could startle you and cause temporary blindness, especially at night.
Do not use electronic devices such as HAM radios during a thunderstorm. Lightning striking the vehicle, especially the antennas, could cause serious injury if you are talking on the radio or holding the microphone at the time of the flash. Emergency officials such as police officers, firefighters, security officers, etc., should use extreme caution using radio equipment when lightning is in the area.
Your vehicle and its electronics may be damaged if hit by lightning. Vehicles struck by lightning are known to have flat tires the next day. This occurs because the lightning punctures tiny holes in the tires. Vehicles have caught fire after being struck by lightning; however, there is no modern day documented cases of vehicles "exploding" due to a lightning flash.
(Quoted from NWS)
J
Living in Florida has given me an incredible level of respect for RUNNING from lightning. I told my family that if it thunders and lightning at 3AM, we would vacate the camper and stay in the SUV.
Do your best to avoid a tragedy. Sadly last month, a little girl stepped to go outside her grandparents camper (at one of my favorite campgrounds in FL) and she was killed when lightning hit a tree and followed the ground to where she was standing.
You are correct to ask for information. It's a tricky situation.
Livin Lite Quicksilver 8.0 (Folding Tent Camper) only 900 lbs!
Somehow I get the impression that being "on" something with no protection beyond a fabric cover over you and a grounded, metal box under you would be the equivalent of sitting on top of a lightening rod.
When we had our PUP, we never worried about lightning.
My personal opinion is that folks get irrational when it comes to things like this.
I have better things to worry about in life then some obscure event that most likely will not happen.
Odds of being struck by lightning: 576,000 to 1
Odds of being killed by lightning: 2,320,000 to 1
Chance of dying from a car accident: 1 in 18,585
Chance of dying from any kind of fall: 1 in 20,666
Chance of dying from accidental drowning: 1 in 79,065
Chance of dying from exposure to smoke, fire, and flames: 1 in 81,524
Chance of dying in an explosion: 1 in 107,787
Chance of dying from exposure to forces of nature (heat, cold, lightning, earthquake, flood): 1 in 225,107
Chance of dying in an airplane accident: 1 in 354,319
Chance of dying from choking on food: 1 in 370,035
Chance of dying in a terrorist attack while visiting a foreign country: 1 in 650,000
Chance of dying in a fireworks accident: 1 in 1,000,000
Chance of dying from overexertion, travel or privation: 1 in 1,428,377
Chance of dying from food poisoning: 1 in 3,000,000
Chance of dying from legal execution: 1 in 3,441,325
Chance of dying from contact with hot tap water: 1 in 5,005,564
Chance of dying from parts falling off an airplane: 1 in 10,000,000
Chance of dying from a shark attack: 1 in 300,000,000
Chance of having a stroke: 1 in 6
Chance of dying from heart disease: 1 in 3
Chance of contracting the human version of mad cow disease: 1 in 40,000,000
Chance of dying from SARS in the United States: 1 in 100,000,000
Chance of American man developing cancer in his lifetime: 1 in 2
Chance of an American woman developing cancer in her lifetime: 1 in 3
Chance of Dying 1 in 1
Now I am not stupid and do not stick a metal golf club on the top of my trailer to invite lightning, but if you are going to fear this uncommon event, then I would not even bother getting out of bed.
We all have one thing in common, and that is that we are all not getting out of this world alive. WE WILL ALL DIE OF SOMETHING! WHY WORRY ABOUT IT! IF THE ONE THING DOES NOT GET YOU, ANOTHER WILL!
* This post was
edited 07/18/08 08:28am by moparmaga2 *
I honestly don't worry about it much. Chances are that lightning will hit one of the tall trees or full metal Class A sitting next to me then my PUP. If it does there isn't anything I can do about it and I'll be in more danger running to the SUV or shower building during the lightning then if I just stay in my bunk and not touch any metal.
I think the probabilities of being hit by lightening are relevant only to the average situation. Standing under a tree during a thunderstorm increases your risks exponentially. Sitting in a tent-trailer probably isn't too far down the risk list from sitting under a tree, although the latter is probably better grounded.
Well, folks... I have a family member who was hiking in NC with some friends. They got caught up in a bad storm and were struck by lightning that hit a tree nearby.
The young girl lost her hearing for a few days, but everyone who got knocked out just suffered temporary issues.
I'll spare you the other incidents I've witnessed -- let's just say it can and does happen. It's a huge problem in some parts of the country. Just don't want readers here to get the idea that the odds are in their favor of NOT getting hit. I'd rather get on my soap box for 5 minutes and perhaps save someone alot of misery (or worse -- see my previous post).
"Based on data from 1959 –1990, from the National Climatic Data Center, Florida holds the record for the most people killed by lightning. There were over 300 deaths. North Carolina comes in second with 160 deaths and Texas third with around 145 deaths."
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